According to The Daily Beast, the exchange occurred during a press briefing at the White House before Trump departed for his state visit to the United Kingdom.
United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday told an Australian journalist to “be quiet” after being pressed about whether he was enriching himself while in office.
According to The Daily Beast, the exchange occurred during a press briefing at the White House before Trump departed for his state visit to the United Kingdom.
John Lyons, a correspondent with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, had asked the president whether it was appropriate for a sitting president “to be engaged in so much business activity,” referencing reports that Trump and his family had made billions since his return to power.
“Well, I’m really not. My kids are running the business. I’m here,” Trump replied, before asking Lyons where he is from. “In my opinion, you are hurting Australia very much right now, and they want to get along with me.”
“You know your leader is coming over to see me very soon. I’m going to tell them about you. You set a very bad tone,” the president added, referencing Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has been seeking a face-to-face meeting with Trump, though no date has been confirmed.
As Lyons continued to push on the issue, Trump abruptly told him to be “quiet” while moving on to take another question.
Before the heated exchange, Lyons had asked Trump directly how much wealthier he is compared to when he returned to the White House.
“Well, I don’t know the deals I’ve made for the most part, other than what my kids are doing, they’re running my business,” Trump said. “But most of the deals that I’ve made were made before.
“I’ve built buildings, like I’m building a building here,” he added, pointing toward an area where he said he plans to build a $200 million ballroom at the White House.
Previously, SaharaReporters reported that President Trump had the most lucrative year of his life, with his net worth skyrocketing to a record $7.3 billion, up from $4.3 billion in 2024.
This $3 billion gain catapulted him 118 spots on Forbes 400, landing him at No. 201 this year.
Trump's primary vehicle for enrichment has been cryptocurrency.
His crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, launched in September 2024, with his three sons initially struggled to gain traction.
However, after winning the White House, the project took off, thanks in part to a $75 million investment from crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, who was previously accused of fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a Forbes report.
In January, days before reentering the White House, Trump launched a memecoin, adding hundreds of millions to his pile of cash.
In office, Trump rolled back regulatory enforcement of crypto and signed legislation favorable to the industry, ensuring he would personally benefit from conflicts of interest.
His memecoins, initially tied up for three months, now unlock daily, freeing tens of millions per week. World Liberty Financial, meanwhile, has continued selling tokens, including to opaque buyers, generating an estimated $1.4 billion so far.
A Trump family entity receives a roughly 75% cut of those sales, amounting to more than $1 billion.
The president apparently made plans to sell part of that entity, according to a letter that a court-appointed monitor overseeing the Trump Organization wrote to a New York judge in May.
It remains unclear what percentage the president sold or whether the transaction even happened. The identity of the supposed buyer also remains unknown.
In July, he knocked out a couple of smaller loans, totaling an estimated $15 million, against mansions in New York and Florida. He also loaded up on municipal and corporate bonds. Trump’s balance sheet is now stronger than it has ever been, with an estimated $1.1 billion of liabilities and $8.4 billion of assets, $1.1 billion of which are in liquid holdings.
Most of Trump’s jump in net worth comes from his move into cryptocurrency, which provided him with a substantial sum of money. He still has plenty of coins leftover, set to jump in value as they unlock over the course of his presidency.
Below, Forbes highlights which parts of the Trump fortune improved the most over the last year: Memecoin: +$710 million; Liquid assets: +$660 million; Licensing and management business: +$410 million; Legal victory: +$470 million; World Liberty Financial tokens: +$340 million, and Stablecoin business: +$240 million.
Appellate judges in New York threw out a roughly $500 million fraud penalty in August. Trump’s real-estate licensing business, stalled out for years, has come roaring back to life, with new deals in Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Romania, India, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
Revenues jumped an estimated 580% in 2024 to $45 million, boosting the value of the business by $400 million. In the United States, the president’s golf-and-club portfolio continues to thrive, as profits jumped an estimated 30% in 2024, adding roughly $325 million to Trump’s net worth.