onald Trump announced plans Wednesday to turn a new firm, named Trump Media and Technology Group, into a publicly traded business by merging it with a special purpose acquisition company, or a SPAC. If the deal goes through, it could allow Trump’s company to access about $290 million in cash, which it could then use to build a Twitter knockoff and launch additional media ventures. Investors are thrilled with the idea—shares of the SPAC jumped more than 350% on Thursday.
It didn’t take long for Donald John Trump to betray his shareholders, acting in ways that benefitted himself but harmed the larger business. Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts started with just one Atlantic City casino, but Trump personally held another two outside of the firm. Less than a year after taking the company public, he used it to buy one of his two other casinos, the debt-burdened Taj Mahal, in a deal that valued his stake at $40.5 million.
Trump retained his role as chairman of the company, which changed its name to Trump Entertainment Resorts, but he lost his job as chief executive. As part of a new services agreement, the firm still paid him about $2 million a year, more than the replacement CEO collected in annual salary. Trump also got the ability to nominate several board members. His 25-year-old daughter, Ivanka Trump, joined the board in 2007. For her services, Ivanka received $150,000 of cash annually.
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