Trump says he owes more than $200 million

For the first time since his resignation, former US President Donald Trump disclosed his finances on Friday, citing debts totaling more than $200 million, according to a New York Times (NYT) report.

As evidenced by the roughly 100-page published documents, Trump also lists revenue from his digital trading card series, the company behind his online platform Truth Social, and from speaking engagements.

Financial disclosure is a prerequisite for Trump’s rematch as the Republican presidential nominee for the 2024 election.

Assets: about 2.5 billion

Trump’s listed debts are more than $200 million, according to NYT. Trump repaid six outstanding loans after his term, including those worth more than $50 million for Trump Tower in New York and Trump Doral, a golf club outside of Miami, according to NYT. He also took out new loans on those two properties, which the report says are more than $50 million each.

According to NYT, most of the loans he had received from Deutsche Bank in the past have now been paid off. Of the original $295 million Trump once owed the bank, about $45 million now remains. His fortune is about $2.5 billion, according to Forbes.

Digital trading charts

According to the report, revenues from Trump’s company CIC Digital LLC range from $100,000 to $1 million. Trump founded the company for a digital asset (NFT) project and uses it to sell digital trading cards.

The images cost $99 each and show the Republican in a variety of poses, including cowboy, astronaut and fighter pilot. According to the records, he also earned over $5 million from public appearances.

In the disclosure, the parent company of Trump’s online platform Truth Social, Trump Media & Technology, is valued at between $5 million and $25 million, the NYT reports. Its value is well below its $9 billion potential valuation as of October 2021, when the company announced a merger with a special purpose vehicle.

According to American broadcaster CNN, the former president, who owns 90 percent of the company, said he received little or no revenue from the platform.

project in Saudi Arabia

According to NYT, Trump is also said to be partnering with one of Saudi Arabia’s largest real estate companies to build a new golf and hotel complex in Oman. The disclosure cites past payments worth more than $5 million.

The project will be built on a hillside on the Gulf of Oman and will include a golf resort, villas and two hotels, a company executive said. According to NYT, it is owned by the government of Oman, meaning Trump essentially has a business deal with the government there.

refused for years

Trump had refused to disclose his finances for years. The US Supreme Court has cleared the way for the release of Trump’s tax returns in November. The Tax and Customs Administration subsequently submitted the documents for the years 2015 to 2020 to the Fiscal Policy Committee in the House of Representatives.

The documents were finally released after years of litigation. Accordingly, the Republican had often paid little in taxes, despite the indication of multimillion-dollar profits.

In general, no sensational revelations were expected from the tax returns. US President Joe Biden’s Democrats, however, were hoping for more details about Trump’s business — and in particular about potential conflicts of interest caused by foreign transactions.

Sources

(t-online/dsc)