Trump calls rumors he may sell $3.5B Trump Media stake 'illegal,' calls for investigation

Nov. 8 (UPI) -- President-elect Donald Trump wants legal authorities to investigate what he said were possibly illegal rumors he is going to sell his majority stock stake in Trump Media. He said he has no intention of selling.

In a post on his social media app Trump said Friday, "There are fake, untrue, and probably illegal rumors and/or statements made by, perhaps, market manipulators or short sellers, that I am interested in selling shares of Truth," the Republican and convicted felon said in the post Friday morning.

His share of stock in the company was worth more than $3 billion Friday, propelled upward by his election win.

As the stock rose on Election Day, Morningstar's John Rekenthaler told Quartz the value of the company is tied to Trump's MAGA fanbase enthusiasm.

According to University of Florida business professor Jay Ritter, the company stock valuation is unusual because the company has shown so much financial loss since its 2021 launch.

The value has no relation to the company's real underlying financials.

The company has not actually produced enough revenue to come close to the current company valuation of approximately $6.5 billion.

The Truth Social parent company is Trump Media and Technology Group.

In September it reported a net loss of $19.2 million for the three months ended Sept. 30.

The stock has drawn attention from ethics watchdogs worried that foreign interests could try to use Truth Social to curry favor with Trump.