Former US president Donald Trump announced plans on October 20 to launch his own social networking platform called “TRUTH Social,” which is expected to begin its beta launch for “invited guests” next month.
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Trump Media shares opened trading Wednesday higher, breaking the $50 per share threshold for the first time in nearly a month.
Trump Media, which trades under the DJT ticker, rose by more than 8% in early trading, before pulling back a bit.
The company, which owns the Truth Social app, has seen its share price increase by more than 50% in the past week. However, the stock is still trading well below the more than $70 per share it opened at in its public trading debut on March 26.
Trump Media in a regulatory disclosure Tuesday confirmed that former President Donald Trump received an extra 36 million shares of the company in a so-called earnout bonus.
Trump, who already owned more than 78 million shares, received the windfall because the share price remained above a benchmark of $17.50 for 20 trading days over the month since the stock began being publicly traded.
Trump”s stake in Trump Media now stands at 65% of the company’s shares, and is worth $5.7 billion at a share price of $50.
The former president is barred from selling those shares during the six months following the execution of Trump Media’s merger with the shell company Digital World Acquisition Corp. in late March.
Trump Media’s share price surge has come as the company’s chief executive officer, former Republican congressman Devin Nunes, has complained about potential market manipulation of the company’s stock by short sellers, and as the firm has encouraged shareholders to take steps that would prevent their stock frrom being loaned for short selling trades.
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