200+ People Paid $1.8M Each to Attend a Dinner with Donald Trump Where They Could Potentially Influence Him

For weeks, President Donald Trump’s meme coin project pushed a promotion: top holders of the crypto asset would get to attend an exclusive dinner with the president

President Donald Trump’s meme coin project pushed a promotion for weeks: Top holders of the crypto asset would get to attend an exclusive dinner with the president, and an even more select group of people would get to meet the president and receive a VIP tour.

More than 200 people heeded the call, putting up an average of $1.8 million each to buy the $TRUMP coin. But it was unknown who the vast majority of the invitees were, and the White House wouldn’t say, leaving the 44-character identification numbers or aliases tied to their crypto wallets as the only public information about their identities.

But through their attendance at the dinner, NBC News has been able to identify more than a dozen previously unknown $TRUMP coin power players, or individuals who were gifted tickets from them, ranging from celebrities and crypto executives to people from across the world. Some of the people identified by NBC News are from outside the U.S., though their current nationalities could not be determined.

The event was a spectacle: Luxury cars snaked their way into Trump’s northern Virginia golf club as protesters lined the streets, denouncing the event as an unethical way for a president to make money or allow others to potentially influence him through the purchase of his meme coin.

Some of the 220 attendees traveled long distances to be there, according to Austin-based Michelle Bystritsky, who attended with her husband, Dennis Bystritsky, and her brother Jack Tietz.

“The crowd … felt like a mix of company representatives, crypto enthusiasts, influencers, and some celebrities (we met Lamar Odom there, which was also pretty cool),” Bystritsky wrote in an Instagram direct message, referring to the former NBA star.