Trump Jr. Received Kalshi Shares Now Worth a Fortune

Donald Trump Jr. has seen the value of his stake in prediction market platform Kalshi increase dramatically after the company’s valuation surged, according to the Financial Times. When he joined the company as a strategic adviser in early 2025, he received shares worth approximately $300,000 as part of his compensation package. He did not invest any of his own money, as the equity was granted directly by the company.

At the time, Kalshi was valued at less than $2 billion. Since then, the company has completed a new funding round that raised its valuation to $22 billion. The Financial Times also reported that Kalshi is already in discussions over another investment round that could value the business at as much as $40 billion.

Kalshi operates a prediction market where users can trade contracts based on the outcome of future events, including elections, politics, sports, and economic developments. Following Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, both Kalshi and its main competitor, Polymarket, experienced rapid growth. Today, the two platforms process billions of dollars in monthly trading volume.

Sources cited by the Financial Times said Trump Jr.'s ownership stake has been diluted through multiple funding rounds. Despite the reduced percentage of ownership, the sharp increase in Kalshi's valuation has significantly boosted the value of his holdings.

During the same period, the Trump family expanded its business interests across several industries that could potentially benefit from policies introduced by the current administration.

Alongside his brother Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr. is also involved in a $1 billion investment fund focused on drone manufacturers and cryptocurrency companies. He also owns a small stake in online firearms retailer GrabAGun and has served as a strategic adviser to a mixed martial arts organization since September last year.

Kalshi declined to comment on the report, while representatives for Donald Trump Jr. did not respond to requests from journalists.

According to the Financial Times, the Trump administration has taken a more accommodating approach toward prediction markets. U.S. regulators have withdrawn or concluded several legal actions involving Kalshi and Polymarket. In May 2025, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) ended its appeal in a dispute with Kalshi. Two months later, the CFTC and the Department of Justice also closed their investigation into Polymarket. Meanwhile, CME Group filed a lawsuit against the regulator after it approved perpetual cryptocurrency futures contracts that Kalshi began offering in late May.

A person familiar with the matter and close to Donald Trump Jr. told the Financial Times that the equity grant and the subsequent increase in Kalshi's valuation were solely the result of the company's business growth and were unrelated to any actions or policy decisions made by President Donald Trump's administration. According to the source, the timing of these developments was purely coincidental