How much is Donald Trump's wealth really? (Analysis)

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(CNN) --

Earlier this week, Donald Trump sent an email to The New York Times.

In it, he claimed that he was very wealthy, pointing to a "Financial Statement as of June 30, 2014" that said he was worth $5.8 billion in the year before he ran for president.

But, as The New York Times noted, when Trump declared his candidacy in 2015, he said a "Summary Net Worth as of June 30, 2014" put his total wealth at $8.7 billion.

A month after that, the Trump campaign released another statement about his wealth.

He said, in part:

"Real estate values ​​in New York City, San Francisco, Miami and many other places where you own property have gone up considerably during this time period. Your debt is a very small percentage of the value, and with very low interest rates. A As of this date, Mr. Trump's net worth exceeds TEN BILLION DOLLARS."

Finding out how much Trump's fortune really is is a bit of a moving goal, in large part because the former president often exaggerates.

Extremely.

Back in 2012, when Trump was considering running for president, he was busy making sure the world knew he was very rich.

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"I mean, part of my beauty is that I'm very rich," Trump told ABC.

"So if I need $600 million, I can put up $600 million myself. That's a huge advantage. I have to tell you, that's a huge advantage over the other candidates."

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When he finally announced his run for president in June 2015, he did so with his wealth front and center.

"I'm really rich," Trump told the crowd.

"I have a total net worth of $8.73 billion. I'm not doing it to brag. I'm doing it to show that that's the kind of thinking our country needs."

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How rich is Trump really?

This question has been repeated throughout his adult life, and it continues to be the subject of much debate.

The news earlier this week that Mazars, Trump's former accounting firm, distanced itself from the accuracy of all of Trump's financial statements between 2011 and 2020 has reignited the conversation about how much the billionaire businessman has -- and how much. should.

It's hard to tell, especially since the former president, breaking with tradition, refused to release his previous tax returns publicly, insisting they don't reveal much about a person's financial situation.

(Fact check: yes they do).

That said, Forbes has been keeping a close eye on Trump's wealth for a long time.

And, as of September 2021, they say Trump's net worth is actually $2.5 billion.

Most of that wealth is tied up in real estate ($1.1 billion) and his golf clubs and resorts account for another $650 million.

According to Forbes calculations, Trump's net worth peaked in 2015, when he was worth $4.5 billion.

It shrank steadily during his years in the White House, a fact Trump spoke of regularly.

"I told one of my friends, a very rich friend, I said, 'You know, I bet you it cost me $2 billion or $3 billion and it's worth every penny,'" Trump told Fox News in 2018. I don't need the money and it's worth every penny because I'm doing so much for the country."

And then he said this in 2020: "[It] cost me billions of dollars to be president of the United States."

He is not mistaken!

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The other thing to take into account when trying to calculate Trump's real wealth is his debt obligations.

We know, thanks to the incredible reporting by The New York Times, which got its hands on years of Trump's tax returns, that he owes a massive sum, and those debts are going to come due in the not-too-distant future.

As David Leonhardt noted in September 2020:

"In the 1990s, Mr. Trump almost bankrupted himself by personally guaranteeing hundreds of millions of dollars in loans, and has since said he regrets doing it. But he has taken the same step again, they show." its tax records. It appears to be responsible for loans totaling $421 million, most of which are due within four years."

Trump is also in the middle of a dispute over a refund of more than $70 million he received from the IRS in 2010. (In 2011, the IRS began investigating whether Trump really deserved that refund for business losses. The case remains unsolved.) .

The extent of Trump's wealth, like so much else in his life, appears to be, at least in part, made up.

Or at least highly exaggerated.

Perhaps the best way to understand Trump's approach to his wealth, and to life in general, is found in his 1987 book "The Art of the Deal."

Trump wrote:

"The final key to my marketing is bravado. I play into people's fantasies. People may not always think big, but they can still get really excited about the ones who do. So a little bit of "Hyperbole never hurts. People want to believe that something is the biggest, the coolest and the most spectacular. I call it truthful hyperbole. It's an innocent form of exaggeration and a very effective form of promotion."

Truthful hyperbole, indeed.

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