President Donald Trump’s certified annual financial disclosure report, released on Tuesday, showed that first lady Melania Trump earned over $17.2 million in 2025 from her documentary, book sales, and NFTs, or non-fungible tokens
The first lady’s biggest payday, according to the filing, was the licensing fee for her “Melania” documentary, which chronicled her activities during the 20 days leading up to the 2025 inauguration
Amazon MGM Studios paid $40 million to acquire the documentary and $35 million to market it, prompting some Democratic lawmakers to raise concerns that the project was a “pay-to-play arrangement” by Amazon owner Jeff Bezos to “gain political influence or favorable treatment” with the Trump administration. In a statement, Amazon said, “We licensed the film for one reason and one reason only — because we think customers are going to love it.”
“Melania,” which premiered in theaters in January 2026, went on to gross $16.6 million worldwide
In the financial disclosure report, Melania Trump reported earning $10.71 million from the documentary
The report also shows that the first lady earned $6,011,259 “for the sale of NFTs and other collectibles.” Her limited-edition NFTs, which are sold out on her official website, have included an exclusive digital series of photos from the 2024 campaign trail titled “On The Move” and a blue animated MetaRose commemorating National Foster Care Month in 2022
Additionally, Melania Trump reported $521,161 in net proceeds from book sales of “Melania,” her best-selling memoir published by Skyhorse Publishing in 2024
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All told, Melania Trump earned over $17.2 million in 2025, the filing showed
Donald Trump reported earning over $2 billion, around half of which was tied to his cryptocurrency ventures, including token sales through World Liberty Financial and a licensing agreement for Trump-branded meme coins
The filing shed light on the degree to which the Trump family has profited since returning to the White House in January 2025
Donald Trump dismissed questions about whether he was profiting off the presidency on Wednesday, telling reporters that his money is handled by separate institutions and that “everybody is profiting” because “the stock market’s going up” before boarding the new Air Force One jet
The Office of First Lady Melania Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. A White House spokesperson previously told Business Insider that “neither the President nor his family has ever engaged — or will ever engage — in conflicts of interest.”
