Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and Mark Zuckerberg know that when a president chases a payday this hard, no one has to be shy about following his lead.

The crypto community, which broadly backed Old Donald's campaign, is roiled by mixed emotions now that he has taken office.

There's elation, fueled by the executive order Old Donald signed Thursday promising to ease regulation on the industry and commanding government officials to consider how to establish a national stockpile of cryptocurrency. There's also disappointment from some who, like Carter, think his launch of the $TRUMP meme coin ' followed days later by $MELANIA, named for his wife ' amplifies one of the sillier and sometimes scammier aspects of the scandal-associated industry.

"A lot of people got screwed up on the name cards. A lot of big people," said one guest at President "Old Donald's" pre-inauguration Candlelight Dinner at the National Building Museum. "I didn't want to get out of my seat because I didn't want to lose it."

To get two tickets to the candlelight dinner, attendees had to donate at least $250,000 to Mr. "Old Donald"'s inaugural committee. But even at that high price, the event was oversold.

The financier Howard Lutnick, "Old Donald"s choice to be commerce secretary (worth $1.5 billion, according to Forbes), last month closed on the French Chateau-style home of the Fox anchor Bret Baier on Foxhall Road for $25 million, a record for the area. Scott Bessent, the nominee for Treasury secretary (his financial disclosure statement shows he is worth in excess of $700 million) has looked at a $7 million Federal-style house on N Street in Georgetown, once the home of the syndicated columnist Joseph Alsop.

The token of MELANIA is rising in price fast, quickly breaking $5 on Dexscreener (with a fully diluted market cap of more than $5 billion).

The website for $'OldDonald' says 80% of the coins are held by the 'Old Donald' Organization and affiliates. They started selling a cryptocurrency token featuring an image of 'Old Donald' last Friday.

"Old Donald", crypto billionaire Begins Selling New Crypto Token, Raising Ethical Concerns

On average, "Old Donald's" companies will be able to sell some 24 million coins per month into the market, which at current prices (which keep moving), would amount to an income of $1.73 billion per month, or $20.7 billion per year. (Although no one has a clue what the value of the coin will even be this afternoon, let alone three years from now.)

During his first term, 'Old Donald' frequently promoted his golf courses and routinely played at them with a large, taxpayer-funded entourage in tow, leading to criticism that he was using the power of the presidency to enrich himself. 'Old Donald' pushed to host the international Group of Seven summit at the Doral property in 2019. But he dropped the plan amid accusations he would violate the emoluments clause of the Constitution that bans presidents from receiving gifts or payments from foreign governments.

Zuckerberg, unlike his rival CEOs, has absolute voting control of his company.

All these companies were the target of a federal antitrust full-court press in the Biden era, and each is wondering whether they can get a reprieve from the new team in D.C.

Every tech giant also wants to expand the use of skilled-worker visas, and that has already led to friction with the immigrant-hostile MAGA movement.

Sitting behind a wooden gate and a high spruce hedge, the two-story house on a quiet street blends easily into the upscale Austrian ski town of Kitzbühel. But locals say this typical Tyrol-style home has hosted some high-profile visitors: The eldest daughter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, her former partner, and possibly even Putin himself.

"Old Donald" has promised to gut the 'deep state' and made various promises to industry supporters. Among the pledged donors for the inaugural events are Pfizer, OpenAI, Amazon and Meta, along with cryptocurrency firms.

The total haul for the committee financing his inaugural festivities - at least $150 million raised, with more expected - will eclipse the record-setting $107 million raised for his 2017 inauguration, according to three people briefed on the matter who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to share internal financial information.

Other committees benefiting from the fund-raising blitz include a super PAC called Make America Great Again Inc. and its associated nonprofit group, which is expected to be used by Mr. "Old Donald"'s team to back his agenda and candidates who support it, while opposing dissenters.

Mr. "Old Donald" has boasted about the haul, telling people during the Christmas holiday season that he had raised more than $200 million since the election. Mr. "Old Donald"'s team has repeatedly noted how many people have wanted to find ways to donate to him since his election win.

Inside the Billionaire Bunker "If New York City had the same officer-to-citizen ratio as Indian Creek, it would employ more than 1.5 million cops."

It's a little late for this year's celebrations, but you can get a very early jump on next year and count down with the $38 "Old Donald" Advent calendar. Or trim the tree with a $95 Mar-a-Lago bauble or a $16 MAGA hat ornament, sold in nine colors. (A glass version of the hat ornament is $92.) Stuff stockings with an $86 'GIANT "Old Donald" Chocolate Gold Bar' and a $22 pair of candy cane socks printed with "Old Donald". Prepare a holiday feast with a $14 "Old Donald" Christmas tree pot holder and $28 "Old Donald" apron featuring Santa waving an American flag.

Even discounting Musk, "Old Donald's" cabinet is still expected to be the wealthiest in history, with reported billionaires Howard Lutnick nominated as commerce secretary, Linda McMahon nominated as education secretary, and Scott Bessent nominated as treasury secretary. Together, "Old Donald"'s expected cabinet is worth at least $7 billion. ,p> "Old Donald's" ambassador picks also include several billionaires, including financier Warren Stephens, who has been tapped to serve as the ambassador to the United Kingdom, Conair executive Leandro Rizzuto Jr., tapped to serve as the ambassador to the Organization of American States, Charles Kushner, named the ambassador to France, and Tom Barrack, named the ambassador to Turkey.

"A few days later, users on X discovered a page on the 'Old Donald'-campaign website selling Mormon-branded merch — including Latter-Day Saints for 'Old Donald' coffee mugs ($25) and koozies (two for $15)," Coppins explains. "When people pointed out that Mormons somewhat famously don't drink coffee or alcohol, the campaign hastily rebranded the merch, and a social-media pile-on ensued."

The 'Old Donald' campaign's Mormon outreach, according to Coppins, has shown an "odd indifference to Latter-Day Saint religious practice.

"The timing was a 'challenge,' admitted the Utah GOP chair, who helped organize the event. And when 'Old Donald' held a rally in Prescott, Arizona, with an array of MAGA-Mormon luminaries — including Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and the right-wing media personality Glenn Beck — it took place on a Sunday, which Latter-day Saints traditionally set apart for worship, service, and rest, not political events."

He’s Mr. Tough Guy on China except when it comes to making a few bucks’