Eric Trump, son of President Donald Trump, was hoisted and spun out of a sumo ring by a grand champion in Tokyo on Sept. 1, in a staged stunt that coincided with his trip for a shareholder meeting of Metaplanet, the Japanese cryptocurrency firm he advises. That same day, the company secured approval to issue 550 million new shares to raise about 130 billion yen ($850 million) for bitcoin purchases.
Eric did not address the meeting publicly but posted videos of the sumo encounter on Instagram, captioning the post, “Not every day you get invited to sumo the legend, Yokozuna! Almost had him!” In the first match, Eric and the Yokozuna squared off before the wrestler effortlessly lifted and bearhugged him out of the circular sumo ring called “dohyo.” A second video showed the grand champion spinning Eric around like a helicopter rotor.
The clips went viral online, highlighting the spectacle of a wealthy American businessman turning a traditional Japanese sport into a photo opportunity.
Eric’s Japan trip came weeks after he spoke at the Bitcoin Asia conference in Hong Kong, where he suggested he would “never” rule out a future White House bid. “I’m not saying no, but I’m also not saying yes,” he told Nikkei Asia in an interview published Sunday. His comments followed news that his wife, Lara Trump, would not pursue a Senate seat in North Carolina.
American Bitcoin, a bitcoin mining company Eric co-founded with his brother Donald Trump Jr. debuted on the stock market Wednesday and doubled in value on its first day of trading, valuing the brothers’ stake at well over $1.5 billion. The Trump family also controls roughly 60% of decentralized finance firm World Liberty Financial. Its native token, $WLFI, began trading publicly this week and immediately added about $5 billion in paper value to the family’s holdings.
Ethics watchdogs have raised concerns over the family’s growing influence in cryptocurrency while their father directs U.S. policy that could directly affect the industry.
This story is part of The Rebel Yellow Newsletter — a bold weekly newsletter from the creators of NextShark, reclaiming our stories and celebrating Asian American voices.
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