For the Trump Organization, the figures could still get worse. The pandemic’s full impact on his empire has yet to play out. Full-year 2019 financials provided to his lenders showed revenue down and expenses up at his office properties well before the virus pain set in. A government-mandated financial disclosure made public last month offers last year’s figures for Trump’s hotel, resort and golf businesses.
Trump’s Manhattan properties are his workhorses, throwing off steady cash flow that the company has used to push further into the less reliable golf business. Around the corner from Trump Tower is a cavernous storefront that formerly housed Niketown, a unique perch along one of the world’s most valuable shopping corridors. But Nike moved out in 2018. Nike’s new landlords agreed to make payments on the lease, which is up for renewal in 2022. But the lack of an occupant raises questions about the space’s future, especially with the pandemic crushing many retailers. Average rents for New York retail already have fallen to their lowest level since 2011.
Trump does have disadvantages, including that he’s ineligible for some of the U.S. relief programs he’s signed into law. But his property holdings have some notable strengths -- and advantages over peers.
Trump Tower and 40 Wall Street have relatively little leverage, and could potentially take on more if needed. The president’s hotels, resorts and golf courses benefit from enthusiastic Republican visitors. Those operations also get a cash injection from the government every time Trump visits with a retinue of staff and security guards. According to a Washington Post tally this month, the president has spent all or part of 383 days at his golf clubs and other properties since taking office.
And there are bright spots. The president’s branding and licensing businesses continued to generate tens of millions dollars last year, even as some properties that previously licensed the Trump name cut ties. Early offers for his hotel in Washington showed investor appetite for the asset, which has thrown off $40 million of revenue annually, though bids were nowhere near the $500 million that the Trump family originally sought for it. Trump pays the federal government $3 million annually to use to the property.
To calculate the president’s net worth, Bloomberg draws from dozens of sources, including lender, property and company records, prevailing valuation metrics, comparable property data, his government financial disclosures, analyst reports and interviews.
They show far-flung sources of income: Trump drew as much as $5 million in royalties for a development in the Philippines, as much as $1 million more for a development project in Kolkata and as much as $1 million from sales of his 1987 book “The Art of the Deal.”
One possible transaction that shouldn’t be hindered by the pandemic: the sale of one of the company’s helicopters. The Trump Organization listed the 1989 Sikorsky with mahogany paneling, pale leather and gold fixtures without an asking price. It was featured on Trump’s TV show, “The Apprentice.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.