I'd venture a guess there was a cash out arrangement during IPO. Alternatively, these shares can be collateral in various types of schemes. Bottom line, even if he was penniless, he’s not anymore.
Trump-and-dump, I insist!
50,000 people sinking $100,000 each into it could generate that $5b
That’s not exactly how it works in the markets. Without going into needless calc one needs a billion pump money to generate 3bn market cap. Think of it like this: there is a bunch of buyers/sellers concentrated from +5% to -5% current market price. Usually, a big volume of money, the side effect of which is "protection" against bursts of volatility. Once the share sellers are overwhelmed, it’ easy to push price up ‘for cheap’ until new sellers get it together and stop this upward movement. This sort of thing is known to become very emotional very fast.
This market reaction seems exaggerated, decoupled from financial reality of the company, which is not unusual, just rare. Whether this is a pump scheme or some sort of confidence vote remains to be seen. I doubt this whole thing is about financial success of "Truth Social". Last thing we need today is another Truth Social. But I may be wrong, and this could be the third option.
EDIT:
Went to have a look at financials. According to an SEC filing from DWAC, Trump Media lost $49 million in the first nine months of last year and brought in $3.4 million in revenue.
It's a cash burner. This is an enterprise that's needs a pair of defibrillator paddles, not a gold medal and validation of the masses. Or an endless stream of cash to keep it alive artificially, exactly how it happened until today. Trump can try to pitch to some of his sponsors, provided there are some stupid/greedy ones left (and there are bound to be some), that when he becomes President...(!!) he's going to flood this company with moneys (wink-wink). Also, at $70 mil annual losses an $8bn company can live for years before going bust. So, the dangers of total annihilation of value are not imminent. Provided market valuation doesn't suddenly fall off a cliff. Then he would be in deep trouble.