Trump’s Financial Report Shows His Business Empire Expanding

Trump’s Financial Report Shows His Business Empire Expanding
Former President Donald Trump attends the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 287 mixed martial arts event at the Kaseya Center in Miami on April 8, 2023. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)
Tom Ozimek
4/15/2023
Updated:
4/15/2023
0:00

Former President Donald Trump has filed a personal financial disclosure report, which shows the former president’s vast business empire—valued at around $1.2 billion—expanding since his return to private life.

The 101-page report (pdf) was filed with the Federal Election Commission as he campaigns to secure the Republican nomination for president in 2024.

Trump’s business acumen, which he campaigned on ahead of the 2016 election and has repeatedly highlighted since then, appears in sharp focus in the filings.

Since leaving office in January 2021, Trump has approximately doubled his number of business holdings, with a total estimated value of at least $1.2 billion.

In terms of income, the filing provides limited information because it reports income in broad ranges, unlike the disclosures Trump had to file while president that showed specific figures.

Still, the disclosure shows Trump remains a very wealthy man. Over the course of 2021 and part of 2022, Trump’s business empire generated at least $282 million.

For instance, Trump reported making over $5 million in speaking engagements since leaving office. A number of his real estate holdings and golf clubs—including Hudson Waterfront Associates, Fifty-Seventh Street Associates, Ireland Enterprises, and Pine Hill—each generated over $5 million in income.

Royalties from Trump’s famous memoir “The Art of the Deal” made him between $100,000 and $1 million. Other Trump books like “Think Like a Champion” and “Time to Get Tough” made less than $15,000.

In terms of business entities, among his newer ventures is Trump Media, which he holds a 90 percent stake in and includes his Truth Social platform. Trump Media is valued at between $5 million and $25 million, per the disclosure.

A number of other ventures are valued within the same range of $5 million to $25 million, including: Trump International Hotels Management, Trump Ferry Point, and Excel Venture.

A total of 19 businesses were valued at over $50 million, the disclosure shows, including Fifty-Seventh Street Associates, Jupiter Golf Club, and Mar-A-Lago Club.

A Trump campaign spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment on the disclosure.

Former President Donald Trump speaks during an event at Mar-a-Lago in West Palm Beach, Fla., on April 4, 2023. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Former President Donald Trump speaks during an event at Mar-a-Lago in West Palm Beach, Fla., on April 4, 2023. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Net Worth

Forbes estimates that, as of April 15, Trump’s net worth amounts to $2.5 billion, making him the 1255th richest individual in the world.
In 2016, the last year before Trump assumed the presidency, his net worth was estimated by Forbes as around $4.5 billion.

Trump repeatedly said in the past that the presidency wasn’t making him any richer.

In 2019, when Trump’s net worth was estimated at $3.1 billion—well over a billion less than in 2016—the former president said he was unconcerned that becoming president was costing him a lot of money.

“Whether I lost $2 billion, $5 billion, or less, it doesn’t make any difference,” Trump told reporters in October 2019. “I don’t care. I’m doing this for the country. I’m doing it for the people.”

“If I had it to do again I would do it in an instant, because who cares, if you can afford it, what difference does it make?”

Historically, the U.S. presidency has served as a springboard to greater wealth, a trend that held true for the eight presidents before Trump.

According to a study of presidential net worth before and after taking office conducted by the American University in Washington, D.C., the eight presidents prior to Trump saw their net worth go up by between 45 percent (Ronald Reagan) and 6,150 percent (Bill Clinton). The study was done in 2017.

Trump is the only billionaire to have served as president of the United States.