President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he was not fully aware of the size of his family’s cryptocurrency holdings, while insisting that his association with the ventures was entirely legal following revelations of significant profits from family-linked digital asset businesses.
Earlier this week, disclosed earning at least $1.4 billion in 2025 through investments tied to cryptocurrencies and memecoins. Having delegated control of his business interests to his two eldest sons, the president was questioned by CNBC about how familiar he was with the family’s expanding crypto operations.
“I could know about it. I didn’t,” Trump mentioned in an interview at the White House.
According to his financial disclosure filings, Trump reported earning approximately $594 million from World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency venture he co-founded with his sons. The filings also listed about $636 million in income from his memecoin business and nearly $197 million from an equity sale involving Stablecoin Holdco.
Trump told CNBC, “I’ve always made . I’m a business person. I’m a really good business person. I made money. I made a tremendous amount of money.”
When questioned about the billions of dollars he had earned from cryptocurrency ventures, Trump dismissed concerns over a potential conflict of interest.
“The way I view crypto is a little differently. We have to be at the top, otherwise China is going to take it over,” he said.
During his presidency, Trump has reportedly championed a strongly pro-cryptocurrency agenda, saying the should become the “capital of the world” by easing regulations, creating a Bitcoin reserve and promoting a dollar-backed stablecoin market.
‘I don’t even know who they are’: Trump on investors
Trump said that other people manage those investments on his behalf and that he is not aware of the identities of the investors.
“I let people invest it. I don’t even speak to – I don’t even know who they are. My son Eric handles it. I don’t talk to him about things such as this,” he further said.
He added that even if he did know who they were, it would not constitute any legal violation, pointing out that the US president and vice president are not required to recuse themselves from decisions that could have an impact on their personal financial interests.
Trump added, “I didn’t. There’s nothing illegal with that. I could know”, noting that there is no legal requirement “to recuse yourself on every decision running the country that could have anything to do with you. It just isn’t feasible to do it.”
Trump founded the Trump Organisation years before entering politics, with his three children—Don Jr., Eric and Ivanka, playing key roles in the business. Ivanka has since stepped back from the company’s operations.
Trump said the close-knit nature of the family business made it impossible for his children to completely separate themselves from decisions he makes while serving as president.
“Almost anything my kids do — if they buy a truck — they have inside information,” he said, adding that his children were being unfairly scrutinised simply because they continue to pursue their business careers while he is in office.
He said, “I feel badly in a way for my kids,” he said, adding that “anything they do, because the presidency is so powerful … if they buy a cupcake company, well, the energy to make the cupcakes, is you know, sort of like, how’s my energy policy?”
“So it’s pretty tough in that sense. I tell my kids, ‘stay away’. But they also have a life. You know, they were doing business long before I ever thought of … running for president,” Trump mentioned.
‘I gave up my salary,’ says Trump
Trump also claimed that he does not accept a government salary while serving as president.
By law, however, the US president is entitled to an annual salary of $400,000.
“This is the Oval Office. It’s a much bigger purpose than whether or not I make money. As an example, the president’s the highest paid person in government, and you know, by some standards it gets a lot of money. … I gave up my salary. I don’t get a salary,” he stated.
