Trump’s Tax Immunity Could Save Him More Than $600 Million

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:01]Today on Forbes, Trump's tax immunity could save him more than $600 million.

[00:00:09]Acting Attorney General Todd Blanch signed a document last week giving Donald Trump, his two eldest sons, and his company broad immunity for potential tax disputes with the federal government. It's the clearest way that the president is personally [music] benefiting from his settlement, if you can call it that, with the Internal Revenue Service, which he sued days after taking office for failing to prevent the release of his personal tax returns.

[00:00:34]The settlement lands at a convenient moment. Donald Trump earned an estimated $1.4 billion from crypto and licensing ventures in 2025 as he turned his first year back in the White House into the most lucrative year of his life. If the president received an extension for his 2025 return, his preparers may be sorting through exactly how to present this year's welter of income right now.

[00:00:59]Trump has never hidden the animating principle. When Hillary Clinton accused him of paying no taxes in the 2016 debates, he replied, quote, "That makes me smart, also much richer." If Trump is able to conjure up theories to avoid taxes for his 2025 income, he could save more than half billion dollars. According to Forb's estimates, the conflict of interest underpinning all of this is so obvious that even Trump has acknowledged it. In October in the Oval Office, he mused, quote, "I'm the one that makes the decision, right?

[00:01:33]You know, that decision would have to go across my desk, and it's awfully strange to make a decision [music] where I'm paying myself."

[00:01:40]Trump first suggested he would send whatever judgment he received to charity before settling on a more creative approach. The government would not pay Trump. Instead, Trump would get a pass enabling him to pay less to the government. The move hearkens the old cliche, "A penny saved is a penny earned with the same result, more money in Trump's pocket."

[00:02:03]Asked about all of this, the White House referred questions to the Trump Organization.

[00:02:08]The president's business did not dispute the estimates, but opted to issue a lengthy statement attacking the IRS that said in part, quote, "This settlement seeks to provide meaningful accountability for the IRS's prolonged [music] and systemic failure to safeguard sensitive taxpayer data."

[00:02:25]Like the settlement itself, Trump's massive earnings are a product of the presidency. Heading into the 2024 election, Trump announced a new crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, which sold tokens to anyone interested in buying. The tokens offered no financial interest in World Liberty, which helps explain why so few people noticed initially. But after Trump won the election, sales exploded. The economics of the deal were tailored to funnel vast sums of cash to the Trump family. After the first $15 million of sales, 75% of the proceeds went to the Trump family with 70% of that flowing to the president-elect.

[00:03:06]More than $50 million went into this machine by the end of 2024 before ramping up in the new year.

[00:03:13]Tokens were not the only thing Trump [music] was selling. As Forbes first reported, he also struck a secret deal to offload a chunk of equity in World Liberty Financial in January 2025.

[00:03:25]The Wall Street Journal later identified the purchaser of that stake, an entity backed by Shik Tanun bin Zed al- Nayan, which promised $500 million in the deal.

[00:03:36]The agreement reportedly excluded the proceeds from token sales, which appeared to be World Liberty's principal [music] business at the time. World Liberty went on to launch a stable coin that another entity connected to Shake Tanoon propped up with a multi-billion dollar investment. Trump walked away from the sale with an estimated $375 million in pre-tax earnings. That windfall would theoretically trigger a roughly $140 million federal tax bill.

[00:04:04]Also, in January 2025, just as Trump was about to take office, he launched a memecoin. That token explicitly warned investors that it was quote not intended to be an investment opportunity.

[00:04:17]But lots of people wanted it anyway, sparking a frenzy that sent an estimated $315 million in transaction fees to the newly elected president of the United States. Those fees would have theoretically created another $115 million tax obligation.

[00:04:34]With his crypto-enrichment apparatus in place, Trump assumed the presidency.

[00:04:39]Cash came rolling in. In April, a highfrequency trading firm based in the United Arab Emirates, purchased $25 million of World Liberty tokens. 2 months later, an opaque entity named Aqua [music] 1 Foundation, also based in the UAE, bought another $100 million.

[00:04:58]Then a small healthcare company named Alt 5 Sigma pivoted to crypto, announcing a plan to amass a pile of World Liberty tokens for more than $700 million.

[00:05:09]Over the course of the year, World Liberty sold an estimated $1.3 billion of tokens in all. 75% of that went to the Trump family, with the president personally hauling in an estimated $700 million, triggering another $260 million in taxes.

[00:05:28]For full coverage, check out Dan Alexander's piece on Forbes.com. [music] This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

[00:05:37]Thanks for tuning in.