Author Stephen King on Tuesday refused to make a big deal of President Donald Trump donating his salary, pointing out his billionaire wealth and the large profits he made from cryptocurrency ventures.
King Downplays Trump’s ‘Donation’
King reacted to Trump’s interview with NBC News in May 2025, where he talked about being the only president, with the “possible exception” of George Washington, to donate his entire salary back to the government. Trump said he received little media attention for this.
Under federal law, the president is paid $400,000 per year, plus an additional $50,000 for expenses.
But King was far from impressed. He said, “Big whoop. Other presidents have done it, and he’s made a couple of billion on crypto.
The Billionaire President
Trump’s cryptocurrency ventures netted him over $1 billion in 2025, the very first year of his presidency. The windfall included over $520 million from the sale of tokens issued by World Liberty Financial and more than $635 million in royalties collected from the Official Trump (CRYPTO: TRUMP) memecoin.
Forbes now estimates Trump’s net worth to be over $6 billion, a significant leap from $2.3 billion in 2024.
The filings have sparked major conflict-of-interest concerns, prompting Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to call for ethical safeguards in the cryptocurrency legislation to block any opportunities for Trump to profit.
Trump, on the other hand, has defended his cryptocurrency earnings, stating that there’s nothing “illegal” or wrong about his billion-dollar cryptocurrency income
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