Despite debt, Trump still flush

President hardly at risk of landing in poorhouse, experts say

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump reportedly must pay back more than $300 million in loans over the next four years. But financial experts say the notion of Trump going broke anytime soon is farfetched.

Even with a total debt load across his entire business empire estimated at more than $1 billion, they note that he still has plenty of assets he could cash in, starting with a portfolio that includes office and condo towers, golf courses and branding deals that have been valued at

$2.5 billion.

Based on Forbes magazine estimates of the value of his buildings, for instance, selling his partial interests in just two properties, an office complex in San Francisco and a Las Vegas tower that houses a hotel and condos, could bring in $500 million alone.

Trump’s true financial picture has gotten renewed scrutiny in the wake of a New York Times report this week that he declared hundreds of millions in losses in recent years.

But the Times report was quick to note that tax filings alone can’t help determine someone’s net worth.

And several experts said that while the true state of Trump’s financial situation is unclear because of a lack of public information, he is probably not scrambling for money.

Phillip Braun, a finance professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business, said Trump’s minuscule tax payments don’t surprise him, nor do the losses claimed.

“His accountants work really to make sure he doesn’t pay any taxes,” he said.

A better idea of how Trump is faring, Braun said, comes from Trump’s operating profits.

Forbes, which has been valuing

Trump properties for decades for its annual billionaire issue, says Trump’s 40 Wall Street office tower generated $18 million in operating profits in 2019, Trump Tower

$13 million, and Trump’s share in San Francisco’s 555 California Street tower $26 million.

According to Forbes’ latest valuation, even pandemic-reduced prices leave Trump with $2.5 billion worth of properties and other assets, and that is after subtracting his $1.2 billion in debt.

The Times said Trump’s real estate company has $421 million in loans that he has personally guaranteed, with $300 million of that coming due over four years.

The Trump Organization did not immediately respond to an email and phone call requesting comment. Trump dismissed the Times story Monday as “fake news” and said he is “extremely underleveraged.”