2016

How Does Donald Trump Make TEN BILLION DOLLARS? Let Me Count the Ways

Republican Presidential Candidates Address 2015 Family Leadership Summit
Donald Trump. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

When presidential front-runner and man most likely to get picked last on the Republican candidate softball team Donald Trump submitted his Federal Election Commission paperwork last week, his campaign noted that the forms were “not designed for a man of Mr. Trump’s massive wealth.” The statement also noted that Trump’s “net worth is in excess of TEN BILLION DOLLARS.”

On Wednesday, the FEC released the 92-page document revealing the secretive math (actual money + bravado + feelings = TEN BILLION DOLLARS) behind Trump’s brand. Because of the way the FEC reports are designed, there are plenty of not-so-concrete numbers adding up to what Trump says he is worth. Any time one of his assets is worth more than $50 million, he simply had to check a box called “over $50,000,000,” without any further details. Trump claims 23 assets over $50 million. 

In other words, if you came here to learn whether Trump is actually worth TEN BILLION DOLLARS, sorry, we can’t help you. The Wall Street Journal says the disclosure shows that Trump has assets worth at least $1.5 billion

So what do we learn from the presidential candidate’s financial disclosure? One, as Bloomberg points out, “Trump is a union man.” The star of The Apprentice — who also appeared in Zoolander and Home Alone 2 — received a pension of $110,228 from the Screen Actors Guild in 2014. He made up to $450,000 per speech on the speaking circuit, meaning that he isn’t about to attack Hillary Clinton for her speaking profits anytime soon, and invested money in the company trying to build the Keystone XL pipeline. He has about 515 jobs (more than 300 of which involve running businesses named after himself), is president of 457 firms, brings in more than $570 million from “golf-related revenue” (including money made on his golf course in Jupiter), and makes $588,518 from his Central Park Carousel. 

In short, Trump will have lots of things to keep him busy after his presidential campaign ends in a few months. 

This post has been updated.

A Peek Into the Finances of Donald Trump