The French “whale” who bet $30 million on a Trump White House win via Polymarket has raked in $48 million in profits on the wager, according to the crypto-based betting platform.
The anonymous bettor, who goes by Théo, controlled four separate accounts on the platform that each made wagers on Trump winning the Electoral College and the popular vote, along with some money on Republican candidates in swing states.
On Wednesday morning, projections showed former president Donald Trump claiming a victory over Vice President Kamala Harris to become the 47th president of the United States – catapulting Théo and his massive gains to the top of Polymarket’s all-time winnings board.
The Theo4 Polymarket account is sitting on about $22 million in profits, while the trader’s three other accounts – Fredi9999, PrincessCaro and Michie – saw a combined $26 million.
Media outlets have questioned the French trader’s motives in placing such large amounts of money on Trump, but Théo said the Polymarket moves were simply good bets.
“My intent is just making money,” he told The Wall Street Journal during a Zoom call last week.
“I have absolutely no political agenda,” the trader wrote in a follow-up email to the paper.
The trader’s risky bets paid off bigtime as the mysterious figure held onto about $3 million in unrealized losses the day before the election while polls continued to predict a neck-and-neck race.
Former president Donald Trump appears to have clinched the White House with a sweeping “red wave” victory across several swing states, according to The Associated Press as of Wednesday afternoon.
Polymarket, along with other newly popular election betting platforms like Kalshi, is now trying to position itself as the more accurate race predictor.
“Last night, Polymarket proved the wisdom of markets over the polls, the media, and the pundits,” the company said in a statement on X. “Polymarket consistently and accurately forecasted outcomes well ahead of all three, demonstrating the power of high volume, deeply liquid prediction markets like those pioneered by Polymarket.”
The morning before Election Day, the betting site said Trump had a 58.6% chance of winning the presidency while Harris’ odds stood at 41.4%, according to the Polymarket site.
Meanwhile, the candidates appeared to be tied – each with support from 49% of registered voters – in NBC News’ last poll before the election, released on Sunday.