Justin Sun appeared on the cover of Forbes due to his $80M investment in WLF
Justin Sun has landed on the daily cover of Forbes, a spotlight moment detailed by Cryptopolitan on March 28, 2025. This recognition comes after Sun poured over $80 million into Donald Trump’s crypto startup, World Liberty Financial (WLF), enabling the U.S. president and his family to pocket approximately $400 million. Sun’s investment kicked off with a $30 million transfer in November 2024, just three weeks after Trump’s election win, followed by an additional $45 million, with 75% of that amount going directly to Trump as per WLF’s structure.
The narrative around Sun’s involvement with WLF is a mix of calculated risk and strategic positioning. WLF’s “Gold Paper” pitch deck, which depicted Trump as a gold-painted comic book hero, lacked substance, offering no real product, liquidity, equity, or credible leadership. Yet Sun saw an opportunity, stating, “I see WLF as a strong player in the financial technology space.” He also dubbed Trump a “cheat code for crypto,” banking on Trump’s influence to boost the industry’s visibility. While the Trump family reaped the financial rewards, Sun saw little profit and couldn’t access his funds, though he was named an advisor to WLF, solidifying his role in the project.
Sun’s market performance with Tron remains a key backdrop to this move. Tron’s transaction volume hit $500 billion monthly in 2024, with 70% of stablecoin activity in Africa tied to the network, per Yellow Card CEO Chris Maurice. However, TRM Labs noted that 58% of 2024’s illicit crypto activity, over $10 billion, flowed through Tron, including $2 billion linked to groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, casting a shadow over its growth.
The Forbes cover, featuring a portrait photo of Sun, marks a high point amid his ongoing challenges. The SEC recently paused its lawsuit against him, which had accused him of wash trading and promoting unregistered tokens, a move that coincided with the agency dropping cases against Coinbase and Kraken after Trump’s return to power. Sun’s $80 million play in WLF, paired with his Forbes feature, underscores his knack for staying at the center of crypto’s biggest stories, navigating both opportunity and controversy with his signature boldness.
