Trump Voters Who Poured Life Savings Into His Crypto and Stock Are Watching It Collapse While He Gets Richer

Vadim Fistikan voted for Donald Trump three times, and nearly all the money he put into the president's media company is gone. A truck driver in Washington State, he had saved more than $100,000 for a house in Florida. He invested $205,000, and his stake is now worth about $30,000.

Fistikan is not alone. More than a million people lost money on Trump's four main crypto and stock ventures, many of whom also voted for him. Their losses totaled about $2.3 billion (£1.7 billion). The family made at least that much from the same four ventures, a Reuters investigation found in June.

All four operated similarly: the family risked little of its own money, promoted each, and took a share of the proceeds. Buyers were left holding tokens and shares worth only what the next person paid. A memecoin is a cryptocurrency token with little or no underlying business or revenue.

What the Family Sold

World Liberty Financial is the biggest of the four, and Reuters found it has brought the family more than $1.4B from selling its governance tokens. Those tokens give holders a vote on some decisions and nothing else. The family takes 75 per cent of the proceeds, a split the company disclosed in fine print on its website.

The $TRUMP memecoin launched on 17 January 2025, three days before the inauguration. Its price rose sharply and then fell. By early July this year, it was down about 97 per cent from that peak.

Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr promoted two listed companies as a way to own crypto through ordinary shares. They were American Bitcoin and ALT5 Sigma, which renamed itself AI Financial Corp in April. Both share prices have since collapsed.

Warnings were published in small print. World Liberty's marketing said its token was not an investment, and that buyers should not expect to profit. The $TRUMP website carried similar wording. Many buyers told Reuters they had done little or no research before putting money in.

Who Lost, and How Much

Fatime Elrgdawy, a software engineer in Santa Barbara, California, put $2,000 of her savings into $TRUMP in January 2025. A friend had shown her a post from the president-elect promoting the coin. Trump's name on it was enough to convince her. By the end of May, her holding was worth less than $120.

Matt is a machinist in Indiana who gave only his first name. Last September he put $40,000 into shares of ALT5 Sigma, about 30 per cent of his portfolio at the time. He is now down roughly $32,700.

Ryan Kenney, a military spouse, put close to $98,000 into American Bitcoin shares. Forbes reported that the stake is now worth about $9,000. Kenney said the bigger picture might be 'hundreds of thousands of Americans all losing five grand.'

Trump Media and Technology Group, the company behind Truth Social, is older than the four Reuters examined and was not part of its analysis. It has followed a similar path. Fistikan bought into the shell company set up to take it public in 2021, then kept adding. Shares closed at $8.66 on Friday, down from a 52-week high of $17.97.

Why Many Buyers Still Do Not Blame Trump

Several investors told Reuters they do not blame the family. Matt is still holding his shares. He believes Democrats and investors hostile to Trump are short-selling the shares, which means betting the price will fall.

The White House did not address the findings directly. Spokeswoman Anna Kelly said everything the president and his administration do is done for the good of the country. World Liberty Financial has pointed to a wider downturn across digital assets. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. did not answer Reuters' questions.

Reuters reported no court ruling against any of the four. John Paul Rollert, who teaches behavioural science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, said buyers should have asked one question first. Would the family make money even if the venture failed? Rollert told Reuters that if the answer was yes, 'you're now getting closer to what looks like a scam.'