Key Trump Media insiders sell off millions in stock

The CEO of the SPAC that merged with Trump Media dumped all the shares he directly owned

Nov 13, 2024

CEO of the SPAC that merged with Trump Media dumps most of his shares

Trump Media director Eric Swider sold all of the stock he owned directly in the company on Friday, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission made Tuesday night. Previously, Swider had been the CEO of Digital World Acquisition Corp., the special purpose acquisition company that merged with Trump Media in March.

Trump Media director Eric Swider sold 136,000 shares of Trump Media on Friday, according to a filing made with the SEC. | SEC/Trump Media

Swider did not respond to an inquiry. Via an LLC, he still owns another 18,000 shares in Trump Media.

Two other company insiders also sold substantial amounts of stock over the past few days. Chief financial officer Phillip Juhan dumped 384,000 shares, more than half of his holdings, while general counsel and secretary Scott Glabe sold 16,000 shares.

Trump Store debuts merchandise collection pegged to return to the presidency

From my latest, for Forbes:

Less than 18 hours after Vice President Kamala Harris conceded, the Trump Store sent an email blast on Thursday blaring “EXCLUSIVE ACCESS | The 45-47 Collection Just Launched.” For sale on its website were 21 products, ranging from $28 mugs to $195 Zero Restriction brand pullovers, all emblazoned with “45 47” stacked on top of each other and encircled by 50 stars. Trump, of course, was the 45th and will be the 47th president. As of Monday evening, three of the items—a ladies pullover and two colors of the “45-47 old school sweatshirt”—were no longer available, while sizes were sold out for many other items.

The article goes on to look at the Trump Store’s history, including its financials. Read the rest of “Trump Store Debuts Merchandise Collection Pegged To Election Victory.”

Also, just to get this out of the way: almost all of my reporting at Forbes appears behind a paywall. As anyone who works in or reads about media knows, ad revenue alone doesn’t do the trick these days. Much appreciated if you’d consider subscribing, if you can swing it. Thanks!

A photo of a red 45 47-branded quater zip — "The limited edition 45-47 logo on the chest shows your pride for our president," reads the description for this $195 quarter zip. | The Trump Store

Follow reporters on the Trump Org. beat on Bluesky

With the ongoing Elonification of Twitter, social-media platform Bluesky has enjoyed a huge spike in users recently. If you’re new there and looking for accounts to follow, I created a starter pack of reporters on the Trump Org. beat.

Please let me know whom I’m missing (and Dan Alexander, Susanne Craig, and Dave Fahrenthold, your presences have been requested).

Also, I’ve created a starter pack of my amazing colleagues at Forbes. Please give them a follow, too.

Other notable sightings

A glimpse of the foreign officials, government employees, politicians, lobbyists, and the like who patronize or appear at Trump businesses. Most people shown here have reasons to want to influence the former president, rely on his good graces for their livelihoods, or should have been providing oversight. Additionally, high-profile guests serve as draws for paying customers.

Nigel Farage, an MP and Leader of Reform UK, was at Mar-a-Lago on election night.

Trump property regular Martha Boneta Fain got a closeup with Elon Musk at Mar-a-Lago on election night. Fain, a small farmer in Virginia, became an advisor to some pro-Trump groups during his first term. In 2019-2020, she was paid $200,000 to lobby the White House and Congress on behalf of a Kuwaiti company.

Hary Tanoesoedibjo also celebrated Trump’s win with him at Mar-a-Lago. He’s an Indonesian media mogul worth about $1.5 billion. Tanoesoedibjo led one of the country’s political parties until earlier this year, when he passed it off to his daughter.

Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) hung out poolside with former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy at the president-elect’s private club and home.