Trump's wealth jumped from $2.3 billion to $6.5 billion in two years in office, raising alarms about conflicts of interest and the slow erosion of American democracy.

• Trump's net worth nearly tripled during his presidency, an unprecedented situation with a sitting president running active businesses.
• Saudi Arabia put $2 billion into Jared Kushner's fund, widely seen as a payoff tied to his being Trump's son-in-law rather than a normal investment.
• Policy decisions are being shaped by what benefits Trump's businesses rather than what helps ordinary Americans.
• Modern democracies rarely die by coup; they decay when an elected leader quietly dismantles the system from inside, and that process is already underway in the US.
• Trump openly admires foreign strongmen who face no checks on their power, and is using a known autocratic playbook to weaken democratic guardrails.

Outlook: Expect more moves that blur the line between Trump's personal business interests and US policy, with democratic institutions facing continued pressure.