President Donald Trump defended his family's business dealings during his presidency as they continue to undergo scrutiny.
Speaking to CNBC, Trump said the presidency is so powerful practically any business venture could be considered to have inside information.
"If they buy an energy efficient truck, they have inside information," Trump said in the interview. "I tell my kids, 'stay away,'" he claimed. "But they also have a life. You know, they were doing business long before I ever thought of ... running for president."
Scrutiny increased after the president filed his 2025 annual financial disclosure. It revealed he made $1.4 billion dollars in the first year of his second term, largely from cryptocurrency-related ventures.
The annual disclosure, filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, provides a detailed account of Trump's income, assets and liabilities across hundreds of business entities. The filing shows his cryptocurrency businesses earned substantially more than his hotels, golf clubs and licensing operations, NBC News noted.
Much of the income came from World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency company backed by Trump and members of his family. The filing lists nearly $800 million tied to the venture, including more than $520 million from token sales and roughly $250 million from the sale of business interests.
The disclosure also shows approximately $635 million in income linked to sales of the $TRUMP meme coin through Trump-affiliated entities. Combined with earnings from World Liberty Financial, Trump's cryptocurrency ventures generated more than $1.4 billion in reported income during the reporting period.
The latest filing marks a significant change from the previous year's disclosure, when World Liberty Financial accounted for $57 million in reported income, a fraction of the latest figure. The rapid growth coincided with Trump's return to office and his administration's embrace of cryptocurrency through regulatory changes and support for digital asset legislation.
Outside cryptocurrency, Trump's real estate and hospitality businesses continued to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. His portfolio of golf clubs, resorts and hotels brought in more than $500 million in combined income during 2025, with several Florida properties remaining among his highest-earning assets, according to AP News.
The filing also lists more than $80 million from legal settlements involving media companies and roughly $52 million from overseas licensing agreements connected to development projects that use the Trump name.
