How Donald Trump Made Billions From Politics

Forbes

Plenty of rich people have blown fortunes on politics. But no other American has used politics to create as much personal wealth as the 45th president, who left office with a new asset — throngs of people willing to buy almost anything from him, at virtually any price.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2024/09/18/how-donald-trump-made-billions-from-politics/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, how Donald Trump made billions from politics.

00:07Donald Trump has built his entire brand around being a winner.

00:12But on January 20th, 2021, he looked very much the opposite in every way possible.

00:18Defeated by voters, then impeached a second time after the Capitol riot he had fomented,

00:24Trump arrived back in Palm Beach, Florida to an empire in distress.

00:28His commercial real estate was largely empty, his hotel business bleeding tens of millions

00:33of dollars, his licensing ventures at a standstill.

00:38A week later, Trump welcomed Wes Moss and Andy Latinsky, former Apprentice contestants,

00:43to his private club for a business pitch.

00:46Alongside hamburgers and ice cream, the Apprentices presented something that piqued the interest

00:51of the Master, a Trump-branded media and technology company, complete with a social media app

00:56like Twitter, a streaming service like Disney+, and a web hosting platform like Amazon.

01:03The most alluring part of the proposal?

01:05Trump would get 90% of the equity and, according to someone involved in the deal, did not have

01:10to invest a thing up front.

01:13So began a four-year transformation that turned America's most famous real estate billionaire

01:18into the first American ever to create billions from his politics.

01:23Other rich people have run for office, and many, many politicians, including every living

01:27ex-president, have leveraged fame and contacts into post-career riches.

01:33But no one has cashed in the way, or on the scale, that Trump has.

01:38In early 2021, Forbes estimated that Trump was worth $2.4 billion, with $1.4 billion

01:45tied up in traditional commercial property, $1 billion of that concentrated in New York City.

01:51Today, he returns to the Forbes 400, which will be officially released next week, with

01:56an estimated net worth of $4.3 billion, the majority $2.2 billion as of August 30th, the

02:03day we locked in values for the list, stemming from the social media business, which went

02:08public in March.

02:10Just $600 million is now in New York commercial real estate.

02:14In less than four years, he has grown and completely transformed a fortune that he built

02:18over 40 years.

02:21The presidency surely boosted Trump's profits in his core ventures, helping lift his operating

02:26income to an estimated $218 million last year, 58% higher than what he averaged while he

02:32was in the White House, according to an analysis of tax returns, financial disclosures, bond

02:37filings, credit reports, and internal records.

02:41Once a middling part of his empire, his golf and club business has become a cash gusher,

02:46a way to literally sell access to the most famous man on earth in the form of sky-high

02:50initiation fees.

02:53Forbes estimates that segment of his holding is now worth $1.1 billion, versus $570 million

02:59when he left office, as profits roughly tripled.

03:03Also adding to his bottom line, a random assortment of internet-fueled hucksterism encompassing

03:08coffee table books, NFTs, Bibles, even bits of the suit he wore to debate Joe Biden in

03:14June.

03:15What's Trump really selling?

03:18Himself.

03:19He has done it for decades, as a 30-something living the high life in Trump Tower, as a

03:2440-something spending big in Atlantic City, as a 50-something dominating a television

03:29boardroom, as a 60-something storming into politics, and now, as a 70-something seeking

03:35revenge.

03:36Through the ups and downs, one thing remains consistent—he gains the trust of people

03:41who don't analyze him too closely, then cashes in.

03:45Just ask the lenders he never repaid, or the casino shareholders who watched him pilfer

03:50a publicly traded company for cash, then steer it into bankruptcy—twice.

03:55Or the condo buyers who lost fortunes on flashy units in his Chicago Tower while he siphoned

04:00millions in management fees.

04:03When Trump fails, he doesn't give up—he just finds a new pitch, and often a new audience.

04:09In politics, he has developed an enormous group of followers, the most hardcore of whom

04:13are more loyal than any of his previous customers, eagerly buying whatever the former president

04:18offers, at almost any price he's willing to sell.

04:23For full coverage, check out Dan Alexander's piece on Forbes.com.

04:28This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

04:31Thanks for tuning in.

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