Money Grab/Charge for access to the president
Amazon licenses Melania Trump documentary for $40 million
Amazon MGM Studios agreed in January 2025 to license a documentary about Melania Trump for a reported $40 million, then spent roughly $35 million marketing it. Trump’s 2025 disclosure listed $10.71 million from the project as income for his wife.
What happened
In January 2025, days before Trump returned to office, Amazon MGM Studios won a bidding war for “Melania,” a documentary about the first lady directed by Brett Ratner. Trade reports put the price at about $40 million, with roughly $35 million more for marketing, a figure the production disputed. The Wall Street Journal reported that the bid followed a dinner at Mar-a-Lago between the Trumps and Jeff Bezos after the 2024 election.
The film opened in January 2026 and grossed about $16.6 million worldwide before moving to Prime Video. The Wall Street Journal reported that the first lady’s cut was more than 70% of the $40 million, which works out to about $28 million or more.
Trump’s 2025 financial disclosure, a 927-page filing released by the Office of Government Ethics on June 30, 2026, listed $10.71 million in net proceeds from the film’s license agreement for 2025. The same filing listed $521,161 from Skyhorse Publishing for the “Melania” memoir. Of the first lady’s reported $28 million share, $10.71 million had reached the Trumps by the end of 2025, according to the president’s own form.
Who benefited
Melania Trump’s reported share of Amazon’s payment is more than 70%, about $28 million. $10.71 million of it appears as 2025 net proceeds on the president’s annual disclosure, which covers his spouse’s income. Amazon’s $40 million outlay produced a $16.6 million box office, so the fee was paid regardless of how the film performed.
Who wanted something
At the time of the deal Amazon held federal cloud contracts and faced an antitrust case brought by the Federal Trade Commission. Jeff Bezos had met the Trumps at Mar-a-Lago weeks before the bid. Amazon and the White House both said the project was chosen on merit through a competitive process.
Who lost out
No public money changed hands. The cost falls on anyone who needs federal decisions affecting Amazon, from cloud procurement to the FTC’s antitrust case, made without reference to a $10.71 million payment to the president’s wife.
Why it matters
A company with business before the federal government agreed to pay the president’s spouse a reported $28 million or more for a film about her. The first $10.71 million became public only on June 30, 2026, 18 months after the deal was reported, and only because it had to appear on Trump’s annual filing.
Sources VarietyTheWrapU.S. Office of Government Ethics (primary)U.S. Office of Government Ethics (primary)