Trump’s Library Draws Major Gifts as Lawmakers Promise Financial Scrutiny
A changing vision for Miami
In March, Trump shared designs for a 47-story tower on donated land in downtown Miami. The images showed golden escalators, a full-size Air Force One and a large statue of Trump raising his fist, recalling the 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Trump told reporters he does not “believe in building libraries or museums” and said the structure would “most likely” be a hotel. That differs from the traditional library the foundation described to the IRS last year.
Donations and political scrutiny
Tens of millions of dollars have come from media and technology companies that settled lawsuits with Trump. His June financial disclosure lists $56.5 million in settlement money from ABC, Meta and Paramount as paid to the foundation, and $8 million from X as paid to Trump himself; it does not say whether any of X’s money reached the foundation.
The nonprofit also takes donations through a payment processor whose board includes Donald Trump Jr., according to its fundraising portal. SoftBank told Congress in July that it had given the foundation $50 million in January. Democrats have promised investigations into the library’s finances, and Senator Elizabeth Warren said she would investigate and hold any wrongdoing accountable.
Foundation structure and filings
The first funding group, the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Fund, was incorporated in Florida in December 2024. That came days after ABC agreed to pay $15 million toward the library to settle a defamation lawsuit over an inaccurate on-air claim by anchor George Stephanopoulos; a jury had found Trump liable for sexual abuse.
A new foundation was incorporated in Florida in May 2025, naming Eric Trump, Boulos and attorney James Kiley as trustees. The original fund was dissolved in September after it failed to file a required annual report. The foundation’s October 2025 filing projected $50 million in revenue and about $6 million in spending.
Key points
- Democrats have pledged to investigate the library’s finances when they take control of Congress in January.
- Trump’s proposed 47-story Miami tower could become a hotel, rather than a traditional library.
- The foundation’s June disclosure lists $56.5 million in settlement money from ABC, Meta and Paramount.
- Whether Qatar’s Boeing 747 will be displayed at the library remains unsettled.