After years of being spurned by major banks, former President Donald Trump’s family wealth has found a new home at Citigroup Inc., with his son Eric Trump establishing a trust at the U.S. lender, Bloomberg reports.
The trust, set up at Citigroup, holds some of Donald Trump’s assets, with the former president as beneficiary. Eric Trump signed up as a client following outreach from Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser, who congratulated Trump on his 2016 election win. The arrangement is tightly controlled within the bank, with access limited to key staff including wealth management head Andy Sieg and banker Kent Lucken.
The move comes after Trump publicly criticized JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. for allegedly refusing his money, though both firms deny ideological bias. Eric Trump’s trust is one of several financial arrangements for the former president, who had previously placed assets in a revocable trust managed by his children and added shares of Truth Social parent Trump Media & Technology Group Corp.
Citigroup has navigated the sensitive relationship carefully, as the bank balances wealth management opportunities with ongoing regulatory scrutiny. The firm faced nearly $136 million in fines from the Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in mid-2024 over risk management and data control deficiencies but has been working to resolve the underlying consent orders.
The Trump family’s renewed banking relationships coincide with a surge in wealth driven by new real estate ventures, cryptocurrency projects, and the 2024 election campaign, which has more than doubled Donald Trump’s net worth to $7.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Citigroup’s wealth management division can provide a range of services, from setting up loans using stock as collateral to arranging block trades to avoid market disruptions. The bank also has historical ties to Trump, having financed previous real estate and airline ventures through predecessor firms before the 1998 merger that created today’s Citigroup.
The trust reflects broader efforts by banks to court high-profile clients, while navigating political sensitivities and regulatory demands.
