According to the Financial Times, right-wing media mogul and longtime Trump friend Chris Ruddy has become a billionaire as Newsmax's share price continued to soar after going public on Monday, an unlikely outcome for a lossmaking cable channel. Newsmax shares rose more than 70 percent in early trading on Tuesday before widening their gains to more than 150 percent before closing up more than 700 percent on Monday, mirroring the "meme stock mania" that swept the U.S. stock market in 2021. Ruddy, a former New York Post reporter and frequent visitor to Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, owns 39.20 million shares of Newsmax Class A stock, which he valued at $5.60 billion on Tuesday morning.