Donald Trump's net worth has dropped some $600 million since last year. Here's what has changed
Atough New York real estate market, a costly lawsuit and an expensive presidential campaign all contributed to the declining fortune of the 45th president. After months of digging through financial disclosures and public property records and conducting dozens of interviews, Forbes now estimates Potus’s net worth at $3.1 billion, down from $3.7 billion a year ago, putting him in 248th place on our annual ranking of the richest Americans.
The biggest hit was to Trump’s real estate portfolio, which is weighted heavily toward New York City. Values of several Manhattan properties, particularly those on or near Fifth Avenue, have dropped, shaving nearly $400 million off his fortune. Some of his golf properties, including ones in Miami, Ireland and Scotland, have also declined in value, as some would-be guests stayed away, apparently offended by the president’s politics and bombast. Trump’s cash pile is down $100 million since last year, after he spent $66 million on his campaign and $25 million settling a lawsuit over Trump University.
A handful of Trump’s assets rose in value in the past year, including the hotel-condo tower in Las Vegas that he owns with fellow Forbes 400 member Phil Ruffin (No 315) and his minority stake in a downtown San Francisco office building, which continues to benefit from the red-hot real estate market there. Changes in values are measured against last year’s Forbes 400, which was published a month before the election.
Niketown (New York City)
What he owns: Ground lease on retail through 2079
Total value: $253 million
Debt: $0
Net value: $253 million
Change vs 2016: –$137 million
Long the sole tenant at 6 East 57th Street in New York City, Nike signed a 15-year, $700 million lease in late 2016 for a nearby space, stoking rumours that it will vacate this Trump property. Nike is staying put for now. “We are in a multi-year-lease agreement for our Niketown New York location that does not end for several years,” a Nike spokesman said. (The company would not confirm when the lease ends.) The bigger issue is the weaker real estate values, particularly for Manhattan storefronts in this tony neighbourhood, which is also home to nearby Trump Tower.
Trump hotel management and licensing business
What he owns: 100% of the business
Total value: $190 million
Debt: $0
Net value: $190 million
Change vs 2016: +$67 million
Donald Trump’s international hotel-licensing business, which includes six partnerships in far-flung locales like Uruguay, Indonesia and Panama, is benefiting from rising hotel values around the world. The Trump Organization is now hunting for new deals in the US. Despite Trump Hotels CEO Eric Danziger’s public claim in June that there were dozens of deals in the works, Forbes and ProPublica could find no evidence outside of one partnership in Mississippi, and instead found false starts and fizzled-out partnerships.
(This story appears in the 08 December, 2017 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)