While the largest shareholder in terms of both quantity and girth will continue to be Donald Trump until he unloads his stock to pay outstanding judgments, an unfortunately high number of people never learned lessons from the loser’s lengthy list of business busts and bought the stock out of loyalty to the cult leader.
The Washington Post (gift link here) offers a look into the delusion of these so-called “retail buyers,” cultists who have used their savings to buy small lots or individual shares of the DJT stock, which has lost more than half of its value since taking over for the DWAC ticker symbol. For the most part, institutional investors are staying away from the stock, given the fact that it’s not producing revenue and has not attracted users, two things social media companies need to survive.
Seventy-one year-old John Dean McLain, who owns a tree removal service in Oklahoma, invested his “whole nest egg”–$25,000–in the stock at an average value of $66; it’s now trading at $32, but McLain’s not worried: “I know good and well it’s in Trump’s hands, and he’s got plans,” he said. “I have no doubt it’s going to explode sometime.”
The story details how the most faithful on Truth Social are urging others to continue to invest in the company solely as a show of loyalty to Trump, regardless of if it’s a profit-making company. And when people express frustration or doubt about the wisdom of buying more stock, you get labeled as a FUDster, promoting fear, uncertainty and doubt.