Donald Trump.Photo: Steven Ferdman/WireImage
House Democrats on Fridayunveiled new detailsabout how wellDonald Trump’s personal business performed during his time in the White House, with documents showing that the former president’s Washington, D.C., hotel incurred more than $70 million in net losses while he was in office.
The records also show that the hotel was loaned more than $27 million from one of Trump’s holding companies between 2017 and 2020.
Deutsche Bank AG and Signature Bank — both of whom had lent to Trump in the past — cut ties with himin the wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.
A spokesperson for the Trump Organization did not respond to a request or comment on these records or the committee’s characterization.
Donald Trump.Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty
Trump’s finances have long been the subject of speculation, given that he did not divest his assets or place them in a blind trust while in office. He has also avoided disclosing many details of the closely held business.
Critics said this created perpetual ethics issues. House Democrats on Friday cited the Constitution’s emoluments clause, forbidding a president from personally benefiting from foreign powers. The investigators said their analysis showed Trump’s hotel had “received an estimated $3.7 million in payments from foreign governments” from 2017 through 2020.
(The Oversight Committee said the financial records were finally obtained from the government’s General Services Administration related to how the agency had leased the Old Post Office building that became Trump’s hotel.)
Trump, for his part, has long insisted maintaining his businesses while president was a burden, not a blessing. Heclaimed in 2019his political turn had cost him at least $2 billion.
Outside analysis has shown the real estate magnate’s net worth suffered during his presidency.
Donald Trump.James Devaney/GC Images
Forbesrecently announced that itsannual listof the 400 richest Americans does not include Trump for the first time in 25 years. The magazine reported that Trump’s net worth — an estimated $2.5 billion — left him $400 million short of the cutoff to make this year’s list.
Indeed, according toForbes' analysis, Trump’s failure to divest in many of his assets (including his real estate holdings) may have cost him.
He denies wrongdoing.
Revenue at the former president’s Scotland resort was also down more than 60 percent year over year. According toThe Guardian, Trump’s Scottish golf courses have seen significant, million-dollar losses.
source: people.com
