Thursday, October 05, 2023

Poor Donald Trump kicked off rich list because he's only worth $2,600,000,000


Story by Jessica Kwong • METRO USA

Former President Donald Trump dropped off The Forbes 400 ranking while appearing in his New York civil fraud trial (Picture: AP)© Provided by Metro

Prepare the world’s smallest violin for Donald Trump is no longer among the richest 400 Americans.

The one-time president dropped off the Forbes 400 with a fortune of just $2.6 billion – £300 million shy of making the ranking.

His net worth has fallen by more than $600 million over the last year, in part because of the fall in value of his office buildings.

The publication said on Tuesday: ‘Donald Trump is no longer rich enough for the country’s most exclusive club’.



Former President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he attends trial in a civil fraud case brought by state Attorney General Letitia James against him, his adult sons, the Trump Organization and company executives (Picture: Reuters)© Provided by Metro

In New York City, Trump has a 30% stake in 1290 Avenue of the Americas, which is controlled by publicly traded Vornado Realty Trust and is down about $60 million, according to Forbes. The building is close to 100% occupancy but its biggest tenant, Equitable Holdings, is moving next year.

Trump also holds a 30% stake in 555 California Street in San Francisco, and leases making up more than half of the office building’s rent are due to expire at the end of 2026.

The bigger contributor to Trump’s net worth falling is his Truth Social platform, which has roughly 6.5million users, about 1% of the numbers X (formerly Twitter) has. Trump’s 90% stake in the social media platform has slashed in value from about $730million to less than $100million.

Forbes said: ‘If Trump’s platform were thriving, he would probably have no trouble finding alternate financing. But it’s not, and there is little reason to be optimistic about Truth Social’s future.

Related video: What the Trump fraud trial may mean for his businesses (The Washington Post (Video))   Duration 3:18   View on Watch


Former President Donald Trump (middle) sits in a court room during his civil fraud trial at New York Supreme Court (Picture: Reuters)© Provided by Metro

‘After all, if people are not logging on to Trump’s platform to hear what he has to say now – while he is simultaneously facing a series of indictments and steamrolling the Republican presidential primary – they probably never will.’

Trump is currently appearing in a civil fraud trial that threatens to end his business career in New York.

On the first day of the trial around New York Attorney General Letitia James’ $250 million lawsuit, prosecutor Kevin Wallace argued that Trump’s financial statements fraudulently caused banks to assume hidden risk ‘to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars’.

Wallace said: ‘While it may be one thing to exaggerate for Forbes magazine… you cannot do it while conducting business in the state of New York.

‘Year after year, loan after loan, the defendants misrepresented Mr Trump’s net worth to maintain those favorable interest rates.’

Trump’s rare voluntary appearances in court on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday turned the trial into a campaign stop of sorts. Trump left the trial after the Wednesday lunch break and James stated: ‘This was nothing more than a political stunt, a fundraising stop.’


Former President Donald Trump addresses the press during a lunch break on the third day of his civil fraud trial at New York Supreme Court (Picture: Getty Images)© Provided by Metro

The Trump campaign hours later on Wednesday evening announced that Trump raised more than $45.5million in the third quarter of the year and has more than $37.5million cash on hand.

Trump’s lawyers on Wednesday filed an appeal to Judge Arthur Engoron’s ruling last week that he, his sons and the Trump Organization and its executives committed ‘persistent and repeated’ fraud.

The former president was knocked off The Forbes 400 for the first time in 25 years in October 2021. At the time, Trump’s wealth was estimated at $2.5million, which was $400million shy of the cutoff for the list that year. His net worth diminished every year while serving as president, and the coronavirus pandemic also had an impact on his real estate empire.



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