Donald Trump reveals US$513 million from golf clubs and resorts

    • The former president’s holdings in Trump Media & Technology Group, worth US$2.7 billion and accounting for more than half of his US$5.3 billion net worth.
    • The former president’s holdings in Trump Media & Technology Group, worth US$2.7 billion and accounting for more than half of his US$5.3 billion net worth. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
    Published Fri, Aug 16, 2024 · 11:53 AM

    DONALD Trump’s latest financial disclosure showed US$513 million in income from US resort and residential properties including his Doral, Mar-a-Lago and Bedminster clubs, as well tens of millions of US dollars of liabilities and debts related to his legal troubles.

    The figures are from a 265-page filing by the Republican nominee, which depict a sprawling portfolio that includes everything from his primary residence to revenue from crypto and the eponymous media company that owns Truth Social, his networking platform.

    Among his biggest sources of income was a Miami-based company that owns golf courses and a resort. It generated US$161 million over 16 months starting in January 2023. His Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Florida, generated US$57 million over the same period, while Trump Ruffin Tower near Las Vegas took in US$28 million from condominium sales and hotel-related revenue. His Bedminster club in New Jersey earned US$37 million.

    Trump valued each of the four holdings at “over US$50 million” on the disclosure, the highest amount that candidates can assign an asset. Candidates disclose some types of income, including dividends, capital gains and royalties, in broad ranges. Other types, such as salaries and speaking fees, must be reported in exact sums.

    The former president’s holdings in Trump Media & Technology Group, worth US$2.7 billion and accounting for more than half of his US$5.3 billion net worth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, were also listed as more than US$50 million on the disclosure. Trump reported that he owns 114.8 million shares, 64.9 per cent of those issued.

    Trump also disclosed that the shares are subject to a “lock-up period”, preventing him from selling them. It’s set to expire in September. The company had US$5.3 million in business income and earned about US$563,000 in advertising.

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    The former president’s CIC Digital, which earned US$7.2 million through licensing his image on non-fungible tokens, held a crypto wallet with at least US$1 million in Ethereum. Trump has courted the industry’s leaders, whose hostility to the Biden administration has led some, including venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, to endorse him.

    Trump also made US$5.3 million from selling books, including US$300,000 for the Greenwood Bible endorsement deal from LMA Productions.

    Trump had to revise the first two disclosures he filed as a 2024 presidential candidate with the Office of Government Ethics, in some cases providing exact amounts for his income from his hotels and other businesses. The new disclosure will similarly be reviewed by the ethics office. It was originally due in on May 15 but Trump requested and was granted two 45-day extensions.

    He listed a dozen outstanding liabilities, including two incurred in 2024 of more than US$50 million, one to the New York attorney general related to the civil fraud case against him. Trump secured a US$175.3 million bond issued by Los Angeles-based Knight Specialty Insurance in April to put the US$454 million judgment against him in the case on hold while he appeals it.

    He also listed a debt of more than US$50 million to writer E Jean Carroll, who was awarded US$83 million in a defamation suit against Trump, which is also bonded. He’s also appealing that ruling.

    Though Trump has mounting legal fees with which he’s using money raised through his leadership political action committee to pay for, he did not disclose any personal debt to lawyers or law firms on the disclosure. He listed seven outstanding loans totalling at least US$165 million, and two that were paid off during the disclosure period.

    His disclosure shows that his businesses continue to generate substantial income he could use to finance his campaign, Trump has instead relied on his fundraising prowess.

    He’s raised about US$635 million since beginning his third bid for the White House, less than the US$1 billion that Vice-President Kamala Harris and her predecessor atop the Democratic ticket, President Joe Biden, have raised. One of Trump’s political action committees has paid more than US$67 million for legal fees and related expenses since January 2023. BLOOMBERG

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