USA TODAY International Edition
Trump and the $ 10 billion question
Financial disclosure forms released, but worth hard to prove
WASHINGTON Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump claims he’s worth $ 10 billion, but personal financial- disclosure forms released Wednesday make that impossible to prove.
The details of Trump’s vast wealth were spread out over 92 pages in documents released by the Federal Election Commission and show the Republican holding positions with more than 500 companies and organizations, from New York to Dubai.
The financial snapshot shows the real- estate mogul collecting six- figure checks for speeches, owning at least $ 100,000 in gold, receiving a $ 110,000 pension from the Screen Actors Guild and earning $ 588,000 on tickets to his carousel in New York. His fortune includes golf courses worldwide, hotels that bear his name, vineyards in Virginia, jets in Palm Beach, Fla., and licensing deals with companies that want to attach his name to their properties. The Trump brand adorns items from mattresses to vodka to energy drinks sold in Israel.
Trump’s finances are closely watched because the boisterous billionaire has touted his business acumen as his chief qualification in seeking the presidency, declaring to The Des Moines Reg
ister recently that he’s “the most successful person to have ever run for the presidency, by far.”
With a net worth of $ 10 billion, he would also be the richest.
Unraveling the true value of his balance sheets is difficult, though, because assets, income and liabilities are reported to federal regulators in broad ranges, topping out at $ 50 million.
Plus, most of Trump’s wealth is in closely held partnerships that he owns or controls; therefore, Trump can place his own value on those assets. Trump values 23 of his holdings — mostly real estate and aircraft — as worth over $ 50 million. For 55 assets, Trump says, the value is “not readily ascertainable.”
His liabilities are just as significant and difficult to ascertain, with debts of at least $ 265 million. On four loans, he owes over $ 50 million, including the mortgage on Trump Tower in New York City.