Last asset statement in office: Trump reveals corona shrinkage of his companies

Last statement of assets in office
Trump's companies throw less and less

By Diana Dittmer

The speculation about the health of Trump's corporate empire is getting new food: A list of assets that the now ex-president submitted to the US ethics authority just a few days ago shows that his income is shrinking noticeably in the corona crisis.

Since yesterday he's just ex-president and now he's many millions of dollars easier: it's not going well for Donald Trump. Not only because he is no longer the most powerful man in the United States or because he is in impeachment proceedings. The severe loss of assets in his corporate empire also troubles him.

Trump's official asset listing for the US Ethics Bureau.

As shown in a recent asset listing he recently filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, the pandemic hit businessman Trump hard. According to the form, which is dated January 15 and which he personally signed, his earnings have shrunk by many million dollars because of Corona.

Trump's Doral Golf Resort in Miami alone had losses in the 2020 corona year
of 33 billion dollars last year, as the US finance agency Bloomberg writes. That corresponds to a drop of 40 percent. The corona shock for his golf course in the USA is even comparatively mild. Its investments in Great Britain and Ireland earned around two thirds less.

The Trump Hotel in Washington also looks deep into the abyss: A total of 25 million US dollars less flowed into the coffers than before the pandemic. One of the few Trump ventures that appear to be immune to Corana is his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, where the ex-president has been at home since yesterday. Despite corona-related closings and contact restrictions in the economy, the club on an island in Florida booked $ 24 million, even $ 3 million more than before the pandemic.

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(Photo: picture alliance / Maren Hennemuth / dpa)

In retrospect, real estate mogul Trump actually had a lucky hand with the complex he named "Winter White House": he bought the property in 1985 for "only" ten million US dollars. Paying club members, including many celebrities, can use guest rooms, a ballroom, tennis and golf courses and three bunkers on the luxury complex. Trump has his own rooms that are only accessible to him. But Mar-a-Lago may also face financial trouble: The fact that New Year's Eve was celebrated here without masks and distance could result in a fine or even the closure of the facility.

Trump's online business also did well during the pandemic, as can be seen from the data. Here he earned almost two million dollars, which is about twice as much as the year before. On the other hand, sales in the shops in Trump Tower in New York also fell by 80 percent to $ 166,000.

$ 150 million lost in three years

Overall, Trump's income in 2020, including the first 20 days in 2021, fell to around 300 million US dollars, writes Bloomberg. In his first asset listing in 2017, he had reported around 530 million US dollars for 15.5 months. Broken down to 12 months, the loss is estimated at $ 150 million. The situation has now deteriorated significantly again, mainly due to the pandemic.

The problem is that Trump's companies already posted high losses before the corona crisis. According to Bloomberg and Forbes lists of the rich, Trump is worth $ 2.5 billion. But such sums are assets on paper. Most of his money is in hotels and golf courses. And what they're really worth is hard to say. In addition, Trump's real estate empire is burdened with over a billion in debt. The corona-related decline in his income makes repayments more difficult and thus feeds further speculation about the extent to which Trump's corporate empire is wavering.

Most of the payments for bank loans will be due in the coming years. For example the one for Deutsche Bank. Large sums of money have to be repaid in 2023 and 2024. This is also evident from the published form. Another problem could be that Trump himself is liable for a large part. The pressure on businessman Trump is growing, that much is certain.

In addition, Trump is fighting on more and more fronts: A dispute over a tax refund in the high double-digit million range is pending, there are investigations into white-collar crime. Add to this the smoldering impeachment process. US companies and his party have distanced themselves from him. The fact that he once again inflicted great damage on the Trump brand in the last few meters of his presidency with the storm he instigated on the Capitol does not help his finances.

The ban that social media has cast against Trump is currently depriving him of the most lucrative opportunity to advertise himself and his companies and thus make money. Trump's business model has lost its ground. Even if he survives the impeachment process, it will be difficult for him. His retirement as ex-president of $ 219,000 won't do much for him. He has to find new sources of money quickly.

. (tagsToTranslate) economy (t) Donald Trump (t) corona crisis (t) wealth