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MemeCore, a Singapore-based crypto network that was vocal in its quest to secure a spot at the Trump dinner, landed in second place with an investment of around $19.7 million, according to a post on X that the company later deleted. MemeCore didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Some buyers didn't make the cut.
Freight Technologies, a Houston-based logistics company, said it spent $2 million on $TRUMP tokens as part of what it called a strategic push to "champion fair and free trade" across the U.S.-Mexico border. The company still finished in 250th place. Freight trades on the Nasdaq as a penny stock and has a market cap of about $6.5 million.
The final leaderboard was calculated using a time-weighted formula that factored in both the size and duration of each participant's holdings, according to the memecoin's official website. That means early buyers who held onto their tokens consistently, like Pinto, could outrank bigger last-minute spenders.
Investors in $TRUMP, as with other meme coins, have to be prepared for big ups and downs.
Immediately after its launch in January, the Trump coin spiked to a $15 billion market cap before crashing within days. It's currently worth about $2.1 billion.
That volatility has created stark winners and losers. Blockchain data shows that more than $5.2 billion in profits flowed to the top wallets, while over 590,000 wallets — mostly small retail traders — collectively lost nearly $4 billion.
Since January, more than $324 million in trading fees have been routed to wallets tied to the project's creators, according to Chainalysis. The token's code automatically directs a cut of each transaction to these addresses, allowing the team to profit from ongoing activity. The blockchain analytics firm said it stopped tracking the president's meme token about two weeks ago, citing a need to refocus resources on paying clients.
The Trump family has reaped enormous financial benefit. Roughly 75% of proceeds from World Liberty Financial and more than 80% of profits from the meme coin have gone directly to the Trump Organization and affiliated entities. The project has also generated hundreds of millions of dollars in trading fees.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., has introduced legislation that would ban sitting presidents from profiting off meme coins while in office.
In a press conference hours before the dinner, Murphy said that "just because the corruption is playing out in public where everybody can see, it doesn't mean that it isn't rampant, rapacious corruption." He called tonight's event "maybe the most corrupt of all of the corruption."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., went further, describing the gathering as "an orgy of corruption" and accusing Trump of using the presidency "to make himself richer through crypto." She called for changes to the GENIUS Act that would bar any president from profiting off stablecoin ventures.
With Republicans in control of both chambers of Congress, Democrats have limited ability to force action.
In response to CNBC's questions about the dinner, deputy White House press secretary Anna Kelly said, "The president is working to secure good deals for the American people, not for himself," adding that he "only acts in the best interests of the American public."
Pinto, who said he still holds most of his tokens, said the risk is worth it.
"I didn't put in more than I'm willing to lose," he said. "I'm fine if it goes to zero."
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