'We are in a new era': Trump's bombshell $2.2 billion income haul, the 'Big Player Theory' and what happens when the president becomes the bubble

President Donald Trump earned $2.2 billion in 2025 according to White House disclosures with roughly $1.4 billion from crypto assets. Steve Hanke and Roger Koppl identify this as the logical endpoint of decades-old big player dynamics where discretionary executive power erodes market discipline. The mechanism shifts investor focus away from fundamentals toward politics while legal accountability remains absent for presidents unlike cabinet members.