> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://libertys-lens.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # How Trump Cashed In While America Cashed Out - URL: https://libertys-lens.ghost.io/how-trump-cashed-in-while-america/ - Published: 2025-09-08T17:01:29.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-13T16:52:12.000Z - Description: The inside story of media payoffs, crypto riches, and foreign capital—juxtaposed with the policies driving your bills higher. - Author: Graham Baughman - Tags: Newsletter, #Migrated-1786639647847, #Import 2026-08-13 16:47 [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) **It starts with a lawsuit and a merger.** Paramount Global paid Donald Trump **$16 million** to settle his claim that “60 Minutes” edited a Kamala Harris interview too favorably during the 2024 campaign. On paper, it was a settlement for his presidential library. In practice, it landed **as Skydance needed Trump’s FCC to bless an $8 billion takeover of Paramount**. Trump even bragged he expected “$20 million more” in ads and PSAs from the new owners. House Democrats now want the emails, texts, and timing, warning that what looks like a settlement could function like a **bribe in disguise**. ([NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/business/media/house-democrats-demand-documents-related-skydance-paramount-merger-rcna226275?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [MSNBC](https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/paramount-skydance-trump-bribery-investigation-rcna226673?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) --- **But that was just the appetizer.** A major investigation pegged the Trump family’s presidency-linked haul at **$3.4 billion** through mid-August—**$2.3 billion from crypto ventures alone**. These aren’t hypothetical numbers; they’re based on filings and market valuations showing how political power became a private profit engine. ([The New Yorker](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/08/18/the-number?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) --- **Then came the main course: World Liberty Financial.** On September 1, the family’s token, **$WLFI**, began trading. They control **22.5 billion tokens**. Even after an opening-day dip, the paper gain hit **$5 billion**. Founders’ tokens are locked (for now), but the wealth effect is undeniable—and it all followed Trump signing a **pro-crypto law** weeks earlier. ([USA TODAY](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/09/02/trump-family-windfall-billions-crypto-launch/85937722007/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-wlfi-world-liberty-financial-crypto-wealth/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) --- **And the pivot didn’t stop there.** Trump Media & Technology Group raised **$2.5 billion** via stock and bonds, then **bought $2 billion in Bitcoin**, turning the company into a crypto-heavy holding firm. It’s a move straight from the Michael Saylor playbook—except this time, the player writes the rules. ([Money Morning](https://moneymorning.com/2025/07/23/trump-media-goes-full-michael-saylor-buys-2-billion-of-bitcoin/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [Investopedia](https://www.investopedia.com/trump-medias-bitcoin-holdings-grow-to-2b-as-president-trump-advances-crypto-agenda-11775817?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) [Subscribe](#/portal/signup) --- **Follow the foreign money.** A UAE-based fund dropped **$100 million into WLFI**, and an Abu Dhabi state-backed firm agreed to use the Trump family’s **USD1 stablecoin** to close a **$2 billion Binance investment**. Ethics experts call it “corruption on its face”: foreign governments routing billions through a president’s family exchange while he controls U.S. crypto policy. ([U.S. News](https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2025-06-27/uae-fund-buys-100-million-of-trumps-world-liberty-tokens?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [ABC News](https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-family-crypto-venture-tapped-part-2b-emirati/story?id=121415842&ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) --- **Add it up:** \- **$16M** for a library \- **$3.4B** in presidency-linked profits \- **$5B** more in crypto upside \- **$2B** in Bitcoin buys \- **Foreign billions** flowing through Trump’s rails That’s not coincidence. **It’s the business model.** --- **Now, look at your side of the ledger.** Residential electricity prices are up **nearly 10% this year**—from **15.95¢/kWh in January to 17.47¢ in May**. The CPI electricity index rose **5.5% year-over-year**, almost double overall inflation. And it’s not slowing: EIA projects retail prices will **outpace inflation through 2026**. ([Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2025/08/19/electric-bills-are-up-10-so-far-this-year-why-they-could-keep-getting-costlier/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [EIA](https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=65284&ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) --- **Why?** \- **Policy shifts:** Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” gutted clean-energy credits, forcing utilities back to costlier fossil fuels. \- **Tariffs:** New levies on steel and energy imports inflated grid costs. \- **AI demand:** Data centers will consume **12% of U.S. electricity by 2028**, driving massive infrastructure spending. \- **Aging grid:** Transformers near end-of-life, with replacement delays stretching years. \- **Extreme weather:** Hardening costs passed straight to you. ([CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/21/why-electricity-prices-are-surging-for-us-households.html?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [Axios](https://www.axios.com/2025/08/29/electric-power-bill-costs-ai-grid-reasons?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) --- **The contrast is brutal:** While the First Family mints billions from settlements, tokens, Bitcoin, and foreign capital, **households bleed cash on basic utilities**—thanks to policy choices that favor insiders and punish everyone else. --- **For readers who want the receipts** - Paramount’s $16M settlement and FCC merger probe — ([NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/business/media/house-democrats-demand-documents-related-skydance-paramount-merger-rcna226275?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [MSNBC](https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/paramount-skydance-trump-bribery-investigation-rcna226673?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) - Trump family profits estimated at $3.4B pre-WLFI — ([The New Yorker](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/08/18/the-number?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) - WLFI token launch: 22.5B tokens, $5B paper gain — ([USA TODAY](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/09/02/trump-family-windfall-billions-crypto-launch/85937722007/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-wlfi-world-liberty-financial-crypto-wealth/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) - Trump Media’s $2B Bitcoin pivot — ([Money Morning](https://moneymorning.com/2025/07/23/trump-media-goes-full-michael-saylor-buys-2-billion-of-bitcoin/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [Investopedia](https://www.investopedia.com/trump-medias-bitcoin-holdings-grow-to-2b-as-president-trump-advances-crypto-agenda-11775817?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) - UAE fund buys $100M WLFI; Abu Dhabi firm uses USD1 for $2B Binance deal — ([U.S. News/Reuters](https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2025-06-27/uae-fund-buys-100-million-of-trumps-world-liberty-tokens?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [ABC News](https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-family-crypto-venture-tapped-part-2b-emirati/story?id=121415842&ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) - Electric bills up \~10%; CPI electricity index +5.5% — ([Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2025/08/19/electric-bills-are-up-10-so-far-this-year-why-they-could-keep-getting-costlier/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [EIA](https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=65284&ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) - Drivers: policy rollback, tariffs, AI demand, grid costs — ([CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/14/how-much-trumps-big-beautiful-bill-could-raise-electricity-costs.html?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [Axios](https://www.axios.com/2025/08/29/electric-power-bill-costs-ai-grid-reasons?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) [Leave a comment](#ghost-comments-root)