Donald Trump will declare $9 billion in assets as he reveals 2016 plans
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Version 0 of 1. Donald J. Trump, the billionaire real estate mogul, on Tuesday will release a summary of assets that total about $9 billion as part of his likely entry into the race for the Republican presidential nomination, according to people familiar with his plans. The two-page document — to be published after he holds a political rally at Trump Tower in New York — will provide a valuation of his hotels and other properties. It also will show hundreds of millions in cash on hand and an outline of his debts, these people said. The details that he will reveal Tuesday will provide one of the first looks at the worth of the real estate and television empire that the colorful impresario has amassed — one whose value has been debated avidly. Trump’s declared assets are more than double the estimate of his net worth by Forbes, which pegs his net holdings at $4.1 billion. The figure would make him the wealthiest Republican contender. Trump’s longtime financial advisers have finalized the report about his assets in recent weeks as Trump has moved closer to entering the 2016 contest. Three people briefed on those discussions Monday spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk about the process. Trump’s speech announcing his decision is likely to center on his career and fortune. He is expected to cast himself as an entrepreneur and outsider who is eager to tangle with the party establishment and U.S. economic rivals abroad, such as China. [ Trump announces his presidential bid ] The financial statement drafted by his office is aimed at demonstrating his success as a businessman, as well as proving to skeptical GOP leaders that he is willing to disclose as much as other candidates at this juncture. One goal of Trump’s camp is to make the cut for the Republican primary debates this summer and fall, which will require him to rank within the top 10 in national polls, among other factors. By issuing a memo on his finances, Trump believes he will be going above and beyond what will be necessary to win a place onstage, according to people familiar with his thinking. Fox News, which is producing and airing the first debate Aug. 6 in Cleveland, requires candidates to have filed “all necessary paperwork with the Federal Election Commission.” The network has not called specifically for contenders to file their financial information before the debate. But under a 1978 federal ethics law, presidential candidates must file a personal financial disclosure with the FEC within 30 days after announcing their candidacies. (They can request two 45-day extensions.) The filing must detail their financial interests and income, as well as those of their spouses and dependent children. Trump plans to file the disclosure within the allotted time, according to people familiar with his plan. He will not be releasing his income-tax returns Tuesday, those people said, but he has not ruled out doing so at some point in the coming months. Earlier this month, Trump told Fox Business Network that he is ready for reporters to scrutinize his holdings. “I’ve had great success. My statements are phenomenal,” he said. “I get my financial statements very early, actually. I put tremendous amounts of people to work, I’ve negotiated against the best in the world, including countries, and I’ve come out on top.” Trump also recently made headlines when he told the Des Moines Register that he would be the “most successful person ever to run for president.” “Ross Perot isn’t successful like me. Romney was — I have a Gucci store that’s worth more money than Romney,” Trump said, referencing the fashion retailer on his property on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Trump, 69, briefly and flamboyantly considered a bid in 2011 before deciding against a run. He has hired staffers in New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina — all early-voting states. Still, Trump’s path to the nomination would be difficult. Many Republicans, especially in the upper ranks of the GOP, see him as a celebrity bomb-thrower and provocateur who has flirted with “birtherism” and made other remarks casting doubt on President Obama’s credentials and his love of the country. Trump runs at the lower end of the pack of a large potential set of Republican candidates, ranging from 3 to 5 percent support in national public polls. He is polling at 4 percent among Republicans and Republican-leaning independent voters, according to a late May Washington Post-ABC News poll. That puts him behind seasoned Republican politicians such as former Florida governor Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.), each with support of 10 or 11 percent each. But it also puts him in the same range as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (6 percent) and Ohio Gov. John Kasich (3 percent). Trump has insisted that he has sincere intentions. “Everybody feels I’m doing this just to have fun or because it’s good for the brand,” he said in an interview in February with The Post. “Well, it’s not fun. I’m not doing this for enjoyment. I’m doing this because the country is in serious trouble.” [ Trump on a debate stage is Republicans’ worst nightmare ] In sharing particulars about his finances, Trump is going further than he has in previous years when he has contemplated White House bids. His estimated net worth has fluctuated dramatically over the years. In August 2013, Trump said he was worth “probably over $10 billion.” But even the most aggressive auditors have found it challenging to assess Trump’s balance sheet, in part because his assets and liabilities are intricately complex, entwined with public subsidies and opaque private partnerships. Trump has bristled at those who have raised questions about those high estimates of financial standing. He filed a libel suit against a New York Times reporter who wrote in 2005 that the real estate mogul was probably worth between $150 million and $250 million. The case was dismissed. Peyton Craighill and Tom Hamburger contributed to this report. For video, go to wapo.st/TrumpInHisWords. |