Self-made image a mirage, records show

Key takeaways from investigation into Donald Trump’s wealth

Donald Trump built a business empire and won the presidency proclaiming himself a self-made billionaire, and he has long insisted that his father, the legendary New York City builder Fred C. Trump, provided almost no financial help. “I built what I built myself,” the president has repeatedly said.

But an investigation by The New York Times has revealed that Donald Trump received the equivalent today of at least $413 million from his father’s real estate empire. What’s more, much of this money came to Trump through dubious tax schemes he participated in during the 1990s, including instances of outright fraud, the Times found.

In all, the president’s parents transferred well over $1 billion in wealth to their children, which could have produced a tax bill of at least $550 million under the 55 percent tax rate on gifts and inheritances that was in place at the time. Helped by a variety of tax dodges, the Trumps paid $52.2 million, or about 5 percent, tax returns show.

The president declined requests over several weeks to comment for this article.

A lawyer for Trump, Charles J. Harder, provided a written statement. “There was no fraud or tax evasion by anyone. The facts upon which the Times bases its false allegations are extremely inaccurate,” he said. “President Trump had virtually no involvement whatsoever with these matters,” he continued, saying the president had delegated those tasks to relatives and tax professionals. “The affairs were handled by other Trump family members who were not experts themselves and therefore relied entirely upon the aforementioned licensed professionals to ensure full compliance with the law.”

In a statement on behalf of the Trump family, the president’s brother, Robert Trump, said,

PHOTOS BY JOHN LOCHER / AP Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore, left, and center Paul Stastny, right, celebrate after left wing Max Pacioretty, center, scores Sunday in a preseason game against the San Jose Sharks. The Golden Knights begin regular-season play at 7 p.m. today at T-mobile Arena.

DOUG MILLS / THE NEW YORK TIMES President Donald Trump speaks on the phone in the Oval Office of the White House with a photo of his father, Fred C. Trump, behind him.The president has long sold himself as a self-made billionaire, but a New York Times investigation found that he received at least $413 million in today’s dollars from his father’s real estate empire, much of it through tax dodges in the 1990s.