Special envoy Steve Witkoff earned $250 million+ while serving in government, including $107 million from Trump-linked crypto venture

On September 9, 2026, financial disclosures obtained by a government watchdog and reported by ABC News showed that Steve Witkoff, President Trump's special envoy for Middle East and Ukraine negotiations, earned nearly $107 million in 2025 from a holding company affiliated with World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the cryptocurrency venture he co-founded with Trump and members of both families. Witkoff and Trump were both listed at one point as "co-founder emeritus" of WLFI, which is run day-to-day by Witkoff's son Zach Witkoff and Trump's three sons. Bloomberg, which first reported the figure, noted the same holding company paid Witkoff roughly $34 million in 2024; the New York Times separately reported that Witkoff's combined earnings while serving in the administration now exceed $250 million.

WLFI has recently secured preliminary approval from the Trump administration Witkoff serves to operate as a bank. World Liberty has said since May 2025 that Witkoff was in the process of divesting and has "no operational role, no financial interest in WLFI deals, and no influence on day-to-day" decisions; White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told ABC News that Witkoff has now "fully divested" from the firm and that his prior commercial activities are unrelated to his diplomatic work. Senate Democrats, including Sens. Adam Schiff, Elizabeth Warren and Chris Murphy, have separately pressed Witkoff for more than a year over his continued financial ties to WLFI while serving as envoy, including his involvement in discussions with a UAE official whose investment firm poured $2 billion into WLFI weeks before the White House granted the UAE expanded access to advanced U.S. AI chips.