BusinessAnalysis

Who needs a profit? Trump superfans propel loss-making Truth Social to huge Wall Street debut

Planet Business: Champagne region extension, all change at Boeing and a controversial Titanic prop goes under the hammer

A television screen shows the share price for the Trump Media and Technology Group, the parent company of Donald Trump's social media platform Truth Social, as the company began trading in New York. Photograph: Justin Lane/EPA

Laura Slattery's face
Laura Slattery
Sat Mar 30 2024 - 06:15

Image of the week: Trump trades

In a break from his hush-money trial, Donald Trump enjoyed a substantial boost to his wealth – his paper wealth, at least – this week after Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) soared on its Tuesday debut on Wall Street.

The company, under the ticker symbol “DJT”, jumped as much as 58 per cent on the Nasdaq, with trading in the shares briefly halted for extreme volatility, and closed up 16 per cent on the first day. This meant that as he went to bed on Tuesday night, the former president’s 60 per cent stake was worth about $4.6 billion (€4.2 billion), which just might – subject to some awkward boardroom formalities – go some way to alleviating his legal debts.

The valuation of almost $8 billion that resulted from the huge superfan-propelled public debut seems rather a lot for a loss-making company that counts Trump’s pet platform Truth Social as its main asset and brought in little more than a few million dollars in revenue the first nine months of 2023. Then again, many much less rational things have happened on stock markets in the past and it is obviously pertinent that Trump is close to reclaiming the White House.

TMTG was founded by Trump in partnership with two former contestants on the US version of The Apprentice, Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss. They recently launched legal action against the company, claiming it tried to dilute their stake, though they are still more likely than not to come away rich from doing business with Trump. But could they make a convincing advertisement for camping holidays or market a breakfast cereal that doesn’t taste like sawdust?

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In numbers: Champagne problems

15%

French winemakers plan to increase the official champagne-making region by up to this much in area to meet demand from lovers of the sparkling wine who will accept no substitutes.

34,000

Number of hectares designated as part of the official zone under legislation introduced in 1927. Some anti-bubbly mayors mistakenly decided local farmers would be better off growing cereal crops, prompting decades of recrimination and regret.

6

Years before any vines are expected to be planted in the extended production zone, with the map set to be finalised by the end of the year. Some existing vineyard owners fear this could create a champagne glut.

Getting to know: Steve Mollenkopf

Steve Mollenkopf, who has served on the board of directors of Boeing for the past four years, is now the incoming chairman of the beleaguered aircraft maker, due to succeed Larry Kellner in May. Mollenkopf, who was chief executive of chipmaker Qualcomm for seven years until 2021, has a huge task ahead of him, which starts with the responsibility of finding and appointing a new chief executive following the exit of Dave Calhoun at the end of the year.

So what skills and attributes does the next Boeing chief executive require? Having worked with Declan Kelly’s chief executive-advising Consello Group, Mollenkopf presumably has some thoughts on what makes a good leader. In this instance, a talent for operating a company that avoids terrifying mid-air cabin panel blowouts would appear essential, while an ability to placate key customers like Michael O’Leary would presumably be ideal.

The list: Hollywood props

“Blockbuster season started early at Heritage Auctions,” declared the Dallas-based auction house after its Treasures from Planet Hollywood auction brought in almost $15.7 million (€14.5 million). This makes it the second biggest auction of props and costumes from films, after the 2011 sale of memorabilia owned by Debbie Reynolds. So what were the 5,500 participants bidding for?

1. Kevin McCallister’s woolly hat: As worn by Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone, this went for a mere snip at, er, $81,250. Might need to get a few winters out of it at that price.

2. Indy’s whip: The prop used by Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom sold for $525,000 – almost enough to pay for all the therapy needed by everyone who saw Temple of Doom as a child.

3. Hollywood bowl: Bill Murray’s red-rose bowling ball from Kingpin went for $350,000, giving it the dubious honour of becoming “the most valuable bowling ball in the world”.

4. Jack’s axe: The axe used by Jack Nicholson to smash his way through a bathroom door in The Shining went for a bargain $125,000. The successful bidder will now be heard yelling “here’s Johnny” at all future parties.

5. Rose’s door panel: The big one, going for $718,750, was the controversial Titanic door panel prop that Rose (Kate Winslet) floats on at the end of James Cameron’s film, facilitating her survival. It is controversial because it was clearly, no matter how many experiments Cameron runs to prove otherwise, big enough for Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) to fit on too.

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