Trump's social media company surges in trading debut in a big boost to Trump's wealth

Trump's social media venture soared as much as 59% in its trading debut on Tuesday delivering a potential windfall of billions of dollars to the former president's net worth.

Trading in Trump Media and Technology Group, the company behind the Truth Social app, was so frantic that it was briefly halted at one point. It's trading under the stock symbol DJT, or short for Donald J. Trump.

The surge in shares values a company that had just over $3 million in sales and lost nearly $50 million through the first nine months of last year in the billions of dollars. Trump Media was valued at over $9 billion at one point though it fluctuated depending on the share price which continued to experience heavy trading.