While President Donald Trump often highlights his decision to forgo a presidential salary, his financial gains in 2025 tell a different and far more lucrative story. The former businessman has transformed courtroom battles into a significant revenue stream, amassing staggering sums through settlements with some of the world’s largest corporations. This unconventional form of income has not gone unnoticed, drawing sharp criticism from political figures like Senator Bernie Sanders, who views these multi-million dollar payouts as a troubling sign for American democracy.
The series of legal victories began with major tech giants. Earlier this year, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, agreed to a $25 million settlement with the president. This lawsuit stemmed from the suspension of Trump’s accounts following the January 6th riots. Not long after, YouTube followed suit, finalizing a $24.5 million settlement under similar circumstances. These platforms had previously justified their bans on the grounds of preventing the incitement of violence, but the legal challenges resulted in substantial financial payouts to the sitting president.
The trend extended beyond social media. The platform now known as X, formerly Twitter, settled with Trump for $10 million after permanently banning his account. In a more traditional media move, Paramount and CBS agreed to a $16 million payout related to a lawsuit over a CBS interview. Senator Sanders, in a viral social media post, claimed the total benefit from CBS was even higher, combining the settlement with a future $20 million in advertising and programming from a prospective owner, bringing the alleged total from that single entity to $36 million.
This is what kleptocracy looks like.
In 2025, Donald Trump has received:
$3 billion: mostly from crypto
$940 million: law firms
$400 million plane: Qatar
$36 million: CBS
$25 million: Meta
$24 million: YouTube
$16 million: ABC
$10 million: XNow $230 million from DOJ?
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) October 22, 2025
Senator Bernie Sanders responded to these reports with a single, powerful word: “kleptocracy.” He compiled a list of the various sums Trump has reportedly received this year, which also included billions from crypto ventures and hundreds of millions from law firms and foreign gifts. Sanders capped his list with a jaw-dropping figure: a potential $230 million that Trump is now seeking from the Department of Justice, the very agency he oversees as president, as compensation for the cost of past federal investigations into him.
This situation presents a profound ethical question for the nation. The president argues that he is merely defending his rights and has suggested he would donate such funds to charity. However, critics see a dangerous precedent where the immense power of the presidency could be used to secure personal wealth from both private corporations and government agencies. The debate forces a conversation about where savvy business ends and a conflict of interest begins, challenging traditional notions of how a sitting president should interact with the legal and corporate worlds.
