When it comes to cryptocurrency, Donald Trump's youngest son actually became his father's启蒙者 (enlightener). Now, this NYU sophomore, not yet 20 years old, has already accumulated massive wealth.
At a January inaugural event, Barron made a rare public appearance introduced by his father, eliciting cheers. Image Source: ANGELA WEISS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Original Title: "Why Does 19-Year-Old Barron Trump Have a Net Worth of $150 Million?"
"Have we got a tall son — Barron? Has anyone heard of him?" Donald Trump joked at a January inaugural event. His rarely seen youngest son, standing about 6'8", rose and waved to the crowd. "He said, 'Dad, you've got to go on the Joe Rogan podcast,'" Trump boasted proudly, claiming Barron's insights helped him win over more young voters.
Trump also stated that thanks to his 19-year-old son, he learned some things about cryptocurrency, which became a key source of the family's rapidly growing wealth.
Barron taught his father what a "wallet" is and, less than two months before the 2024 presidential election, co-founded the cryptocurrency company World Liberty Financial with his father and brothers. For most people, advising parents to invest in crypto isn't wise, but then again, most parents aren't likely to become president – Barron's situation was different. After his father won the election, World Liberty exploded. According to Forbes estimates, this venture increased the Trump family's wealth by over $1.5 billion, with about 10% ($150 million) belonging to Barron.
Barron was born in 2006, the son of Trump and his third wife. He was just 9 years old in 2015 when his father announced his presidential campaign at Trump Tower. Compared to other presidential children, Barron has always been the most low-profile. He moved to Washington months after his father entered the White House in 2017, reportedly attending a private school in Maryland with annual tuition exceeding $50,000.
According to the 2020 biography "The Art of Her Deal," Melania renegotiated the prenuptial agreement in 2018 to secure better inheritance terms and more involvement in the family business for her son. However, it seems Barron only became involved with the World Liberty project in 2024 when he left for college and his father ran for president for the third time – and his first attempt yielded huge returns.
Barron has not only grown taller but also wealthier since his father first became president.
In September 2024, DT Marks Defi LLC, which holds the Trump family's stake in World Liberty, received a total of 22.5 billion crypto tokens named $WLFI.
The Trump side promoted World Liberty and licensed the project to use the Trump brand name. In return, DT Marks Defi LLC would also receive 75% of World Liberty's revenue after it achieved its first $15 million in earnings. According to financial disclosure documents Trump filed as president, he held a 70% stake in DT Marks Defi LLC as of the beginning of this year, with his family holding the remaining 30%. Sons Eric, Don Jr., and Barron were all listed as co-founders. If the three split the 30% equally, each would get 10%, though subsequent agreements may have reduced their shares.
Initially, this 10% stake wasn't prominent. World Liberty's tokens could not be resold or transferred after purchase, and sales were mediocre. After Trump won the election, cryptocurrency entrepreneur and billionaire Justin Sun announced a $75 million investment in the project (perhaps not coincidentally, after Trump took office, the SEC suspended its investigation into Sun in February 2025). Sales took off almost immediately. According to company and customer disclosures, by August 2025, World Liberty had sold approximately $675 million worth of tokens. Barron's after-tax proceeds were about $38 million.
In March of this year, World Liberty announced another product – the dollar-pegged stablecoin USD1. The coin's market capitalization is about $2.6 billion, suggesting the operating company behind it is valued at approximately $880 million. An entity owned by the Trump family appears to hold about a 38% stake in this project, with Barron's share estimated to be worth around $34 million.
Then in August, World Liberty struck a deal with Alt5 Sigma, a publicly traded medical company attempting to transform into a crypto treasury firm. Under the deal, Alt5 exchanged 1 million shares, 99 million warrants (which would be worthless if the stock price remained below $7.50; as of October 2, the share price was $2.78), and 20 million warrants with a higher exercise price for $750 million worth of $WLFI tokens. Alt5 also used previously raised funds to purchase $717 million worth of World Liberty Financial tokens, with over $500 million flowing to the Trump family company. Barron's after-tax share was about $41 million.
Additionally, Barron holds approximately 2.25 billion World Liberty tokens, representing 10% of the 22.5 billion tokens initially allocated to the Trump family-affiliated company. Forbes initially valued these tokens at $0 because they were non-transferable. But in August 2025, token holders voted to unlock 20% of the tokens (excluding the founders' portion). Future votes will decide whether to unlock the remaining tokens and whether to allow the Trump family and their investment partners to trade their holdings. The small number of tokens circulating on the market trade for around $0.20 each, but because the founders' portion remains locked, Forbes still applies a significant discount to their valuation. Calculated together, Barron's 10% token holding is currently valued at approximately $45 million.
Adding all these assets together, Barron's net worth is just over $150 million – no small sum for a 19-year-old college sophomore. Barron currently has no other known significant assets, but with this wealth alone, he could pay the $67,430 annual tuition at NYU's Stern School of Business over 2,200 times.
Additional reporting by Dan Alexander.
