When Michael Jackson was Trump's neighbour. Almost.

Table for two: The future president with his future wife in 2000; (below images) a triptych of understatement
Image: Theo Westenberger Archives

During the presidential race, Donald Trump left the campaign trail to give us a guided tour of his three-storey Trump Tower penthouse. He bragged that people have called his Manhattan home the “best apartment ever built” and emphasised its immense size (33,000 square feet) and value (at least $200 million). “I own the top three floors—the whole floor, times three!” He admitted to having once had a neighbour, pointing to a door on the 66th floor. “I leased that little section to Michael Jackson. I knew him better than anybody.”

Image: Scott Frances / Otto

Those comments were typical Trump: Boastful and inaccurate. We recently dug up New York City records showing he shares those floors with a neighbour and has only partial ownership, some 10,996 square feet.

Image: Scott Frances / Otto

And Jackson’s apartment? Records indicate the area Trump pointed to has never been a residence. It appears to be mechanical space. (Jackson reportedly lived elsewhere—on floor 63.)

Image: Scott Frances / Otto

No Trump spokesperson would comment on any of this, so using the correct square footage, we estimate the president’s pad is worth $64 million, less than a third of his number.