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Business and personal
45th and 47th President of the United States Tenure
Shutdowns Speeches
Opinion polls Legal affairs
Impeachments   | ||
Before running forpresident of the United States in 2016,Donald Trump pursued a career as a businessman, with a focus on renovating skyscrapers, hotels, casinos, and golf courses. His extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner, and role on theNBC reality showThe Apprentice have made hima well-known public figure in American life for nearly half a century.
Trump began his career at his fatherFred Trump's real estate company, Trump Management, in 1968 which he took over in 1971 and later renamedthe Trump Organization in 1973. He expanded its business toManhattan, where his father's financial and political backing enabled him to do his first deals, demolishing and renovating landmark buildings. Trump entered various businesses that did not require capital funding, including licensing his name to lodging andgolf course enterprises around the world. Building on his public persona in the New York tabloid press, he later starred in the reality TV showThe Apprentice.
Trump partly or completely owned several beauty pageants between 1996 and 2015. He has marketed his name to many building projects andcommercial products.
After winning the2016 presidential election and beinginaugurated in January 2017, Trump resigned all management roles within the Trump Organization and moved his business assets into arevocable trust managed by his sonsDonald Jr. andEric.[1]
Trump began his real estate career at his father's company,[2] Trump Management,[3] which focused on middle-class rental housing in the New York Cityboroughs ofBrooklyn,Queens, andStaten Island. One of Trump's first projects was the attempted turnaround of the troubled Swifton Village apartment complex inCincinnati, Ohio, which his father,Fred Trump, had purchased at foreclosure for $5.7 million in 1962, equivalent to $57 million in 2023.[4] Fred and Donald Trump became involved in the project. By the time Trump graduated from college in 1968, he was receiving the 2019 equivalent of $1,000,000 a year in untaxed gifts from his father.[5] At age 23, he made an unsuccessful commercial foray into show business, investing $70,000 to become co-producer of the 1970 Broadway comedyParis Is Out![6]
He was made the president of the company in 1971 and began using "The Trump Organization" as an umbrella brand.[7][8] In that year, at the age of 25, he also moved to Manhattan, where he took part in larger construction projects and used glitzy architectural design to foster media attention.[9]In 1973, theJustice Department alleged that the Trump Organization discriminated against prospective black tenants, rather than just screening out low-income applicants as they said. The Department of Justice said that black "testers" were sent to more than half a dozen buildings and were denied apartments, but a similar white tester would then be offered an apartment in the same building.[10] Ultimately the Trumps' company and federal officials signed an agreement under which the Trumps made no admission of wrongdoing, and under which qualified minority applicants would be presented by the Urban League.[11][12]
By 1973, Trump as president of the Trump Organization oversaw 14,000 apartments across Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. In 1978, the city selected his site on theWest Side of Manhattan as the location for itsJacob Javits Convention Center, after finding that he was the only bidder who had a site ready for the project.[11] He received abroker's fee on the property sale.
Trump's first major deal in Manhattan[13] was the development of theGrand Hyatt Hotel in 1978 next toGrand Central Terminal. The aging brick facade of the Commodore Hotel was sheathed in glass, and the existing lobby of the hotel was replaced by an atrium.[14] The Commodore was thus presented as a remodeled Hyatt hotel at its opening in September 1980, helping to bring Trump to public prominence.[14][15] Part of this deal was a $1 million loan Fred Trump's Village Construction Corp. made to help repay draws on a Chase Manhattan credit line Fred had arranged for Donald as he built the hotel, as well as a $70 million construction loan jointly guaranteed by Fred and the Hyatt hotel chain. Fred was a silent partner in the initiative, due to his reputation having been damaged in New York real estate circles, after investigations into windfall profits and other abuses in his real estate projects, making Donald the frontman in the deal. According to journalist Wayne Barrett, Fred's two-decade friendship with a top Equitable officer, Ben Holloway, helped convince them to agree to the project.[13] Donald negotiated a 40-year tax abatement for the hotel with the city, in exchange for a share of the venture's profits. The deal helped reduce the risk of the project and provided an incentive for investors to participate.[16]
In 1981, Trump purchased and renovated a building that would become the Trump Plaza, onThird Avenue in New York City.[17] Trump made this into anapartment cooperative, in which tenants partly owned the building.[17]
In 1983, Trump completed development ofTrump Tower, a 58-story skyscraper inMidtown Manhattan. The project involved complicated negotiations with different parties for theBonwit Teller building, the land, and the airspace above a neighboring building. When negotiations were completed in 1978,The New York Times wrote "That Mr. Trump was able to obtain the location ... is testimony to [his] persistence and to his skills as a negotiator."[18]
Trump Tower occupies the former site of the architecturally significant Bonwit Tellerflagship store, which Trump demolished in 1980 after purchasing the site.[19][20] There was public outrage when valuableArt Deco bas-relief sculptures on its facade, which had been promised to theMetropolitan Museum of Art by Trump, were destroyed on the orders of the Trump Organization during the demolition process.[19][20] In addition, the demolition of the Bonwit Teller store was criticized for a contractor's use of some 200 illegal Polish immigrant workers, who, during the rushed demolition process, were reportedly paid 4–5 dollars per hour for work in 12-hour shifts.[21][22] Trump testified in 1990 that he rarely visited the site and was unaware of the illegal workers, some of whom lived at the site and who were known as the "Polish Brigade". A judge ruled in 1991 that the builders engaged in "a conspiracy to deprive the funds of their rightful contribution", referring to the pension and welfare funds of the labor unions.[23] However, on appeal, parts of that ruling were overturned,[24] and the record became sealed when the long-running labor lawsuit was settled in 1999, after 16 years in court.[21][22]
Trump Tower was developed by Trump and theEquitable Life Assurance Company, and was designed by architectDer Scutt ofSwanke Hayden Connell.[25] Trump Tower houses both the primarypenthousecondominium residence of Donald Trump and the headquarters of the Trump Organization.[26] The building includes shops, cafés, offices, and residences. Its five-level atrium features a 60-foot-high waterfall spanned by a suspended walkway, below a skylight.[27] Trump Tower was the setting of the NBC television showThe Apprentice including a fully functional television studio set.[28] When the building was completed, its condominiums sold quickly and the tower became a tourist attraction.[29]
Harrah's at Trump Plaza opened in Atlantic City in 1984. The hotel/casino was built by Trump with financing by Holiday Corp.[30] and operated by the Harrah's gambling unit of Holiday Corp. The casino's poor results exacerbated disagreements between Trump and Holiday Corp.[31] Trump also acquired a partially completed building in Atlantic City from the Hilton Corporation for $320 million. When completed in 1985, the hotel/casino became Trump Castle. Trump's wife,Ivana, managed the property.[32]
Trump acquired theMar-a-Lago estate inPalm Beach, Florida, in 1985 for $5 million, plus $3 million for the home's furnishings. In addition to using the home as a winter retreat, Trump also turned it into a private club with membership fees of $150,000. At about the same time, he acquired a condominium complex in West Palm Beach withLee Iacocca that becameTrump Plaza of the Palm Beaches.[33]
In 1980, repairs began onCentral Park'sWollman Rink, with an anticipated two-and-a-half year construction time frame. Because of flaws in the design and numerous problems during construction, the project remained unfinished by May 1986 and was estimated to require another 18 months and $2 million to $3 million to complete.[34][35] Trump was awarded a contract as the general contractor in June 1986 to finish the repairs by December 15 with a cost ceiling of $3 million, with the actual costs to be reimbursed by the city. Trump hired an architect, a construction company, and a Canadian ice-rink manufacturer and completed the work in four months, $775,000 under budget.[35] He operated the rink for a year and gave some of the profits to charity and public works projects[36] in exchange for the rink'sconcession rights.[37][35] Trump managed the rink from 1987 to 1995. He received another contract in 2001 which was extended until 2021.[38][39] According to journalistJoyce Purnick, Trump's "Wollman success was also the stuff of a carefully crafted, self-promotional legend."[38] While the work was in progress, Trump called numerous press conferences, for example for the completion of the laying of the pipes and the pouring of the cement.[40] In 1987, he also unsuccessfully tried to get the city to rename the landmark after him; the Trump logo is prominently displayed on the railing encircling the rink, on theZamboni,[38] on the rental skates,[39] and on the rink's website.[39][41]
Trump unveiled a plan to construct a miniature city within New York City on the "largest available undeveloped tract" of land on the island ofManhattan on November 30, 1984.[42] The Television City proposal, later called Trump City, would consist of "nearly 8,000 apartments and condominiums for up to 20,000 people, almost 10,000 parking spots, some 3.6 million square feet of television and movie studio space, and some 2 million square feet of 'prestigious' stores."[43] To stand above all other buildings would have been an uncommonly tall skyscraper for the time, to be twice the height of the 76-story buildings beneath it.[43] An organization of celebrities called Westpride, consisting of such individuals asJerry Seinfeld,Christopher Reeve, and others, was formed and fundraised in opposition to the proposal.[43] MayorEd Koch denied Trump tax breaks to help him develop his proposal, instead giving them toNBC to thwart the possibility of them relocating fromRockefeller Center to Trump's concept.[43]
Trump acquired thePlaza Hotel in Manhattan in 1988. He paid $400 million for the property and once again tapped Ivana to manage its operation and renovation.[44]
Later in 1988, Trump acquired theTaj Mahal Casino inAtlantic City, New Jersey, in a transaction withMerv Griffin andResorts International.[45] The casino was opened in April 1990, and was built at a total cost of $1.1 billion, which at the time made it the most expensive casino ever built.[46][47] Financed with $675 million injunk bonds[48] at a 14% interest rate, the project enteredChapter 11 bankruptcy the following year.[49] Banks andbondholders, facing potential losses of hundreds of millions of dollars, opted torestructure the debt. In late 1990, Trump and Westpride negotiated an alternative proposal to scrap Trump's original concept for Trump City and instead buildRiverside South, devoid of Trump's tall skyscraper and instead consisting of a park and shorter buildings than the originally proposed 76-story ones.[43][50] Architecture criticPaul Goldberger wrote forThe New York Times in August 1991, "Mr. Trump knew that it would be a freezing day in August before his own plan could ever win approval and, like any skillful politician, he jumped on the opposition bandwagon so deftly that he made it look like his own."[43][50]
The Taj Mahal emerged from bankruptcy on October 5, 1991, with Trump ceding 50% ownership in the casino to the bondholders in exchange for lowered interest rates and more time to pay off the debt.[51] He also sold his financially challengedTrump Shuttle airline and his 282-foot (86 m)megayacht, theTrump Princess.[48][52][53] Trump would gain the financial backing for Riverside South fromHong Kong-based businessmen for around $90 million, which would help pay for dues on the property Trump owed to banks and onback taxes, with Trump collecting a 30% ownership stake and maintaining daily construction. According to a lawyer close to the negotiations, the agreement almost fell apart after Trump "used a string of foul language, including racial epithets regarding Asians" during the negotiations. The agreement helped Trump avoid personal bankruptcy after having to file for corporate bankruptcy four times prior.[43]
The Taj Mahal property was repurchased in 1996 and consolidated intoTrump Hotels & Casino Resorts, which filed for bankruptcy in 2004 with $1.8 billion in debt, filing again for bankruptcy five years later with $50 million in assets and $500 million in debt. The restructuring ultimately left Trump with 10% ownership in the Trump Taj Mahal and other Trump casino properties.[53] Trump served as chairman of the organization, which was renamed Trump Entertainment Resorts, from mid-1995 until early 2009, and served as CEO from mid-2000 to mid-2005.[54]
Although Trump has never filed forpersonal bankruptcy, hotels and casino businesses of his have declaredbankruptcy[55] six times between 1991 and 2009 due to its inability to meet required payments and to re-negotiate debt with banks, owners of stock and bonds and various small businesses (unsecured creditors).[56][57] Because the businesses usedChapter 11 bankruptcy, they were allowed to operate while negotiations proceeded. Trump was quoted byNewsweek in 2011 saying, "I do play with the bankruptcy laws—they're very good for me."[58][59]
The six bankruptcies were the result of over-leveraged hotel and casino businesses in Atlantic City and New York:Trump Taj Mahal (1991),Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino (1992),Plaza Hotel (1992),Trump Castle Hotel and Casino (1992), Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts (2004), andTrump Entertainment Resorts (2009).[55][60] Trump said "I've used the laws of this country to pare debt. ... We'll have the company. We'll throw it into a chapter. We'll negotiate with the banks. We'll make a fantastic deal. You know, it's like onThe Apprentice. It's not personal. It's just business."[49]
In 1996, Trump acquired a vacant, 70-story office building at40 Wall Street in Manhattan, renovated it, and branded it asThe Trump Building.[61] In 1998,Conseco and Trump purchased the General Motors Building for $878 million fromCorporate Property Investors.[62][63][64] The group received a $700 million loan fromLehman Brothers for the purchase and Trump reportedly only committed $15 to $20 million of his own money to the deal.[65] Trump raised the controversial sunken plaza where few pedestrians had ventured, which had been criticized by Huxtable[clarification needed], and installed his name in four-foot gold letters.[66] In 2003, Trump and partners sold the building for $1.4 billion, then the highest price paid for a North American office building, toMacklowe Organization.[67][68]
After his father died in 1999, Trump and his siblings received equal portions[citation needed] of his father's estate valued at $250–300 million.[69]
In 2001, Trump completedTrump World Tower, a 72-story residential tower across from theUnited Nations Headquarters.[70] Trump also began construction onRiverside South, which he dubbedTrump Place, a multi-building development along theHudson River. He continued to own commercial space inTrump International Hotel and Tower, a 44-story mixed-use (hotel and condominium) tower onColumbus Circle which he acquired in 1996,[71] and also continued to own millions of square feet of other primeManhattan real estate.[72]
Trump acquired the former Hotel Delmonico in Manhattan in 2002. It was re-opened with 35 stories of luxury condominiums in 2004 as theTrump Park Avenue.[73]
Trump has owned a house on NorthRodeo Drive in theBeverly Hills, California/Los Angeles area, bought for $7 million, since 2007. He bought a home next door in 2008 fromOmar Bongo, the president ofGabon who would die in office in 2009, for $10.35 million. Trump sold the second LA home, built in 1981, for $9,500,095 in 2009 for an $850,000 (8%) loss. The second house went back on the market in mid-2016 listed at nearly $30 million.[74]
Trump haslicensed his name and image for the development of a number of real estate projects including two Trump-branded real estate projects in Florida that have gone into foreclosure.[75] The Turkish owner ofTrump Towers Istanbul, who pays Trump for the use of his name, was reported in December 2015 to be exploring legal means to dissociate the property after the candidate's call to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States.[76]
Trump also licensed his name to son-in-lawJared Kushner's 50-storyTrump Bay Street, aJersey City luxury development that has raised $50 million of its $200 million capitalization largely from wealthyChinese nationals who, after making an initial down payment of $500,000 in concert with the government's expeditedEB-5 visa program, can usually obtain United States permanent residency for themselves and their families after two years.[77] Trump is a partner withKushner Properties only in name licensing and not in the building's financing.[77]
In 2012, the 1290 Avenue of the Americas skyscraper in Manhattan wasrefinanced; Trump had a 30% stake in the building. The refinancing led to $211 million of debt being accrued with the state-ownedBank of China. This was the first instance of a Chinese bank engaging incommercial mortgage-backed securities in the United States. The Bank of China sold the debt in 2012 into the market, and thus no longer had "any ownership interest in that loan" thereafter, it stated. A 2017 document filed in New York City erroneously listed the Bank of China as a currentcreditor due to a mistake by loan servicer organizationWells Fargo.[78][79][80]
The Trump Organization operates manygolf courses and resorts in the United States and around the world. The number of golf courses that Trump owns or manages is about 18, according toGolfweek.[81] Trump's personal financial disclosure with theFederal Election Commission stated that his golf and resort revenue for the year 2015 was roughly $382 million.[82][83]
In 2006, Trump bought the Menie Estate inBalmedie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, creating a golf resort against the wishes of local residents[84] on an area designated as aSite of Special Scientific Interest.[85][86] A 2011 independent documentary,You've Been Trumped, by British filmmaker Anthony Baxter, chronicled the golf resort's construction and the subsequent struggles between the locals and Donald Trump.[87] In December 2015, Trump's appeal objecting to an offshore windfarm (Aberdeen Bay Wind Farm) within sight of the golf links was denied.[88] Despite Trump's promises of 6,000 jobs, in 2016, by his own admission, the golf course has created only 200 jobs.[89] In June 2019,Scottish Natural Heritage ruled that the golf course had "destroyed" the sand dune system, causing permanent habitat loss, and recommended that the SSSI status be revoked.[90] The special status was removed in December 2020.[91]
In April 2014, Trump purchased theTurnberry hotel and golf resort inAyrshire, Scotland, which was a regular fixture inthe Open Championship rota.[92][93] After the2021 United States Capitol attack, the organizer of the championship,The R&A, announced that The Open would not be held again at Turnberry as long as its links to the Trump Organization remained.[94][95]
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In 1983, Trump'sNew Jersey Generals became a charter member of the newUnited States Football League (USFL). Before the inaugural season began in 1983, Trump sold the franchise toOklahoma oil magnate J. Walter Duncan, and bought it back after the season. He then attempted to hire longtimeMiami Dolphins coachDon Shula, but the deal fell apart because he was unwilling to meet Shula's demand for an apartment inTrump Tower. Trump ended up hiring formerNew York Jets coachWalt Michaels.[96][97][98] The USFL played its first three seasons during the spring and summer, but Trump convinced the majority of the owners of other USFL teams to move the USFL 1986 schedule to the fall, directly opposite theNational Football League (NFL), arguing that it would eventually force a merger with the NFL, which would supposedly increase their investment significantly.[99]
Before the 1985 season, Trump signedHeisman Trophy-winning quarterbackDoug Flutie to a $7 million 5-year personal-services contract. That made Flutie the highest-paid pro football player at the time, as well as the highest-paidrookie in any professional sport.[100] After the season, the Generals merged with theHouston Gamblers. Trump owned 50% of the newly merged team, which would stay in New Jersey and retain the Generals nickname. At the time, Trump boasted "it's probably the best team in football." (New Jersey and Houston both had good but not great seasons in 1985: they each made the playoffs but lost first-round games.)
The Generals never played another game.[101] The 1986 season was cancelled after the USFL won apyrrhic victory in anantitrustlawsuit against the NFL: the NFL technically lost the suit, but the USFL was awarded just $3.00 in cash damages. The USFL, which was down to just 7 active franchises from a high of 18, folded soon afterward.[96][102]
Trump had expressed an interest in purchasing theCleveland Indians for $13 million in a February 15, 1983 letter sent byKenneth Molloy to team presidentGabe Paul. Trump increased his offer to $34 million later that same year. His lack of commitment to keep the franchise inCleveland beyond three years cost him any chance of completing the acquisition.[103]
Trump remained involved with other sports after the Generals folded, operating golf courses in several countries.[96] He also hosted several boxing matches in Atlantic City at the Trump Plaza, includingMike Tyson's 1988 fight againstMichael Spinks, and at one time acted as a financial advisor forTyson.[96][104][105]
In 1988, Trump bought a thoroughbred racehorse named "D.J. Trump" for $500,000 who was trained byAllen Jerkens. The horse never raced due to a viral infection and developed serious leg problems. The vets performed a drastic procedure to help its hooves grow back, but it could never race. The horse died three years later in 1991.[106]
In 1989 and 1990, Trump lent his name to theTour de Trumpcycling stage race which was an attempt to create an American equivalent of European races such as theTour de France or theGiro d'Italia. The name was suggested by his business partner, basketball commentatorBilly Packer, who originally planned to call the race the Tour deJersey. The first stage of the inaugural race ended in the college town ofNew Paltz, New York where picketers greeted the riders with anti-Trump signs. The second stage began in New York City, andMayorEd Koch, who had denounced Trump as "one of the great hucksters", boycotted the event. The last stage of the 10-stage 837-mile race was even more controversial. Going into the last stage, Belgian riderEric Vanderaerden was favored to win the tour championship, but lost at least 1 minute 20 seconds when he took a wrong turn on a poorly marked course inAtlantic City, riding a quarter-mile or more out of his way. He ended up finishing third overall, behind tour winnerDag-Otto Lauritzen (a Norwegian rider with the American-owned7-Eleven team) and runner-upHenk Lubberding, who also took a wrong turn during the last stage. Trump withdrew his sponsorship after the second Tour de Trump in 1990 because his other business ventures were experiencing financial woes. The race continued for several more years as the Tour DuPont.[107][108]
Trump submitted astalking-horse bid on theBuffalo Bills when it came up for sale followingRalph Wilson's death in 2014; he was ultimately outbid, as he expected, andKim andTerrence Pegula won the auction.[109] During his 2016 presidential run, he was critical of the NFL'supdated concussion rules, complaining on the campaign trail that the game has been made "soft" and "weak", saying a concussion is just "a ding on the head." He accused referees of throwingpenalty flags needlessly just to be seen on television "so their wives see them at home."[110]
In 2012, Scottish soccer clubRangers was in financial turmoil, leading to itsliquidation and refounding. Trump considered buying the club, before backing out due to the extent of its financial issues.[111][112]
From 1996 until 2015, when he sold his interests,[113] Trump owned part or all of theMiss Universe,Miss USA, andMiss Teen USA beauty pageants.
Miss Universe debuted onCBS, and both Miss Universe and Miss USA moved toNBC in 2002.[114][115] In 2012, Trump won a $5 million arbitration award against a contestant who claimed the show was rigged.[116] In 2015, NBC andUnivision both ended their business relationships with the Miss Universe Organization during Trump's presidential campaign.[117][118] Trump later announced that he had become the sole owner of the Miss Universe Organization by purchasing NBC's stake.[119] He sold his own interests in the pageant shortly afterwards, toWME/IMG.[113]
In 1999, a few years after buying into Miss Universe, Trump founded a modeling company,Trump Model Management, which operates in theSoHo neighborhood ofLower Manhattan.[120] Together with another Trump company, Trump Management Group LLC, Trump Model Management has brought hundreds of foreign fashion models into the United States to work in thefashion industry since 2000.[121] This business and the beauty pageants overlapped somewhat, with various pageant contestants getting modelling contracts.[122]
Trump University LLC[123] was an Americanfor-profit education company that ran a real estate training program from 2005 until at least 2010. After multiple lawsuits, it is now defunct. It was founded by Donald Trump and his associates, Michael Sexton and Jonathan Spitalny.[124] The company offered courses in real estate, asset management, entrepreneurship, and wealth creation, charging between $1,500 and $35,000 per course.[125] In 2005 the operation was notified by New York State authorities that its use of the word "university" violated state law. After a second such notification in 2010, the name of the operation was changed to the "Trump Entrepreneurial Institute".[126] Trump was also found personally liable for failing to obtain a business license for the operation.[127]
In 2013 the state of New York filed a $40 million civil suit claiming that Trump University made false claims and defrauded consumers.[126][128] In addition, two class-action civil lawsuits relating to Trump University were filed in federal court; they named Donald Trump personally as well as his companies.[129] All three cases were settled in November 2016, after Trump's election to the presidency, for a total of $25 million.[130]
Trump repeatedly criticized a judge,Gonzalo P. Curiel, who is overseeing two of the Trump University cases. During campaign speeches and interviews up until June 2016, Trump called Curiel a "hater of Donald Trump", saying his rulings have been unfair, and that Curiel "happens to be, we believe, Mexican, which is great. I think that's fine",[131] while suggesting that the judge's ethnicity posed a conflict of interest in light of Trump's proposal to build a wall on the United States–Mexican border.[132][133][134] Many legal experts were critical of Trump's attacks on Curiel, often viewing them as racially charged, unfounded, and an affront to the concept of an independent judiciary.[135][136][137] On June 7, 2016, Trump issued a lengthy statement saying that his criticism of the judge had been "misconstrued" and that his concerns about Curiel's impartiality were not based upon ethnicity alone, but also upon rulings in the case.[138][139]
From 2005 to 2015, Trump was paid $8.8 million for promotingmulti-level marketing telecommunications companyACN Inc. and its products on ACN's website,[140] promotional DVDs and at their events, and on hisThe Apprentice reality-TV show.[141][142]
In 2018, four investors filed a federal civil lawsuit in theSouthern District of New York against Donald Trump and his children Donald Jr.,Ivanka, and Eric for fraud and racketeering. In July 2019, a district judge permitted the lawsuit to proceed with state-level claims of fraud, false advertising, and unfair competition.[143][144][145] The Trumps were accused of not having disclosed that they were being paid by ACN when they recommended the company as a sound investment. As part of the discovery process, the Trumps were ordered in March 2020 to provide information from Trump Organization business records back to 2005.[146]
In April 2020, a federal judge orderedMGM, the majority owner ofCelebrity Apprentice, to release unaired tapes of two episodes of the show to the attorneys of plaintiffs who accused the four Trumps of misleading them to invest in ACN; in the episodes, celebrity contestants competed to produce commercials for an ACN product.[147] The Trumps appealed the ruling and unsuccessfully sought to deal with the dispute viaarbitration.[148] In November 2021, a federal judge ordered MGM to make the tapes available to the plaintiffs' attorneys at a secure location.[147]
Trump and his children were deposed in 2022.[149][150] In May 2023, the plaintiffs withdrew their claims against the children in order to "streamline the dispute ahead of a trial".[151] The trial is scheduled for January 29, 2024.[152]
The Donald J. Trump Foundation was a U.S.-basedprivate foundation[153] established in 1988 for the initial purpose of giving away proceeds from the bookTrump: The Art of the Deal by Trump andTony Schwartz.[154][155] The foundation's funds mostly came from donors other than Trump,[156] whose last personal contribution to the charity was in 2008.[156] The top donors to the foundation from 2004 to 2014 wereVince andLinda McMahon ofWorld Wrestling Entertainment, who donated $5 million to the foundation after Trump appeared atWrestleMania in 2007.[156]
Per the foundation's tax returns, its benefactors included healthcare and sports-related charities, as well as conservative groups.[157] In 2009, for example, the foundation gave $926,750 to about 40 groups, with the biggest donations going to theArnold Palmer Medical Center Foundation ($100,000), theNew York Presbyterian Hospital ($125,000), thePolice Athletic League ($156,000), and theClinton Foundation ($100,000).[158][159]
Starting in 2016The Washington Post began reporting on how the foundation raised and granted money. ThePost uncovered several potential legal and ethical violations, such as allegedself-dealing and possible tax evasion.[160] TheNew York State attorney general is investigating the foundation "to make sure it is complying with the laws governing charities in New York."[161][162] A Trump spokesman called the investigation a "partisan hit job".[161] On October 3, 2016, the New York attorney general's office notified the Trump Foundation that it was in violation of New York laws regarding charities and ordered it to immediately cease its fundraising activities in the state of New York. The foundation, which had also admitted to engaging in self-dealing on its 2015 IRS form, agreed to this order.[163]
A 2018 suit by the New York State attorney general alleged that Trump had illegally used foundation funds to buy self-portraits, pay off his businesses' legal obligations, and boost his presidential campaign. The judge ruled against the Donald J. Trump Foundation and ordered Trump to pay $2 million in damages. Trump agreed to give that money and the foundation's remaining $1.8 million to 8 charities ranging from Army Emergency Relief to the United Negro College Fund to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and to dissolve the foundation.[164]
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Trump has marketed his name on a large number of building projects as well as commercial products and services, achieving mixed success doing so for himself, his partners, and investors in the projects.[165][166][nb 1] In 2011,Forbes' financial experts estimated the value of the Trumpbrand at $200 million. Trump disputed this valuation, saying his brand was worth about $3 billion.[185]
Many developers pay Trump to market their properties and to be the public face for their projects.[186] For that reason, Trump does not own many of the buildings that display his name.[186] According toForbes, this portion of Trump's empire, actually run by his children, is by far his most valuable, having a $562 million valuation. According toForbes, there are 33 licensing projects under development including seven "condo hotels" (the seven Trump International Hotel and Tower developments). In June 2015,Forbes pegged the Trump brand at $125 million[187] as retailers likeMacy's Inc. andSerta Mattresses began dropping Trump-branded products.[188][189]
The value of the Trump brand may have fallen due to his presidential campaign. After his 2016 campaign started, an internalYoung & Rubicam study of Trump's brand among high-income consumers showed "plummeting" ratings for traits such as "prestigious", "upper class", and "glamorous" at the end of 2015, suggesting that Trump's various businesses could face market difficulties and financing challenges in the future.[190] Some consumers say they are avoiding purchasing Trump-branded products and services as a protest against Trump and his campaign.[191] Bookings and foot traffic at Trump-branded hotels and casinos fell off sharply in 2016, primarily driven by a decrease in visits to the properties by women.[192][193] Following the release of theAccess Hollywood tape recordings in October 2016, the value of the Trump brand was reported to have taken a further hit, with estimates of the reduction in the brand's added value of up to 13percentage points.[194][195]
In March 2024, Trump began promoting the $60God Bless the U.S.A. Bible, which features a King James translation of the Bible; the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, and Pledge of Allegiance; as well as the handwritten chorus of theLee Greenwood songGod Bless the U.S.A.. The website selling the Bible bills it as "the only Bible endorsed by" Trump and that his "name, likeness and image" are being used under paid license from one of Trump's organizations, CIC Ventures LLC.[196][197]
Trump's personal financial market investment portfolio is concentrated in the financial and commodities markets.[198][199] The investment portfolio generates income and cash flow from a variety of mechanisms as dividends, capital gains, and compounded carried interest. He invested a minimum of $70 million in stocks.[200]Though real estate is still his most preferred asset class, Trump became an active financial market investor in 2011 following disappointment from the depressed American real estate market and various investments in the Federal Reserve's interest yields onCDs were next to nothing.[201][202] Trump stated that he was not enthusiastic to be a stock market investor, but that prime real estate at good prices was hard to find at that time and that stocks and equity securities were cheap and generating good cash flow from dividends.[203] He profited from 40 of the 45 stocks he purchased which he sold in 2014, making it almost a 90% success rate incapital appreciation in addition to millions in earned dividends. The biggest gainers in his stock portfolio were Bank of America Corporation,The Boeing Company and Facebook, Inc earning a windfall profit of $6.7 million, $3.96 million and $3.85 million, respectively.[200]
Trump's stock portfolio was valued somewhere between $33.4 million and $87.9 million in 2015 and was invested in many sectors, including public companies such as tobacco distributors, retail outlets, pharmaceutical companies, industrial manufacturing companies, financial conglomerates, oil companies, high technology firms and defense contractors.[204] Public stock investments within his portfolio includeGeneral Electric,Chevron,UPS,Coca-Cola,Home Depot,Comcast,Sanofi,Ford,ConocoPhillips,Energy Transfer Partners,Altera,Verizon Communications,Procter & Gamble,Bank of America,Nike,Google,Apple Inc.,Philip Morris,Citigroup,Morgan Stanley,Whole Foods,Intel,IBM,Bristol-Myers Squibb,Johnson & Johnson,Caterpillar,Kinder Morgan,AT&T and Facebook.[203][205][206] He has at least $78 million invested in a variety of paper assets such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, private equity funds, fund of funds, and hedge funds.[207] His financial market investment accounts are kept atJPMorgan,Barclays,Deutsche Bank andOppenheimer.[205][208] His Barclays account includes investments in 32 entities and cash worth between $49,021 and $396,001 and having stock in two accounts atDeutsche Bank that contain cash, treasury bills, and stock in 173 entities. His investment account with Oppenheimer contains cash and has 31positions worth between $10,380,031 and $33,301,000. His account with JPMorgan contains stock in 60 firms valued between $1,251,008 and $2,617,000.[209]
Trump has also invested in funds that focus on middle and smaller sized businesses such asTesla Motors, the electric car maker and has invested internationally in a number of emerging market, growth and hedge funds located in Europe and Asia.[210] He has also invested in a number of private equity and hedge funds including $1 to $5 million in Advantage Plus, $1 to $5 million in AG Diversified Funds, $2 million inMidOcean Credit Opportunities, $4 million inPaulson & Co., and around $5 million withAngelo, Gordon & Co.[211][212][213] Trump's biggest fund holding has been inBlack Rock's Obsidian Fund, where his stake is estimated to be between $25 million to $50 million.[214] Nearly all of Trump's open end mutual fund investments are concentrated in Baron Capital Management, a mid-sized mutual fund family headed by mutual fund mogulRonald S. Baron.[210][215] Trump invested $16.2 million in Baron Capital Management, making him a significant minority shareholder.[202] He revealed that he earned over $22 million with his private equity, hedge fund, and mutual fund investments and generated between $1.5 million and $10 million in income almost all of it from investments such as dividends, capital gains, and carried interest.[216] Trump also has a portion of his portfolio invested inU.S. Treasury bonds.[214]
On a government form submitted in 2015, Trump reported holding an amount of physical gold, valued at between $100,001 to $250,000.[217]
Trump released some financial information in 2015,[82] but declined to publicly release any of his full tax returns,[218] though he said he would do so before the 2016 election if what his attorneys described as an ongoingaudit by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was completed covering tax returns for the years 2009 through 2016.[219][220] According to a July 2015 press release from his campaign manager, Trump's "income" for the year 2014 was $362 million ("which does not include dividends, interest, capital gains, rents and royalties").[221] His disclosure filings for the year 2015 stated that his total gross revenue was in excess of $611 million.[82]
Fortune magazine has reported that the $362 million figure as stated on hisFederal Election Commission (FEC) filings is not "income" but gross revenue before salaries, interest payments on outstanding debt, and other business-related expenses; Trump's net income was "most likely" about one-third of that.[222][223] According to public records, Trump received a $302 New York tax rebate in 2013 (and in two other recent years) given to couples earning less than $500,000 per year, who submit as proof their federal tax returns.[223] Trump's campaign manager has suggested that Trump's tax rebate was an error.[223]
In October 2016, it was revealed that Trump had claimed a loss of $916 million on his 1995 tax returns. Astax losses from one year can be applied to offset income from future years, the $916 million loss allowed him to reduce or eliminate his taxable income (and consequently his US federal income taxes) during the eighteen-year carry forward period.[224] Trump acknowledged he used the loss but declined to provide details such as the specific years the loss was applied.[225]
An investigative story by theNew York Times found that in the early 1990s in order to avoid "financial ruin" Trump's businesses used methods which were "legally dubious" to avoid paying taxes, and that Trump's own lawyers described these activities as "improper".[226] Independent tax experts stated that "Whatever loophole existed was not 'exploited' here, but stretched beyond any recognition" and that it involved "sleight of hand". Since the taxes were related to the reduction in Trump's extensive junk bond debt at the time and the bankruptcies of three of Trump's casinos, the methods used were probably related, according to the report, to Trump's reported $916 million loss reported on his 1995 tax return.[227]
Trump Management ... was also to allow the league to present qualified applicants for every fifth vacancy... Trump himself said he was satisfied that the agreement did not 'compel the Trump Organization to accept persons on welfare as tenants unless as qualified as any other tenant.'
Civil rights groups in the city viewed the Trump company as just one example of a nationwide problem of housing discrimination. But targeting the Trumps provided a chance to have an impact, said Eleanor Holmes Norton, who was then chairwoman of the city's human rights commission. 'They were big names.'
Both sides, however, appealed the findings and each won partial victories. A federal appeals court upheld most of Judge Stewart's decisions but ruled that Trump-Equitable had been denied a full opportunity to rebut the charge that the funds had been damaged by the loss of contributions for the Polish workers. The appeals court also ruled that Judge Stewart wrongly dismissed a claim by the plaintiffs that the Trump group was responsible for payments to the funds because it had been the workers' actual employer.
Mr. Trump accused the judge of bias, falsely said he was Mexican and seemed to issue a threat
Donald Trump on Thursday escalated his attacks on the federal judge presiding over civil fraud lawsuits against Trump University, amid criticism from legal observers who say the presumptive GOP presidential nominee's comments are an unusual affront on an independent judiciary
Donald Trump's highly personal, racially tinged attacks on a federal judge overseeing a pair of lawsuits against him have set off a wave of alarm among legal experts, who worry that the Republican presidential candidate's vendetta signals a remarkable disregard for judicial independence
I do not intend to comment on this matter any further
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{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help)Trump, or his tax advisers, had somehow devised a way to claim large business losses tied to debts that had been forgiven without reporting offsetting income that would have reduced his staggering loss ... documents that appear to show during the early 1990s Trump indeed used a strategy of swapping partnership interests to his creditors in exchange for having his businesses debts forgiven, eliminating the need for him to report this relief as income. There are still plenty of unknowns.
His new agency, originally conceived as Trump Models Inc., ended up with the name T Models...
