Donald Trumphis biographer David Cay Johnston, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist, cast doubt on the former president’s claim that he is worth $10 billion.
What happened: Johnston, who has followed Trump for years, expressed skepticism about the former president’s wealth during an appearance on CNN’s “Anderson 360.”
In 2015, Trump boasted ten times about being a billionaire. His presidential campaign press release stated that his income, excluding dividends, interest, capital gains, rents and royalties, was $362 million.
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Johnston, author of “The Big Cheat: How Donald Trump Fleeced America and Enriched Himself and His Family,” questioned Trump’s claims. “Remember Donald told us he was worth $10 billion,” he said.
“If so, he should be accumulating money,” he added.
“Evidently, it must depend on begging money from people,” Johnston said.
The biographer also highlighted a recent Reuters report mentioning the hotelier Robert Bigelow she said she “gave him $1 million for his legal fees a few weeks ago.”
“I promised to give him another $20 million, which will go to the super PAC,” Bigelow said, adding: “I was just understanding. They didn’t ask me for anything. The $20 million would be distributed but it ‘starts right away.’”
“If I had $10 billion, this wouldn’t be a big deal,” Johnston said. “But if you don’t have $10 billion and you just claim it, that’s a whole different story.”
Because matter: Trump’s net worth has been a subject of debate for years. By 2023, despite legal battles and a housing crisis, his wealth would have risen to $3.1 billion, $500 million more than when he left the White House in 2021.
However, he was left off the Forbes 400 list of America’s richest individuals for 2023, with an estimated net worth of $2.6 billion, a drop from the previous year’s estimate of $3.2 billion.
Johnston’s skepticism emerges in the context of Trump’s ongoing legal battles, which could potentially deplete his cash reserves. Trump is facing two major legal verdicts in New York that could potentially wipe out much of his wealth. This represents a potential setback for the presidential candidate, whose brand is intertwined with his financial prosperity.
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