The Big Take

A Crypto Billionaire’s Path From Pariah to Trump Moneyman

Justin Sun was facing an SEC fraud case, but $90 million of Trump coins later, he’s doing business with the president’s family. 

Justin Sun in New York in July 2025.
Justin Sun in New York in July 2025.

Photographer: Chris Buck for Bloomberg Businessweek; stylist: Oscar Sanchez/Dry Clean Only; hair and makeup: Emme George

After descending the stairs from his Airbus A330, the Chinese-born crypto billionaire Justin Sun bent down and placed a palm on the Los Angeles tarmac, as if to prove to himself he’d really reached the US. Then he stood and threw a celebratory fist in the air. It was May 16, and the cross-country victory tour of President Donald Trump’s biggest crypto benefactor was just beginning.

Sun’s excitement was understandable. For years he hadn’t set foot in the US amid federal investigations that could have ruined his business. Now, after buying more than $90 million worth of two of the Trump family’s cryptocurrencies, he was returning as the president’s guest and business associate.

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