Former President Donald Trump. Jon Cherry/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump valued his business empire at least $1.2 billion, a federal document released Friday showed, as he pulled out of talks and businesses like digital trading cards after when he left the office.
His empire generated at least $282 million in 2021 and most in 2022, according to a 101-page financial disclosure report filed with the Federal Election Commission as he campaigns for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
The exact numbers are difficult to determine — because many of Trump’s holdings are in volatile real estate assets and because federal disclosures only require reporting of broad ranges, which the maximum is more than $50 million. There are 19 properties that Trump values in that range, including his golf clubs in Virginia and Turnberry, Scotland.
However, the filing shows that Trump, who emphasized his business experience in his first campaign for the White House, remains a wealthy man and has found ways to profit from his political career in during his post-presidency. He earned $1 million from selling digital trading cards with cartoon images of him in superhero poses.
The value of his holdings in Trump Media & Technology Group Corp., the parent company of his Twitter-like Truth Social website, is $5 million to $25 million. Trump owns 90% of the company, which is seeking regulatory approval to acquire the blank-check company Digital World Acquisition Corp.
Trump has not disclosed who paid him more than $5 million in speaking fees. In 2016, he criticized his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, for earning millions for giving speeches to corporate clients such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc., payments he made public. Candidates are required to disclose any source that paid them $5,000 or more at the time of filing.
Trump listed debts worth at least $225 million. That includes loans of more than $50 million he took out on Trump Tower in New York and Trump National Doral in Florida in 2022 from Axos Bank. He paid off at least $165 million in debts, including loans from Deutsche Bank on Trump Tower and the former Trump International Hotel in Washington, which he sold.
Melania Trump, who earned little outside income while she was first lady, is also doing well after leaving the White House. She reports between $1 million and $5 million in royalties from her modeling career and from a line of limited-edition digital artworks known as nonfungible tokens or NFTs.
The filing, which also lists the former president’s investments, covers 2021 and most of 2022. Trump was granted two extensions to file the report and submitted it before the deadline to avoid a $200 fine .
