Revenues from President Trump’s business empire held steady last year, with a drop in business at his Mar-a-Lago resort and small gains at his Washington hotel and Doral golf club, according to financial disclosure forms released Thursday.
The documents show that critics who predicted Trump would cash in off his presidency were off the mark — as was the president himself, who earlier this year claimed he had “lost massive amounts of money doing this job.”
Overall, revenue from Trump’s business empire in 2018 was roughly the same as in 2017 — at least $453 million.
Revenue tallied from more than 200 businesses was down more than $30 million from the previous year, due partly to a drop in management fees at hotels that cut ties to the president’s company.
That shortfall was made up from sales of various properties last year, including a stake in a housing project in Brooklyn and land near Los Angeles and in the Dominican Republic.
Trump’s Doral golf course and club in Miami took in the most among his golf properties, generating about $76 million in revenue last year, about $1 million more than in 2017.
His Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, took in nearly $23 million, a drop of more than $2 million.
Trump’s Washington, DC, hotel near the White House, a magnet for MAGA fans, lobbyists and foreign interests, generated nearly $41 million, up less than half a million from last year.
The report, released by the Office of Government Ethics, showed that Trump’s debt increased over the past year by $10 million, to at least $315 million.
Trump’s newest debt — a mortgage loan of more than $25 million — was for the purchase of an eight-bedroom Palm Beach home adjacent to Mar-A-Lago that had been owned by his sister, retired federal judge Maryanne Trump Barry.
While Trump has refused to release his tax records, he has been filing the less-specific financial disclosure reports since he began running for president.
Since he won the election, Trump has faced several business setbacks, some he has blamed on the scrutiny of his presidency and a divisive political atmosphere.
He has had to postpone a rollout of two new hotel chains targeting budget and mid-priced travelers, and several buildings have stripped his name off their facades, including hotels in Toronto and SoHo in the Big Apple and a condo tower in Panama.
One big hit in the disclosure report was at Trump International Hotels Management, an entity that handles management for hotels in the US and abroad.
The business took in $1.5 million last year, down $15 million from the year before.
When Trump took office, he refused to fully divest from his global business, a break with presidential tradition.
Instead, he put his assets in a trust controlled by his two adult sons and a senior executive. Trump can take back control of the trust at any time, and also withdraw cash from it.
With AP