Love him or hate him, Donald Trump is one of the most famous people in the world. Long before he became the 45th president of the United States, Trump was in the news for years; nay, decades.
Besides politics, the former US president is best known as a real estate mogul, a reality TV star, and an entrepreneur of various industries.
Between 1996 and 2015, he was the owner of the Miss USA and the Miss Universe beauty pageants, he was the co-author of several book titles, such as “The Art of the Deal”, he owns or has owned multiple skyscrapers, casinos, and hotels around the globe, and he was even the producer and host of The Apprentice; just to name a few of his ventures.
Donald Trump has amassed a substantial fortune. At present, it is estimated that the net worth of the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is $3.1 billion.
He is the first billionaire to ever serve as the Commander in Chief of the United States.
Donald Trump: The Facts
| Net Worth: | $3.1 Billion |
|---|---|
| 📆 DOB: | June 14, 1946 |
| 🌎 Country of Origin: | United States of America |
| 💲 Source of Wealth: | Real Estate |
| ✅ Updated: | 2023 |
Trump’s Early Years
Donald John Trump, the son of Mary Anne MacLeod and Frederick Trump, was born in 1946 in Queens, New York. His father was a New York real estate tycoon, so Trump has been accustomed to having money since he was born. Some might say that he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
Trump graduated New York Military Academy, a private boarding school where was enrolled when his parents learned that he was traveling to Manhattan without permission.
Thereafter, he attended Fordham University for two years, and then the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, which he graduated from in 1968 with a degree in economics. While attending college, he also worked at Elizabeth Trump & Son, his family’s real estate business.
Trump’s Fortune
In 1982, Donald Trump appeared on the first ever Forbes List, which listed the wealthiest people in the world. He was included on the list because he owned a share of his family’s $200 million fortune.
He didn’t remain on the list however, as he experienced a number of financial losses in the 1980s, and as a result, Forbes did not include him as one of the world’s wealthiest people between 1990 and 1995. It’s been reported that his losses lead him to borrow money against his siblings’ trusts.
He was later added back to the Forbes List, as he pursued several business ventures that supposedly allowed him to reinstate his wealth. In 2015, it was estimated that he had a net worth of $7.6 billion; however, in 2017, his net worth was calculated to be worth approximately $3.1 billion, making him the 248th wealthiest person in the United States that year.
Trump’s Penthouse in Manhattan
Why did his net worth decline? According to Forbes, there are three key factors that have impacted his wealth. These factors include:
- Changes in economic sanctions that have negatively impacted the real estate and retail industries, which have made them less profitable.
- Details that have been released about the current president’s net worth that contradict what he may actually be worth; for example, while he was campaigning in 2015, he claimed that he was worth $10 billion, but Forbes found that he was actually worth $7.6 billion. Additionally, the amount of money that he owes to investors, creditors, and employees isn’t known and has likely impacted his wealth.
- His political position and stance on many important issues that affect the world, such as his views on climate change.
According to financial experts at Forbes, Donald Trump’s net worth continues to decrease, despite the fact that he has attempted to secure and increase his earnings while serving as president (something that he isn’t supposed to do).
For example, he continues to receive donations for his re-election campaign, and that money has been used to fund his business.
When questioned about the report concerning Trump’s wealth, the Trump Organization failed to respond; however, his son, Eric, has stated that his father sacrificed a great deal when he left the Trump Organization to go into politics and said that the president has nothing to do with his business dealings since he took office.
The White House was also delayed with their response about the Forbes report and refuted the information.
It can also be assumed that investigations that surround Trump have also affected his wealth. Additionally, his association with several scandals has likely impacted his financial status.
How Trump Made His Money
In regard to his financial status, Donald Trump started off on the right foot, thanks to his father, Fred Trump. Fred was a real estate tycoon who built and sold houses for soldiers and their families when they returned from World War II.
In fact, Trump’s first dealings with business where with his father’s real estate company. He took over the operations of Elizabeth Trump & Son in 1971, which he later renamed the Trump Organization.
Initially, Trump dealt mainly with investments in the real estate industry, including apartment buildings, condominium associations, and housing that was backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).
However, in 1980, he expanded his business when he joined the parent company of Harrah’s Casino Resorts, the Holiday Inn, Corp, to develop a casino and hotel complex in Atlantic City.
The casino, Harrah’s at Trump Plaza, was valued at $250 million. Eventually, Donald bought out his partners and updated the name of the Atlantic City casino to Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino.
The success of this property led him to purchase another property, also in Atlantic City. He spent $320 million on the second property, which he bought from Hilton Hotels. When he failed to obtain a gaming license, he re-titled the property Trump Castle, as it could not be used as a casino.
Trump Plaza in Atlantic City
In 1988, Trump made another mega real estate purchase; the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. The property cost him an estimated $400 million and he invested a reported $50 million in renovations.
The Plaza Hotel in New York
Despite downfalls in the 1990s, when he almost filed for bankruptcy, Donald Trump managed to build himself a lucrative business in the real estate industry, as well as a number of other business ventures.
Today, his wealth is supported by a variety of sources, including:
- Revenue from the properties he owns in New York City, which makes up an estimate $1.5 billion of his wealth.
- The sales of admission to the Central Par Carousel and ice skating rink, which total more than $13 million in revenue.
- The Trump brand and licensing account for approximately $170 million of his net worth.
- Other properties that he owns outside of Manhattan, including golf and country clubs across the world, including Scotland, which are estimated to bring in hundreds of millions of dollars.
- Mar-a-Lago, the private Palm Beach club, which is worth an estimated $160 million.
- His cash and personal assets, which reportedly account for $320 million of his wealth. These assets include a private fleet of aircrafts, luxury vehicles, yachts, and his multiple private homes, including his penthouse in Trump Tower (valued at $57 million) and his three properties near Mar-a-Lago (valued at $36 million).
Trump Tower
Marriages, Divorces, and Rumored Affairs
Donald Trump’s business dealings, net worth, and political stances aren’t the only things that have gotten him attention over the years. He has also been involved in high-profile relationships, including three marriages (two of which ended in divorce) and multiple alleged affairs.
Donald’s first wife as Ivana, whom he married in 1977. She is the mother of his first three children, Donald Jr, Ivanka, and Eric. For just over a decade, the couple were married and she assisted him with his business dealings; she oversaw the renovation and remodel of The Plaza Hotel, for example.
However, their marriage started to unravel when Ivana rumors started to circulate about his affair with Marla Maples, a model. Donald and Ivana were discovered in 1991.
Ivana Trump
The rumor of the affair turned out to be true, and in 1993, Trump and Marla Maples were married. The wedding came soon after their daughter, Tiffany, was born. Of course, that marriage didn’t last for long, either.
The couple divorced in 1997. During several interviews, Maples has stated that she never really wanted to marry Trump, but she did because she was young and foolishly listened to his promises. She has said that he was “ego-driven” and “self-obsessed”.
She also claims that it was her young daughter, Tiffany, that gave her the courage to leave him, as her priority was being a mother and she was no longer willing to tolerate Trump’s behavior. She also cited their different lifestyles and views on life, overall, as a reason for their unsuccessful marriage.
Trump wasn’t divorced from Maples for long, however, before he met his current wife, Melania (then Knauss), another model. The pair started dating in 1998 and in 2005, they were married. In 2006, Melania gave birth to Barron, the couple’s only son.
Melania Trump now serves as the First Lady of the United States; however, while the couple remains married, there have been multiple allegations made against Trump regarding affairs.
In September of 2005, for example, a conversation he had with Billy Bush, the host of Access Hollywood, was recorded.
During that conversation, Trump flaunted that he had the power to “grab” women “by the p—y” because he was famous. The recording was released by The Washington Post right before the 2016 presidential election, and Trump excused what he said, chalking it up to “locker room” talk.
Then there’s the alleged affair that he had with Stormy Daniels, an adult film star, which is said to have occurred in July of 2006, just four months after his now wife gave birth to their son. Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal lawyer, reportedly paid Daniels $130,000 just before the 2016 election to prevent the affair from going public.
Cohen has since admitted that he facilitated the payment of the hush money to Daniels when he plead guilty to a total of eight federal crimes, which also included making illegal campaign contributions.
Trump & Stormy Daniels
Karen McDougal, a Playboy model, is another affair that Trump has been rumored to have. Supposed, that affair started before the affair with Daniels, in June of 2006.
American Media, which is owned by the National Enquirer and has close connections with Donald Trump, purchased the exclusive rights to McDougal’s story, which, as The New Yorker pointed out, appears to have been a way to prevent her story from going public, as no information regarding that story have been released.
Several other women have also come forward, saying that they were sexually assaulted by Donald Trump. For example, in 2016, Natasha Staynoff, a reported from People, claimed that Trump held her against a wall and pushed his tongue down her throat in 2005 when she was visiting Mar-a-Lago to interview him and his pregnant wife, Melania.
Additionally, several women that competed in the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants (both of which Trump owned) said that he harassed and assaulted them. The women claimed that he “inspected” them and would grab them without their permission.
Summer Zervos, who was a contestant on The Apprentice, also claimed that Trump assaulted her in 2007, stating that he kissed her aggressively, grabbed her breasts, and pushed his genitals on her while they were in a meeting at The Beverly Hills Hotel.
Trump has denied all of the allegations that have been made against him regarding these affairs. Nevertheless, given the number of stories that have been accounted, many people believe the women who Trump allegedly assaulted.
Trump and the Future
While Trump is reportedly one of the richest people in America and he is still serving at president of the United States, it’s hard to say what will happen to his fortune.
He will be running for reelection during the next presidential election; however, given the major investigations that are currently being conducted and have yet to be full released, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for Donald Trump.
One thing’s for sure: every day another shocking story seems to surface about America’s 45th president.
Donald Trump Quotes
Experience taught me a few things. One is to listen to your gut, no matter how good something sounds on paper. The second is that you’re generally better off sticking with what you know. And the third is that sometimes your best investments are the ones you don’t make.
It’s not like I’m anti-China. I just think it’s ridiculous that we allow them to do what they’re doing to this country, with the manipulation of the currency, that you write about and understand, and all of the other things that they do.
What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate.
I have a great relationship with the Mexican people.
I don’t like losers.
I built a great company, one of the – some of the most iconic assets in the world, $10 billion of net worth, more than $10 billion of net worth, and frankly, I had a great time doing it.
Part of being a winner is knowing when enough is enough. Sometimes you have to give up the fight and walk away, and move on to something that’s more productive.
