On its debut day of trading on the Nasdaq, Donald Trump’s social media company saw its shares surge by approximately 16%.

This increase not only boosted the value of Trump’s significant ownership stake but also benefited smaller investors who bought shares as a display of support for the former president.

The merger between Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. and Digital World Acquisition Corp. was completed on Monday, with Trump Media, the operator of the Truth Social platform, replacing Digital World on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

Closing at $57.99 per share, representing a 16.1% rise, the company’s market value reached $7.85 billion. At its peak, the stock saw an increase of approximately 59%.

With Trump now holding nearly 60% of the company’s ownership, his stake is valued at around $4.6 billion, the Associated Press reported.

The majority of investors in Trump Media are individual investors, many of whom are either showing their support for Trump or seeking to profit from the hype surrounding the company, rather than being large institutional or professional investors.

The anticipation of the merger has contributed to Digital World’s stock more than doubling in value earlier this year.

Written by B.C. Begley