Donald Trump’s Net Worth: A Comprehensive Breakdown Of The Man’s Wealth

With the recent results of the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, many are curious about Donald Trump’s net worth. He has always been a controversial businessman, and now he is firmly under the spotlight as he has been elected as the next President of the United States. Now that he has been elected, he will be scrutinized for every deal he has ever done, every venture he has undertaken, and every business relationship he has had. Donald Trump, the president in waiting, is accountable for everything that Donald Trump, the businessman has ever done.

What does Trump himself have to say about his wealth? According to Donald Trump, he is worth more than $10.0 billion today.

Why the confusion?

Why is there so much difference between Trump’s valuation and the valuation by other financial sources? There is a difference of almost $6.3 billion between the two! It’s primarily because of the disputed value of Trump’s brand and some individual properties.

Trump did not start at the bottom, as some of his campaign executives had claimed at the beginning of his presidential run. Trump inherited about $60.0 million from his father in 1999.

In the last 25 years, Trump has turned that small fortune into a multi-billion dollar empire. Trump insists that the value of his brand is $3.0 billion, but many in the media dispute this.

They say that Trump’s brand is worth far less. Also, Trump’s official wealth disclosure documents are vague, due to the provision in the law that one has to disclose the exact value of assets only if the value is less than $50.0 million.

Donald Trump’s Net Worth Sources: Hotels, Casinos, Golf Resorts

Donald Trump owns properties both in the United States and in other countries around the world. Initially, he started as a Manhattan-based businessman and then in the ‘90s, he started buying properties in other parts of America.

From the 2000s onward, Trump started expanding his business to other parts of the world like Scotland, Ireland, Dubai, Turkey, Indonesia, Canada, South Korea, Panama, Dominican Republic, Philippines, and India.

Trump works through his apex organization, The Trump Organization, which has interests in real estate development, investing, brokerage, sales & marketing, and property management.

His company owns, operates, invests, and develops residential real estates, resorts, hotels, residential towers and golf courses in different countries. The company also owns several hundred thousand square feet of prime Manhattan real estate.

He earns from his businesses in several industries like real estate, construction, hospitality, entertainment, book and magazine publishing, media, model management, beauty pageants, retail, financial services, board game development, food and beverages, online travel, and helicopter air services.

He also earns from his reality television show, The Apprentice, as well as from his own New York television company that produces other TV programs.

Trump also makes money from retail and in the past, has made money from selling fashion apparel, jewelry and accessories, books, home furnishings, lighting products, bath textiles and accessories, bedding, home fragrance products, small leather goods, bar ware, steaks, chocolate bars, and bottled spring water.

All these businesses are owned collectively by The Trump Organization, of which Trump is the sole owner. Now that Trump is the president-elect of the U.S., he will have to leave the business as continuing to run it will result in a conflict of interest with certain U.S. laws. Currently, his three adult children Eric, Ivanka and Donald Jr. (as well as several unrelated employees) serve as key executives and they run the company.

It remains to be seen what responsibilities each executive will ultimately get when Trump enters the White House. There is little doubt that Trump will have the final word in carving out these responsibilities and passing the responsibility to the select few who will run the company.

The Donald Trump Brand: $660.0 million

There is one more asset to consider in Donald Trump’s net worth: The Donald Trump Brand. This is very difficult to calculate though there is no doubt that Trump’s name is worth something.

History supports this. A failing golf resort that adopted the Trump name turned a profit of $50.0 million a year. Golfers trust the Trump name and to be honest, and Trump works hard to ensure that they continue to do so by ensuring that they get the best facilities.

This is why Trump has been able to sell licenses to use his name on golf courses around the world. The problem is that while Trump claims that his brand is worth $3.0 billion, others peg it at a much lower value, saying that it is more like $660.0 million.

Donald Trump Net Worth Debts

According to Trump’s federal disclosures, 15 items subtract from Donald Trump’s net worth figures. Four of them are listed as “over $50.0 million.” They are: Trump Tower, 40 Wall Street, Trump National Doral, and Trump International Hotel in Chicago. The total value of Trump’s debt comes to about $742.0 million.

Donald Trump’s Annual Income and Growth

As of December 13, 2016, Trump makes at least $476.0 million and up to $600.0 million a year as income. This figure has been taken from his U.S. Government financial disclosure forms, which are most probably true because Trump could go to jail for falsifying as per law.

Any income over $5.0 million a year can simply be listed as “over $5.0 million.” That’s what Trump has done in several cases without giving any further clarification.

10 Biggest Donald Trump Income Sources

Trump National Doral [Golf], Miami, Florida                           -$49.4 million
Trump Ruffin Tower I LLC, Las Vegas, Nevada                        -$45.6 million
40 Wall Street LLC                                                                          -$43.2 million
Trump National Golf Club, Los Angeles, California                 -$21.2 million
Trump Turnberry [Golf], Scotland                                              -$20.4 million
Trump National Golf Club, Bedminster, New Jersey               -$16.1 million
Mar-a-Lago Club, Palm Beach, Florida                                       -$15.6 million
Trump National Golf Club, Washington, DC                             -$14.0 million
Trump International Golf Club, West Palm Beach, Florida   -$12.7 million
Trump National Golf Club, Jupiter, Florida                              -$12.4 million
Total Income from Top Ten Income Sources                            -$250.6 million

Donald Trump’s Bankruptcies

He inherited $60.0 million from his father, but unlike many others, he went about multiplying his wealth. To his credit, he is a billionaire today due to his hard work and determination.

But he has also declared bankruptcy four times so far. Chapter 11 in business is usually used as a debt restructuring tool, so that the business does not sink while the creditors can renegotiate the terms of the debt.

Despite this, Trump today is on dry ground. Assuming that he is worth $3.7 billion today, it means he has multiplied his wealth by at least 61 times.

Donald Trump Scandals

1] Trump University

Trump University LLC, was an American for-profit education company that ran a real estate training program from 2005 till 2010. It is now defunct due to multiple lawsuits filed against it.

It was founded by Donald Trump and his associates and offered courses in real estate, asset management, entrepreneurship, and wealth creation. In 2011, the New York’s Attorney General’s office investigated it for illegal business practices which lead to a lawsuit filed in 2013.

There were also allegations that Trump University had cheated its students by using misleading marketing practices and had taken part in aggressive sales tactics. Trump finally settled all the lawsuits in November 2016 for a total of $25.0 million.

2] Trump Airlines

He Airlines was an airline owned by Trump from 1989 to 1992. It was originally part of Eastern Air Lines and operated domestic flights from New York to Boston, Washington DC, and Orlando. Trump had acquired this airline with the help of a $380.0 million loan from 22 banks in June 1989.

He renamed it the Trump Shuttle. Trump used it for luxury services and as an effort to push the Trump brand. Almost from its start, financial trouble plagued Trump Airlines. The passengers wanted convenience and not a luxury, so the concept never took off.

Then the US Northwest entered an economic depression, and the 1st Gulf War led to fuel prices getting doubled. There was never any profit and finally, Trump sold the ailing airlines to the US Air Group. Trump had to default on his loans to pay off the debt.

3] Donald J. Trump Foundation

This foundation admitted in its IRS filings that it broke several federal rules against self-dealing. According to federal law, charitable organizations like the Trump Foundation cannot use its funding to help their leader’s business interests or families.

It is alleged that Trump used funds from this foundation for use in his presidential campaign. It is also alleged that Trump used this as a slush fund to resolve his legal issues.

The Foundation has admitted that it has transferred assets to a “disqualified person” though it does not give details of how much, when and to whom. The Foundation is also under investigation for soliciting donations without legal permits to do so.

It is also alleged that Trump may have given improper political donations. He is accused of raising money from others, giving it away and claiming credit for the donation. If proved, Trump will need to reimburse all the money he is accused of taking away.

4] Mafia Ties

He has been accused of dealing with the Mafia in New York and Atlantic City in the 1970s. Trump claimed that he was an unwilling participant who got involved without any knowledge but not everyone agrees.

Trump’s lawyer, Cohn, also represented the Genovese family crime boss Tony Salerno. It is alleged that Trump paid twice the market rate to a mobster for the land under Trump Plaza in Atlantic City.

Trump is accused of inviting Robert LiButti, an associate of crime boss John Gotti, on Trump’s yacht and helicopter. Trump’s company also bought nine luxury cars for LiButti. Though Trump was never convicted, his company was forced to pay a fine for gifting cars to LiButti.

5] Four Bankruptcies

Trump has declared bankruptcies four times in 1991, 1992, 2004 and 2009.

A] In the late 1980s, Trump built a new casino in Atlantic City called Trump Taj Mahal by using junk bonds even though he had earlier said that he didn’t need junk bonds. Even though he built the casino, he couldn’t make the interest payments, so his company declared bankruptcy in 1991. He had to sell off his yacht, his airlines and half his ownership in the Taj Mahal casino.

B] In 1992, the Trump Plaza, another of Trump’s Atlantic City casinos, went under after losing more than $550.0 million. Trump had to give up his stake, so he was personally safe from losses. He surrendered his salary and his role in day-to-day operations but got to keep his CEO title. By the end of this sorry affair, he had about $900.0 million in personal debt!

C] In 2004, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts was $1.8 billion in debt. Trump’s company filed for bankruptcy and morphed into Trump Entertainment Resorts. Although Trump was the chairman of the new company he no longer had any controlling stake in it.

D] In 2009, Trump Entertainment Resorts went bankrupt again after the real estate collapsed. Trump resigned from the board, but the company continued to use his name. This was not to Trump’s liking and in 2014, he sued them to remove his name from the company and the casinos. He won, and both his casinos were closed.

Trump bristles at the suggestion that he declared bankruptcy and insists that his companies went bankrupt not him. Trump argues that this is all part of business and nothing illegal. To his defense, he names other famous businessmen like Carl Icahn, Leon Black, and Henry Kravis who declared bankruptcy. Trump says that, “it’s business and the game is not over.” He will work within the laws of the country and be successful again.

6] Antitrust Violations

In 1986, Trump made moves to expand his casino empire into Atlantic City by starting a hostile takeover of two casino companies, Holiday, and Bally. Trump started buying up stock in these two companies so that he would soon have a controlling stake in them.

Bally figured out what was going on and sued Trump for antitrust violations. The company accused Trump of not paying the control premium to its public shareholders by not informing them of his takeover intention.

Trump had to give up his takeover attempt in 1987, but the Federal Trade Commission fined him $750,000 for not informing the authorities of his purchase of stock in these two companies. Trump should have because he had exceeded minimum disclosure levels.

7] Refusing to Pay Workers and Contractors

Contractors, plumbers, dishwashers, and waiters have accused Trump of getting them to work but not paying their dues for services rendered. Some of these payments run into hundreds of thousands of dollars, and several businesses have gone under due to these unpaid bills.

He says this is due to their shoddy workmanship, but there are so many cases that it is hard to believe Trump. These allegations tarnished Trump’s reputation because they showed how he is hurting honest, hardworking Americans on petty causes.

This is unlike the image he is trying to portray that he will drive a hard business bargain with America’s friends and foes.

8] Buying Up His Books

The Trump Campaign bought his book Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again by spending more than $55,000. What this means is that Trump used donor money to buy his book thereby sending the cash back to himself.

The bought copies were given to delegates at the Republican National Convention. This breaks FEC rules because funds from the campaign cannot end up in the candidate’s pocket.

Trump also increased the rent for his campaign offices once he stopped paying for his campaign thereby earning extra money.

9] The Cuban Affair

The US law prohibits any commercial involvement of Americans in Cuba, but Trump has likely been active in Cuba for almost the last two decades. When the Clinton administration loosened some rules in 1998, Trump scouted the island for business opportunities and spent about $68,000 there.

This violates the law. Recently, Trump executives have scouted Cuba, looking for potential golf course opportunities. Trump and his company have not given any detailed replies to any of these allegations.

One executive has said that he went to Cuba because he wants to form a company with Trump to open and run golf resorts in Cuba. It seems likely that these actions by Trump have broken the laws and there will be some punitive action.

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The Future is Wide Open

To say that Trump’s business record has been controversial is putting it mildly. Trump will now have to disassociate himself from his business, as he begins the monumental task of governing America.

Now, Trump is in the unenviable position of enforcing the law. Until now, he made all the decisions and paid the consequences. Now, it will probably be run by his three adult children and some key executives.

Will the Trump business empire continue to grow or will it falter? Can his successors set the same blistering pace that Trump himself set? Will his net worth continue to rise in the future? Like in most cases, only time will tell!