Trump Jr. got $300k Kalshi stake as it eyes margin bets
Kalshi has applied to let some users trade on margin, but told CNBC it will avoid sports & culture markets.
The hit
Kalshi reportedly gave Donald Trump Jr. around $300,000 in equity when he joined as a strategic advisor in January 2025, according to the Financial Times. The stake has since been heavily diluted & its current value is unknown, the FT reports. Kalshi was worth under $2bn then; a May 2026 release put it at $22bn. This week, Kalshi applied to the CFTC to allow margin trading, though it told CNBC it would avoid offering margin on its sports event contracts & its culture & ‘mention’ markets.
Why it matters
Some have pointed to the Trump administration’s perceived support for prediction market platforms like Kalshi & Polymarket via the CFTC, according to Moneywise. Trump nominee Michael Selig heads the CFTC, which has backed prediction markets in gambling lawsuits in Minnesota, New York & Arizona. Moneywise says Trump Jr. & Kalshi did not respond to its request for comment, nor did the White House or the CFTC reply on the potential conflict of interest.
The record
| Trump Jr. equity stake | at onboarding, since heavily diluted (Financial Times, Jan 2025) |
|---|---|
| Related filing | seeking approval for single-stock perpetual futures on Apple, Nvidia, Tesla (Wall Street Journal, September) |
What happens next
Watch for the CFTC’s decision on Kalshi’s margin-trading application.
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