It’s good for biz to be the President

BEING PRESIDENT has been good for business.

President Trump on Friday provided the first look at how his political career has impacted his complex business holdings and his varied sources of income in a financial disclosure voluntarily made to the Office of Government Ethics.

Several of Trump’s signature properties saw a bump in business during the time period covered in the report, from January 2016 through April of this year.

His Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, which he has visited seven times as President, brought in $37.2 million in income, up from about $30 million it had taken in a year earlier, according to a May 2016 financial report.

The recently opened Trump International Hotel, housed in the Old Post Office building near the White House, brought in $19.7 million.

The hotel, which has hosted a number of high profile parties and events for diplomats and dignitaries since opening in September, is cited in three separate lawsuits arguing that Trump is violating the Constitution’s “emoluments” clause, a ban on foreign gifts and payments.

The 98-page disclosure shows an income of at least $594 million for 2016 and early 2017 and assets worth at least $1.4 billion.

The documents include investments, assets, income, retirement accounts and other holdings.

How much he paid in taxes is not included in the paperwork.

Breaking from tradition, Trump has refused to make his federal tax returns public.

Those returns provide more complete financial information than the personal financial disclosures, which only include broad ranges for income and debts.

Trump refused to sell his business holdings when he entered the White House, which was recommended by government ethics experts. He instead passed the reins of his empire to his sons and created a trust, from which he can draw money any time he likes.

The forms show that Trump reported a wide range of income sources, including $7 million in book royalties, $19.7 million in income from his golf club in Bedminster, N.J.The report shows Trump resigned from more than 500 positions when he created the trust to take over his portfolio.

Trump listed at least $315 million in liabilities, about the same as he reported last year. The President still owes more than $100 million to Deutsche Bank and a similar amount to Ladder Capital Finance, a New York-based real estate investment trust.