The Donald May Not Be the Business Dynamo You Think He Is
Donald Trump says his business acumen will make the country great, but the best-selling author, TV star, NYC dynasty prince and 2016 presidential candidate may not be the stellar businessman he claims he is. In 1978, an independent evaluation put his net worth at $100M. Upon review, a report found that if The Donald had put all of his inherited wealth into an index fund tracking the S&P and reinvested his dividends, his net worth would be closer to $6B, as opposed to his current net worth of either $2.9B or $4B (although no one is quite sure). If we take his claimed 1976 net worth ($200M), he would be worth $12B as opposed to the $10B he boasts today. Now, while the difference in billions may seem ridiculous to some (read: pretty much everyone), it is interesting to see that Trump has actually made less money during his development career than he thinks. Of course, these values don’t factor in Trump’s divorce and any money he would have made working somewhere else. Who knows, maybe he could have had an extra billion or two. [WP]
