Holdings:
500 entities in which he is a trustee, president, chairman or member
391 of which bear the Trump name, which he values at $3,320,020,000
How about you count them up?
He was a member or director of many, and that does not mean “in control”
And many of those listed have a value as $1,001 to $15,000, with an income of “none or less than $201”. So, not really what we would call “successful” businesses.
So, you count up the number that he actually controlled, and for these purposes, I’ll let you assume that the president of a company is actually in control, and not just a figure head, then cross reference that against companies that are actual companies that make money, and are not just empty shell companies for shifting money for tax purposes, and get back to us with that number.
We’ll wait.
Lolol.
Dude, I value my house as a steal @ $1,546,900. Wanna extra 1,500 sf in beautiful suburban San Antonio?
It’s an oft-cited statistic that Donald Trump “has” 515 companies, but a number of those businesses are only connected to him in tangential ways (e.g., through licensing agreements) and aren’t owned or directly controlled by him.
Just because he values companies at a certain value doesn’t mean it’s true.
From the same article.
Trump-controlled businesses have sought bankruptcy protection several times after those entities — nearly all of them casino properties — were several hundreds of millions of dollars or more in debt (although the exact number of bankruptcies tied to Trump is debatable, as his spokespeople routinely disclaim that “many of the filings occurred when Trump was no longer involved in the businesses”):
#1) Trump Taj Mahal (1991): The Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City opened in 1990, with Trump financing the completion of its construction with $675 million in junk bonds at 14% interest. By the following year the casino itself was in debt to the tune of $3 billion, while Trump himself owed some $900 million in personal liabilities.
In order to keep the Taj Mahal afloat, Trump struck a deal with his lenders in which he gave up half his ownership share and equity in the casino, sold his Trump Shuttle airline and his Trump Princess 220-foot yacht, and agreed to a bank-set limit on his personal spending in exchange for a lower interest rate and additional time to make his loan payments.
#2 and #3) Trump’s Castle and Trump Plaza Casinos (1992) : Less than a year after the Taj Mahal bankruptcy Trump filed for Chapter 11 protection again for two more Atlantic City hotel-casinos, the Trump Plaza and Trump’s Castle, over their inability to make principal and interest payments on bonds. The Plaza ($550 million in debt) and the Castle ($338 million in debt) were competing against each other, as well as against the Taj Mahal, and Trump gave up a 50% share in exchange for more favorable terms on the debts.
#4) Trump Plaza Hotel (1992) : Donald Trump filed for bankruptcy protection a third time in 1992 over the Trump Plaza Hotel on New York’s famous Fifth Avenue, overlooking Central Park in midtown Manhattan. Once again, Trump gave up a 49% stake in the property to secure more favorable terms from lenders on the luxury hotel’s debt of more than $550 million.
#5) Trump Hotels and Casinos Resorts (2004) : In 1995, Donald Trump established Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts as a publicly traded company, an entity that eventually consolidated his three Atlantic City casinos (Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Castle, and Trump Plaza), along with other properties, under one company. In 2004, Trump sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the company, with filings listing about $1.8 billion in debt. Yet again, Trump’s ownership in the business was reduced, from 47% to 27%, in order to obtain more favorable terms from lenders.
#6) Trump Entertainment Resorts (2009) : After its 2004 bankruptcy, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts was renamed Trump Entertainment Resorts (TER), and that latter entity went Chapter 11 in 2009 with a debt of $1.2 billion. Trump fought with his board of directors over how to restructure the company and ended up reducing his ownership share of the business once again (to 10%) and resigning as chairman of the board.
Other Trump Business Failures
As well, Donald Trump has undertaken a number of business projects that ultimately failed (or failed to live up to his lofty projections) without resulting in bankrupcties, including:
Trump Steaks
GoTrump (online travel site)
Trump Airlines
Trump Vodka
Trump Mortgage
Trump: The Game
Trump Magazine
Trump University
Trump Ice (bottled water)
The New Jersey Generals (pro football team)
Tour de Trump (bicycle race)
Trump Network (nutritional supplements)
Trumped! (syndicated radio spot)
His charitable foundation was shut down and fined $25 million because of fraud. Does that count as a bankruptcy? 
It’s not shady – for instance, it’s typical for real estate companies to use individual properties as LLCs in case one goes belly up or in case there’s a liability issue on one property. However, at the same time, it doesn’t show us what a great business guy he is. In fact it just gives tax auditors more reason to investigate the shit out of him because that how he ends up with that much wealth requires some investigative legwork.
Couple quick points:
- At the risk of re-stating the painfully obvious … as when people discuss using the Bible to justify what many/most would consider frank bigotry (it’s just a book) …
Much of the debate above is erudite, literate, and compelling, but it’s also prima facie evidence, IMHO, that DJT has succeeded in normalizing behavior that we formerly – as a nation – found absolutely and profoundly repellent.
If Obama did it …
When Clinton did … so much less egregious …
I often find myself in utter disbelief at the debates we have about inarguable insanity, corruption, lawlessness, and debasement.
- Back to the OT … I’m not sure if it’s kosher to pimp my own thread, but … if it is … I’d like to. It’s very on-topic:
I think a large swath of the country is under the impression that the only metric we ever hear is valid, honest, and forthcoming about who pays what.
I think the glimpse we’re getting into DJT’s taxes should open this can of worms for all to see.
And I think the use of the Effective Tax Rate to prove that we’re “all in this together” is pure, cynical BS … consciously designed to placate the masses and quell revolution.
My $0.02. YMMV. Closed course. Professional driver.
His university was found to be fraudulent, and he had to give back all the money that they took.
But that’s still a success in a pro-Trumper’s book.
Can you show me where anyone posted that, or is it only in your head?
If you are talking to me, then you did.
When you said that he’s only had 7 bankruptcies, and did not include the ones that were shut down, not by bankruptcy, but by legal action.
Were you counting that in your “98% success rate”?
The settlement was paid, not by Trump, but by his Las Vegas hotel business partner, billionaire Phil Ruffin. In February 2019, during a meeting of the US House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Congresswoman Jackie Speier suggested “a Kansan”, later revealed to be Ruffin, had paid $25 million to satisfy Trump’s liability in the Trump University judgement. Ruffin admitted to paying Trump $28 million in 2018, but claimed it was for “back-fees” related to Trump International Hotel Las Vegas and unrelated to the Trump University case.[84]
So, fair enough.
I guess it counts as a success to leave someone else holding the bag.
The frauds and bankruptcies and lawsuits- just too much for one poor guy to keep up with! No wonder some are confused into thinking this represents true financial success.
I’m also not sure how you count a charitable trust.
It’s not really a business, so when it is shut down due to violating the law, how does that count?
It still needs to run as a business. It’s just the “profits” go to charity.
Ok,fair enough, I used the numbers from the link.
You used all the businesses he was associated with, not the businesses he was in control of.
I know, it would take a lot of work to figure out his level of responsibility in any of the companies.
I just don’t care for claims that are wildly in error.
Like this one?
Then don’t make them.