Trump set to gain 36 million shares of Trump Media, valued at $1.25 BILLION

Donald Trump is set to receive 36 million shares of his media company via an earnout bonus. The additional shares will, at current prices, net him nearly $1.3 billion.  

The incentive was part of the deal with the former president when Trump Media & Technology Group executives took the company public in March. 

According to CBS News, for Trump to obtain the shares, $DJT had to trade at or above $17.50 per share for 20 days within a 30-day period. Tuesday marks the twentieth day, and while the price has dipped slightly since yesterday, it is still well above that threshold. 

Although it is almost certain that Trump will receive the bonus, he and other executives are barred from selling their shares for another five months or so, meaning he will not be able to immediately cash out. 

The former president already owns 78 million shares, which is roughly 57 percent of the company. The additional 36 million shares would bring him up to 115 million, with an estimated value of $4.1 billion. 

As the New York Post reports, the TMTG board has the authority to do away with the six-month lockout period and allow Trump to sell his shares in order to pay off some of his mounting legal bills, such a decision could lead other investors to sell as well. As a result, no such move has been considered. 

Many of TMTG's investors are regular Americans who are simply fans of Trump or believe in the mission of the company's largest asset, Truth Social.  

When it first went public, $DJT traded at nearly $80 per share, however in the weeks since, it has declined.  

CEO Devin Nunes placed blame at the feet of a cohort of investors he believed were playing with the stock via an illegal type of short selling and informed those with shares how to avoid being used to facilitate such actions.