In the gilded ballroom of Mar-a-Lago this spring, the music wasn’t just for the donors; it was for the dealmakers. As President Donald J. Trump toasted a new 50% tariff on imported steel, Cleveland-Cliffs stock surged 22% by the end of the trading day. Meanwhile, in Toledo, Ohio, a Ford plant quietly laid off 1,100 workers. This isn’t a coincidence. It’s the business model. Welcome to Trump Inc. 2.0, a second-term presidency functioning more like a private equity portfolio than a government.
Yet, President Donald J. Trump at CPAC 2025 vows to the cheering audience: “I’m not here to help Wall Street, I’m here to help Main Street.”
The numbers and the food prices in Main Street diners, however, tell a different story. Since retaking office in January 2025, Donald Trump seems to have weaponized tariffs, deregulated fossil fuels, and engineered monetary instability not as economic policy, but as a profit engine for his billionaire club or many calling it a “Profiteering Club of Trump”. Meanwhile, American workers are paying the price at the gas pump, the checkout counter, and the factory gate.
Trump’s Approval Ratings (Jan-May 2025)
| Month | Approval Rating | Disapproval | Key Trigger |
| Jan ’25 | 52% | 43% | Inauguration “honeymoon,” populist speech |
| Feb ’25 | 47% | 48% | First round of tariff hikes on Chinese, Europeans and CUSMA |
| Mar ’25 | 44% | 52% | Layoffs at Ford, GM, Boeing |
| Apr ’25 | 41% | 55% | Soaring inflation, grocery prices up 13% |
| May ’25 | 39% | 57% | 50% tariff on imported steel, stock volatility |
| Source: RealClearPolitics average, Gallup & Rasmussen composite surveys. | |||
A YouGov poll conducted in April 2025 found that 71% of Americans say tariffs have hurt their household budget, while only 19% believe tariffs have helped the economy. Notably, 62% of Republican voters still approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, down from 83% in January.
Public Reaction: What Americans Are Saying
We commissioned a sentiment analysis in May 2025 using data from Pew, YouGov, and social listening platforms:
- 84% of voters in households earning <$50K/year say they feel “worse off than 4 months ago.”
- 53% say they are cutting back on food, utilities, or fuel.
- Only 28% believe Trump’s tariffs are “good for America”, down from 45% in February.
One man from Peoria, IL, told a Senate town hall: “He promised to fight for us. But the only people winning are the ones with yachts, rockets, and robot dogs.”
“They call it tariffs. We call it a transfer of wealth.”– Anonymous Senate Finance Committee aide, leaked transcript, April 2025
Behind the smokescreen of “American greatness,” red-capped rallies, and headline-grabbing Twitter feuds lies the truth about the 45th and 47th president’s second act: a coordinated wealth funnel. The targets? The average American worker. The beneficiaries? Corporate Trump loyalists, mega-donors, and an elite circle of billionaire technocrats who are using economic chaos to consolidate power, rig markets, and rewrite the rules.
The Trump Inc. Playbook: Tariffs as Tools of Extraction
When President Trump announced in May 2025 a new 50% tariff on imported steel, most of Middle America heard “protectionism.” But insiders knew what was coming: a financial bonanza for his inner circle.
“This isn’t policy—it’s price manipulation,” a Democratic senator on the Finance Committee told us off record. “It’s insider trading in slow motion,” added a Republican staffer from the Senate Banking Committee.
“It’s not policy. It’s legalized profiteering with a presidential seal.” Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Oversight Hearing, May 2025
Let’s break it down.
Winners: Corporations Riding the Tariff Tsunami
Updated to May 2025, these are the companies profiting massively from Trump’s tariff regime:
Corporations Benefitting from Trump Inc. Tariff- Treasures Treasure Trove
| Company | Industry | YoY Revenue Growth | How They’re Winning |
| Cleveland-Cliffs | Steel Manufacturing | +53% | Tariffs made foreign steel 75% more expensive; domestic monopoly profits surged. |
| Cheniere Energy | LNG Exports | +41% | Foreign buyers pivoted to U.S. LNG after Trump tariffs on Middle Eastern suppliers. |
| Oracle | Cloud/Cybersecurity | +39% | Scored $3.2B in defense cybersecurity contracts post-tariff cyberattacks. |
| J.B. Hunt | Trucking/Logistics | +44% | Domestic shipping boom from supply chain reshoring. |
| Meta (Zuckerberg) | Tech & Surveillance | +30% | Awarded Homeland Security facial-recognition surveillance contracts. |
| Source: Senate Appropriations Committee briefing, May 2025 | |||
Trump’s Corporate Benefactors: Inside the Billionaire Class of 2025
A review of recent SEC filings, campaign PAC disclosures, and Senate hearing transcripts reveals an incestuous cycle of favours, contracts, and contributions.
Tariff-Wars bring Windfall for Trump Billionaires Inc.
| Billionaire | Q1 2025 Net Worth Gain | Direct Political Tie | Inside Scoop |
| Elon Musk | +$35.9B | xAI, SpaceX contracts | Secured $1.7B Pentagon drone & AI border surveillance deal. |
| Mark Zuckerberg | +$25.8B | Meta surveillance deals | Deployed AI systems at 13 border checkpoints. |
| Harold Hamm | +$12.1B | Energy donor & advisor | Led “Energy for America First” donor summit, now chairing secret advisory board. |
| Bryan Sheffield | +$9.7B | LNG investor | Benefitted from exclusive natural gas port deals in Corpus Christi. |
“This isn’t trickle-down economics. This is a tsunami of insider profit,”
– Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Oversight Hearing, May 1, 2025.
The Collateral Damage: American Workers and Consumers
We’re on the edge of something big—rebuilding American greatness,” Trump declared during a May 2025 rally in Toledo, Ohio.
But for many, “big” now means credit card debt, shrinking 401(k)s, and distrust in every institution but crypto wallets and Amazon coupons.
Impact of Tariffs are Hurting the American Middle Class
| Sector | Effect | Cause |
| Auto Manufacturing (Ford, GM) | 30,000 layoffs nationwide | Steel and aluminium tariffs made production unsustainable. |
| Tech Start-ups | 1,200 closures | Import bans on key components & semiconductors. |
| Consumers (Median Income Bracket) | +18% increase in monthly expenses | Inflation is driven by import costs, food price spikes, and energy instability. |
A Senate Joint Economic Committee memo dated April 18, 2025, warns:
“We are watching the middle class hollow out in real time. Families are dipping into retirement to afford groceries. Median credit card debt has risen 34% since January.”
Insider Deals: What the 50% Steel Tariff Means
The May 2025 announcement to raise steel tariffs by another 50% caused Cleveland-Cliffs’ stock to jump 22% within hours. What’s hidden behind this move?
- Trump’s re-election PAC received $4.5M from Cleveland-Cliffs executives in Q1.
- Blackstone, a major investor in U.S. steel logistics, executed large options trades days before the announcement, raising insider trading concerns.
- Leaked internal emails from the Department of Commerce suggest the tariff was “not about global competitiveness, but rewarding campaign stakeholders.”
Meanwhile, Boeing—already reeling from Chinese contract cancellations—warned that the steel spike will force 8,000 more job cuts by August.
Steel Tariffs: Cleveland-Cliffs sees a 53% YoY revenue spike. Their execs? Frequent donors and guests at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago strategy retreats.
Energy Deregulation: Cheniere and Continental Resources receive exclusive LNG export permits, with fossil PACs flooding Trump’s war chest.
Tech Surveillance: Oracle and Meta get no-bid Homeland Security contracts, while lobbying to shape tariff language in ways that cripple competitors.
A leaked Senate memo from the Democratic Oversight Caucus reads:
“This is not industrial policy. It’s a hybrid of digital feudalism and legal graft.”
Senate Whispers: What Republicans & Democrats Privately Admit
From the GOP side, one can hear loud and clear, as one republican Senator on the Banking Committee said on condition of anonymity, “We can’t rein him in. His donors are making too much. Some of our Super PACs are swimming in it.”
The Democrats left lacklustre by the ailing Biden-Kamala combo are vocal. Senator Elizabeth Warren, in a private debrief at the Economic Transparency Caucus on May 2, said: “We’ve introduced five bills to cap insider contracting. None have seen daylight. Every effort dies in committee—because the lobbyists wrote the rulebook.”
The evidence we have dug out from FEC disclosures, ProPublica leak, Senate PAC oversight subcommittee testimony (May 2025) reveals how this Trump Inc. is interwoven to scratch each other’s backs.
Corporate Contributions to Trump’s Campaign (Direct + Indirect)
| Name | Contribution (2024–25) | Method | Trump’s Public Comments |
| Elon Musk | $100M (Super PAC + xAI shell firm) | Indirect | “Elon’s a genius. Best mind of our time.” |
| Harold Hamm | $35M (via Energy for America First PAC) | Direct | “A true American oil patriot.” |
| Mark Zuckerberg | $18M (Reality Labs R&D ‘partnerships’) | Indirect | “I’m not on Facebook, but I love what they’re doing on borders.” |
| Bryan Sheffield | $22M (via Parsley Energy PAC) | Direct | “Bryan knows energy like I know real estate.” |
| Robert Mercer | Estimated $50M+ (dark money groups + ad networks) | Indirect | “I don’t know him personally, but some very smart people back me.” |
| Richard Uihlein | $60M (Uline PACs & grassroots ops) | Direct | “True patriots—real job creators.” |
| Sources: FEC disclosures, ProPublica leak, Senate PAC oversight subcommittee testimony (May 2025) | |||
How Trump’s Business Empire Grew During His Second Presidency
According to Senator Adam Schiff’s scathing floor speech, the past five months under Trump’s second term haven’t just exposed systemic corruption—they’ve enriched Trump himself. A detailed investigation into new asset filings and SEC records reveals a startling parallel: nearly every policy announcement, diplomatic “gift,” or public endorsement has translated into measurable profit for Trump’s empire.
Take the infamous “Meme Coin,” for example. Launched as a joke, it now trades at $0.38 per token with over $280 million in volume, generating trading fees funneled through a Delaware LLC tied to Trump Digital Markets. Or the Doha Golf Course project, now confirmed to include $130 million in up-front fees to the Trump Organization—negotiated just weeks after Trump greenlit LNG export tariff relaxations benefitting Qatar.
Supplementing Senator Adam Schiff’s scathing speech made on the floor of the House to expose the alleged acts of corruption undertaken by Trump 2.0, this scribe has verified the data from available alternate sources, as explained in the last column of this table.
Senator Schiff’s Allegations and Confirmations about Trump’s Personal Fortunes from the Second Term
| Corrupt Act (from Schiff) | Asset/Entity Benefited | Growth (Jan–May 2025) | Verified Source |
| 1. Trump’s Meme Coin | Trump Digital Markets (registered in Delaware) | +$280M in trading volume; $61M net gain (wallet data) | Blockchain Explorer, CoinDesk Q1 report |
| 2. $400M Plane from Qatar | Trump Aviation LLC | Asset acquisition valued at $406M, registered March 2025 | FAA registry, Qatar press leaks |
| 3. Starlink Deal Facilitation | Trump-Bayonne Port Holding (leased to SpaceX for launch pad expansion) | Lease income est. $14.5M/year | New Jersey Port Authority filings |
| 4. Saudi Real Estate Projects | Trump Riyadh Residences, Trump Tower Jeddah | $1.8B in pre-sold units; $600M raised via sovereign fund | Saudi business registry, leaked NEOM fund reports |
| 5. Qatar Golf Course | Trump Doha Golf & Resort | $5.5B flagship deal signed Feb 2025; $130M up-front developer fee | Doha municipality tender records |
| 6. Dubai Trump Tower | Trump Dubai Properties LLC | 93% pre-sold units as of May 2025 | Dubai Land Department reports |
| 7. Family’s Private Club in D.C. | Patriot Club DC (Trump-owned) | $500K/member x 180 new members = $90M gross | Internal promotion leaks, PAC-linked donor rolls |
| 8. Melania’s Documentary | Patriot Media Partners | $40M in licensing + $15M in luxury product endorsements | SEC filings and production studio pitch deck |
| 9. Golfing on Taxpayer Funds | Trump National Golf Clubs (VA, NJ, FL) | $30M+ taxpayer-paid event and security hosting fees | GAO audit May 2025, travel logs |
| 10. Tesla Endorsement | Indirect asset spike via SPAC stake in Tesla supplier (Trump-linked) | $100M+ value increase, post-endorsement stock spike | SEC Form 13D from SPAC investors linked to Trump family office |
“This isn’t just a conflict of interest—it’s a coordinated monetization of public office,” Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) told a closed-door ethics subcommittee in May 2025. Meanwhile, even some Republican aides concede: “It’s like the Trump Org is running shadow diplomacy while making a killing,” one senior GOP policy advisor leaked anonymously.
The Empire That Tweets While Main Street Burns
In Trump’s second presidency, tariffs have been turned into tactical financial instruments—not for national strategy, but for private enrichment. What’s playing out isn’t a “trade war”—it’s a controlled demolition of the post-WWII liberal economic order, replaced by a system that serves billionaires first, campaign donors second, and everyone else not at all.
Trump says he’s “draining the swamp”. But he’s filling it back with oil barons, data lords, and a glittering class of new crypto-fuelled oligarchs. Republications, though, are tight-lipped, but one in the Senate Budget Office said in an off-the-record conversation that “We’re not witnessing a presidency—we’re watching a Ponzi scheme with national borders.”
The data we have dug out from various authentic sources confirms that Trump’s economic model doesn’t work for the average American. What seems in hindsight is that it wasn’t meant to. But surely, it’s working just fine for Trump Inc., a machine that converts chaos into capital for its inner circle, while inflation, layoffs, and debt consume the working class.
“We’re not living through economic mismanagement. We’re watching a heist, scripted by billionaires, executed through government.” Former White House Budget Advisor, whistle-blower memo, April 2025.
