Trump Jr.-backed 'drug Olympics' suffers $85.5 billion loss, stock plummets

The "Enhanced Games," an event heavily promoted by Donald Trump Jr., has suffered a significant financial and athletic failure. The operating company, Enhanced Group, reported a staggering net loss of $61.9 million for the second quarter, with revenues only reaching $17.7 million. The company attributed the losses to event and listing costs.

Trump Jr., a partner at the investment firm 1789 Capital, had championed the games, suggesting they would showcase "true competition and freedom" by removing restrictions on athletes. Billionaire Peter Thiel was also an early investor. However, the event's athletic outcomes fell far short of expectations. Out of 42 participating athletes, a high percentage used performance-enhancing drugs like testosterone and human growth hormone. Despite this, only one athlete, swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev, broke an existing world record. In one track event, an athlete not using drugs even outperformed those who were.

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I apologize to everyone who watched. I think it was not what was promised.

The event's lack of success has drawn criticism, even from within the Trump family. Lara Trump, Donald Trump's daughter-in-law, apologized on her podcast, stating the event was "not what was promised." The Enhanced Group went public with a valuation of $1.2 billion, but its stock has since dropped sharply. Both the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had previously denounced the games as a "dangerous and irresponsible farce."

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true competition and freedom