According to the submission made by President Trump to the United States Office of Government Ethic, it reveals that he has made tens of millions from his own real-estate empire. President Trump revealed that he earned an income running into tens of millions of dollars from the resorts and golf courses that he has helped in boosting their profile. This is by visiting them in his capacity as the U.S. President. These are the areas that he has frequently visited ever since assuming office.
All the 98 pages in the financial disclosures that were released on Friday were a snapshot of the current U.S. President’s income and assets for the period starting January 2016 to April 2017. It was a clear indication that the President has reaped handsomely when his recent filings are compared to those that he made last year. These filings however, offer little information on his present financial situation. Donald Trump did away with the contemporary precedents when he refused to release his returns while campaigning and during the period of his presidency.
From the returns, it was possible to note that the properties that the U.S. President frequently visited in his new capacity witnessed the hugest boost in their income. Trump made an income of over $37 million from Mar-a-Lago, a Florida-based Palm Beach County Resort. The president describes this particular resort as his “Winter White House”. He also received $20 million from his golf club situated in Jupiter, Florida. Income from Mar-a-Lago has been rising steadily ever since his last two disclosures. In 2015, Trump had reported over $15 million in the total income from the resort and in 2016 the figure rose to $29 million.
Vacationing and golfing have for a long time been viewed as bipartisan presidential customs. However, Trump has upped his leisure time to high levels in both location and volume. The Washington Post carried out an analysis on May 5, which established that President Trump had on average visited one of his properties in 36 out of his 108 days as president. This was almost a third of his time as U.S. president. These trips were done on a weekly basis. Trump usually mingles with club members and guests and at times foreign dignitaries.
Properties that did not receive or received fewer visits by the president posted no huge boosts in their incomes. For instance, Trump’s golf club based in Bedminister, New Jersey hosted the president only once during the month of May. It managed to post an income of $19.7, which was almost the same figure that it posted in 2016. While most golf courses based in the U.S. saw slight or flat declines, those that are Trump-branded in Doonberg, Ireland and Turnberry, Scotland reported $12 million and $14 million respectively in income.
Trump got the largest share of income in one source from the Trump National Doral Miami. This was the golf resort he acquired in 2012. He reported that the business gave him $115 million in the filing he made in 2017. Although this represents a hefty sum by all standards, it was a decline from the reporting it had made in 2016 of $131 million.
It is complicated to assess the financial status of Donald Trump due to his history of giving mixed signals concerning his revenues and incomes emanating from his properties. In 2014 for instance, he reported over $50 million in revenue from the Doral resort. However, The New York Times made a report that he had actually got a loss of over $2 million. The 2017 filing by the president shows a bright time of reaping big from his properties.