Whilst on the campaign trail Donald Trump bragged about having a net worth of over £7 billion, but is it fake news? Spear’s takes a look at what Donald Trump’s net worth really is.
Donald Trump, the entrepreneur -turned-president, first began accumulating his fortune through real estate. His first big deal was with the Commodore hotel which he redeveloped into the Grand Hyatt with – what he claims was – a small loan of £700,000 from his father Fred Trump.
The vast majority of his wealth is made from his real estate in Manhattan, where Trump Tower, Trump Park Avenue and Niketown are located.
As so much of Trump’s fortune is tied up in real estate a recent fall in property value in the lower east side of New York has put a significant dent in his wealth. Trump Tower itself is predicted to have lost almost a quarter of its value since 2016, and is now worth an estimated £250 million.
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In 2003, he moved from property to TV and began hosting NBC’s The Apprentice. The show helped to establish Trump’s global fame and he is estimated to have earned £163 million across all 14 series.
Through TV appearances Trump transformed himself into a brand and has donated his name to several products including business-wear, aftershave, chandeliers and spring water.
Trump has also invested heavily in his favourite past-time, golf. He owns 17 golf courses across America, Scotland, Ireland and the UAE. Trump’s private club in Palm Beach, Florida, doubled initiation fees to £14,000 after he became president and the total value of his courses is roughly £500 million.
The 45th president of the United States spent £47 million of his own money on his successful presidential campaign. Since coming into office he’s had designs on increasing his own coffers by introducing massive tax cuts which could save the president up to £10 million a year.
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Although Trump claims, “I took a lot of finance courses at Wharton,” the Trump Organisation’s record for accurately reporting revenues is not the best. Trump representatives were found by Crain’s to have been reporting inflated revenue figures for ten years and in 2016 declared £6.7 billion in revenues, whilst public filings suggest that the company actually earned about £500 million.
Presentation is everything for Trump, appearing wealthy is as important as being wealthy. His penthouse apartment in Trump Tower is worth £45 million and marbled in gold, which he says, is his favourite colour (his second favourite being orange). He has two private aeroplanes and three helicopters, worth £21 million, and has five private residencies across New York, Palm Beach, Beverly Hills and the West Indies.
