Former US Donald Trump received $5.75 million in royalties over the past 18 months for “Our Journey Together,” a coffee-table book of photos from his presidency.
The former president used a private family company to publish a work of mostly taxpayer-subsidised material, then boosted sales with donor funds.
According to Forbes, Trump, in a financial released last week, reported $5.75 million in royalties in connection with a publishing agreement for “A MAGA Journey.”
That title was the initial name for “Our Journey Together,” which largely displays photos by Trump’s official White House photographer.
The images were already in the public domain and available for anyone to use, but the report said Trump added his own captions.
A spokesperson for his publisher, a company co-founded by him and a former campaign staffer named Sergio Gor, said “Our Journey Together” sold more than 500,000 copies.
The representative, however, refused to offer documentation to back up that figure, which Forbes was unable to independently verify.
NPD BookScan, an industry data service, tracked 10,200 sales at retailers through January 2023 and does not track purchases directly from a book’s website, which appears to have been a major sales avenue for “Our Journey Together.”
The book originally sold for $75, with signed copies going for $230, Forbes reported on Sunday.
Trump’s political operation did its part to boost sales, and in 2022, the former president’s joint fundraising committee and political action committee paid Winning Team Publishing, which released the book, $231,000.
“Our Journey Together’s” $5.75 million payout dwarfed the other royalty payments Trump reported receiving over the past 18 months.
“The Art of the Deal,” published in 1987, brought in somewhere between $100,000 and $1 million, according to the filing, which lists the income of Trump’s older books in broad ranges.
Four other books each earned him $5,000 to $15,000, one made $2,500 to $5,000 and 10 earned less than $200.
Trump’s disclosure identified the payments for “Our Journey Together” as coming from a company named Gold Standard Publishing LLC.
“The payments were made from Winning Team Publishing,” said a spokesperson for Winning Team. “We have alerted those who filed the paperwork.”
Trump also disclosed that Winning Team Publishing paid his wife, Melania, $250,000 in licensing fees. The spokesperson said that payment was for promoting “Our Journey Together.”
This April, Winning Team Publishing released a follow-up, “Letters to Trump,” charging $100, with autographed copies priced at $400.
The 320-page book features correspondence with Trump from the past 40 years, along with his commentary. Unwitting contributors include Kim Jong Un, Alec Baldwin and Hillary Clinton.