Trump’s Tangled Web of Deal-Making, Policy and Riches
By Lazaro Gamio and Amy Schoenfeld Walker
Since his return to office, President Trump and his family have engaged in a moneymaking campaign like none in modern American history.
It is enriching the family, as well as important officials and business partners.
The president’s family and allies are benefiting from their proximity to power, retaining or building stakes in industries that the government oversees and that Mr. Trump’s policies have boosted.
And several are negotiating deals with foreign governments, raising questions about the administration’s diplomatic priorities.
This tangled web is a hallmark of the president’s second term, where the lines between U.S. interests and those of Mr. Trump’s inner circle are blurred.
Mr. Trump re-entered the White House without agreeing, as he did in his first term, not to start any new international business deals. As his sons have shifted the focus of the family business from real estate to financial deals that monetize the Trump name, questions about conflicts of interest have multiplied. This visualization of those deals and projects is based on the past year of New York Times reporting on the subject.
Mr. Trump, once a skeptic of cryptocurrency, is now its champion. He has rolled back Biden-era restrictions, promoted crypto investments from the Oval Office and signed a bill to advance crypto priorities.
But Mr. Trump is also an industry player who stands to gain from these policies. His family’s crypto empire is now its most lucrative venture. And the Trump crypto firms have given private enterprise and governments unprecedented access to the president’s sphere.
For example, Mr. Trump and his partners launched a type of cryptocurrency known as a memecoin just before his second inauguration. Sales of the coin, $TRUMP, have led to hefty trading fees.
Mr. Trump offered top $TRUMP buyers a private dinner. One guest was Justin Sun, the founder of Tron. His firm is one of many with financial ties to Mr. Trump that have gained from a more lenient Securities and Exchange Commission.
Mr. Trump and his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, founded the crypto firm World Liberty Financial with their sons and others in 2024. The families have been given an ownership stake worth billions of dollars on paper, and they receive a cut of sales of its cryptocurrency, $WLFI.
Mr. Trump, who wants the United States to lead the world in artificial intelligence, has tasked top aides to expand the nation’s A.I. infrastructure. His commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, has twisted the arms of American allies, dangling policy favors in exchange for investments in U.S. data centers.
The secretary’s sons, who now run his company, are helping A.I. firms raise capital for some of these centers. Their father has helped push an industry that has brought billions of dollars in new business deals for the Lutnick family-controlled real estate firm, banking millions in fees in the process.
The president also wants to export the nation’s advanced microchip technology, designed to support A.I.’s demands.
Mr. Lutnick, Mr. Witkoff and the president’s A.I. and crypto czar, David Sacks, have been pushing for the sale of U.S. chips to nations that are simultaneously negotiating with the business partners and families of Mr. Lutnick, Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Trump.
Mr. Lutnick and Mr. Sacks helped negotiate a deal in May to allow the American-designed chips to be sent to the United Arab Emirates, despite national security concerns among some in the White House.
The Emiratis also made a deal in May with World Liberty to purchase $2 billion of the firm’s stablecoins. The Trumps and Witkoffs are poised to make millions of dollars in profits, drawing scrutiny from Congress.
The United Arab Emirates is also a major partner of the president’s real estate business, a lucrative piece of the family portfolio that has taken off since Mr. Trump’s return to office. The president’s sons now run the Trump Organization, but their father still benefits financially.
Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have made deals for Trump-branded hotels and other businesses on three continents this year and in the months before their father’s second term. It’s estimated that the Trump family makes millions of dollars from each deal and in some cases more than $10 million. Several of the projects involve foreign governments or firms backed by nations’ wealth funds.
Jared Kushner, a son-in-law of the president, has also been making deals through his investment firm Affinity Partners, which has collected billions of dollars from investors in Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern nations.
Dar Global, the Trump Organization’s most important foreign business partner, has at least eight Trump-branded projects. It is closely tied to the Saudi government.
In November, the president engaged in sensitive national security talks with Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, who is also a critical figure in a potential deal for a Trump-branded project.
The complex network is only expanding. Trump Media is now looking to become a nuclear fusion power company. Donald Trump Jr. has financial ties to companies that secured Pentagon contracts this year, though he has said he has not reached out to any government officials on their behalf. And Elon Musk, Mr. Trump’s biggest campaign donor, continues to benefit from connections to the agencies that oversee his companies, some of which are major federal contractors.
Mr. Trump has noted that conflict of interest laws do not apply to him. Officials like Mr. Lutnick and Mr. Sacks have divested some of their interests in their industries or have waivers for work they have kept a stake in. But the mixing of politics and profitmaking in Mr. Trump’s second term has shattered American norms.
The president has not been shy about the rewards. In April, as a Saudi-backed golf tournament opened at one of his Florida clubs, he posted on Truth Social: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO GET RICH, RICHER THAN EVER BEFORE.”
Enter the web to search for people, businesses and other entities.
Read more Times reporting from the past year about these and other deals.
Truth Social Parent to Merge With Nuclear Fusion Firm in $6 Billion Deal Dec. 18, 2025
Jared Kushner’s Firm Pulls Out of Bid for Warner Bros. Discovery Dec. 16, 2025
Kushner’s Firm Pulls Out of Trump-Branded Hotel Deal in Serbia Dec. 15, 2025
The S.E.C. Was Tough on Crypto. It Pulled Back After Trump Returned to Office. Dec. 14, 2025
The Oilman Who Pushed Trump to Go All In on Fossil Fuels Dec. 12, 2025
China’s Access to Powerful Nvidia Chips Comes at ‘Critical Moment’ Dec. 9, 2025
Jared Kushner, the President’s Son-in-Law, Is Part of Paramount’s Bid for Warner Bros. Discovery Dec. 8, 2025
Trump Clears Sale of More Powerful Nvidia A.I. Chips to China Dec. 8, 2025
Trump Promises Executive Order to Block State A.I. Regulations Dec. 8, 2025
Your Money Could Soon Be Tied Up in This $300 Billion Crypto Market Dec. 7, 2025
Silicon Valley’s Man in the White House Is Benefiting Himself and His Friends Nov. 30, 2025
Family Affair: Commerce Secretary’s Sons Cash In on A.I. Frenzy Nov. 20, 2025
Trump Family’s Business Ties to Saudi Arabia Raise Ethics Worries Nov. 18, 2025
A Mideast Development Firm Has Set Up Shop in Trump Tower Nov. 15, 2025
Trump Organization Is Said to Be in Talks on a Saudi Government Real Estate Deal Nov. 15, 2025
Trump’s Team Offers to Keep Some Ballroom Donors Incognito Nov. 1, 2025
Trump’s Son Is Poised to Profit From Pentagon Drone Proposal Oct. 24, 2025
Trump Said to Demand Justice Dept. Pay Him $230 Million for Past Cases Oct. 21, 2025
Where Mideast Envoy Pitched Peace, His Son Pitched Investors Sept. 26, 2025
Trump Aides’ Involvement in Giant Chips and Crypto Deals Draws Ethics Scrutiny Sept. 24, 2025
The S.E.C. Dropped a Complaint Against Its Chairman’s Former Client Sept. 24, 2025
The S.E.C. Drops Efforts to Recoup Funds From Trump Clemency Recipients Sept. 19, 2025
Tiffany Trump Cruised on an Oil Mogul’s Yacht as Her Father-in-Law Talked Oil Deals Sept. 18, 2025
Anatomy of Two Giant Deals: The U.A.E. Got Chips. The Trump Team Got Crypto Riches. Sept. 15, 2025
Trump Family Profits Even With Tepid Launch of Crypto Tokens Sept. 1, 2025
He Asked Tiffany Trump to Marry Him. Then the Deals Started Coming. Aug. 21, 2025
Trump Crypto Firm Announces $1.5 Billion Digital Coin Deal Aug. 11, 2025
Flattery, Lobbyists and a Business Deal: Crypto’s Richest Man Campaigns for a Pardon Aug. 9, 2025
Trump Delayed a Medicare Change After Health Company Donations Aug. 7, 2025
Trump Plans to Give A.I. Developers a Free Hand July 23, 2025
What’s Going on With Trump Media’s Streaming Service? July 14, 2025
The ‘Trump Pump’: How Crypto Lobbying Won Over a President July 9, 2025
Trump’s Finances Were Shaky. Then He Began to Capitalize on His Comeback. July 2, 2025
What Is Trump’s Net Worth? Here’s What We Know and Can’t Know. July 2, 2025
Trump’s Name Could Adorn Tel Aviv Hotel, Becoming a Symbol or a Target June 25, 2025
Trump Mobile Phone Company Announced by President’s Family, but Details Are Murky June 16, 2025
The Trumps Promote a New Crypto Venture: Bitcoin Mining June 16, 2025
‘Trump Inc.’: Filings Show Staff Profited From Being in the President’s Orbit June 15, 2025
A Trump Family Project Spurs Resignations and a Criminal Charge in Serbia June 9, 2025
Buyer With Ties to Chinese Communist Party Got V.I.P. Treatment at Trump Crypto Dinner June 6, 2025
Musk Leaves Washington Behind but With Powerful Friends in Place May 29, 2025
Trump Pardoned Tax Cheat After Mother Attended $1 Million Dinner May 27, 2025
Why Vietnam Ignored Its Own Laws to Fast-Track a Trump Family Golf Complex May 25, 2025
As Trumps Monetize Presidency, Profits Outstrip Protests May 25, 2025
Who Won a Seat at Trump’s Crypto Dinner? May 23, 2025
Hundreds Join Trump at ‘Exclusive’ Dinner, With Dreams of Crypto Fortunes in Mind May 22, 2025
U.S. Formally Accepts Luxury Jet From Qatar for Trump May 21, 2025
The Inside Story of Trump’s Search for a New Air Force One May 19, 2025
U.S. Unveils Sweeping A.I. Project in Abu Dhabi May 15, 2025
Auction to Dine With Trump Creates Foreign Influence Opportunity May 12, 2025
Trump Family Bitcoin Company Announces Plan to Go Public May 12, 2025
Trump Crypto Deals Provoke Senate Backlash and Calls for Investigation May 5, 2025
Trump Sons’ Deals on Three Continents Directly Benefit the President May 5, 2025
At a Dubai Conference, Trump’s Conflicts Take Center Stage May 1, 2025
New Mideast Project Is Latest Trump Company Deal Tied to a Foreign Government April 30, 2025
Secret Deals, Foreign Investments, Presidential Policy Changes: The Rise of Trump’s Crypto Firm April 29, 2025
Trump Family’s Cash Registers Ring as Financial Meltdown Plays Out April 5, 2025
Emboldened by Trump, A.I. Companies Lobby for Fewer Rules March 24, 2025
Musk Is Positioned to Profit Off Billions in New Government Contracts March 23, 2025
Donald Trump Jr. Mixes Business and Politics in Serbia, as Protests There Rage March 19, 2025
Trump Faces Blowback Over Plans for Crypto Reserve March 3, 2025
Trump Signs Order to Create a ‘Crypto Reserve’ March 6, 2025
Under Trump, U.S. Increasingly Pulls Back From Crypto Crackdown Feb. 28, 2025
S.E.C. Declares Memecoins Are Not Subject to Oversight Feb. 27, 2025
Seeking Golf Deal, Trump Meets With Tiger Woods and Saudi Wealth Fund Chief Feb. 20, 2025
A Frustrated Trump Wants His New Air Force One Planes Pronto Feb. 19, 2025
With Truth Social, Trump Has Official Mouthpiece and a Channel for Revenue Feb. 19, 2025
With Congress Pliant, an Emboldened Trump Pushes His Business Interests Feb. 17, 2025
Elon Musk’s Business Empire Scores Benefits Under Trump Shake-Up Feb. 11, 2025
Early Crypto Traders Had Speedy Profit on Trump Coin as Others Suffered Losses Feb. 9, 2025
S.E.C. Moves to Scale Back Its Crypto Enforcement Efforts Feb. 4, 2025
An Illustrated Guide to Trump’s Conflict of Interest Risks Jan. 17, 2025
Albania Gives Jared Kushner Hotel Project a Nod as Trump Returns Jan. 15, 2025
Pardoned by Trump, Manafort Is Back and Looking for Foreign Work Jan. 12, 2025
Saudi-Backed LIV Golf Will Return to Trump’s Doral Resort in 2025 Jan. 7, 2025