FollowAfter President Donald Trumps wealth was trimmed by $600 million, he lost 92 spots on Forbes’ annual list of America’s wealthiest people.
The President now holds the 248th position, with an estimated wealth of $3.1 billion. Forbes unveiled this year’s list Tuesday. In 2016, the president held the 156th position with a wealth of $3.7 billion.
Forbes investigators had to sift through heaps of public records like financial disclosure forms and interview dozens of persons familiar with the matter to calculate Trump’s net worth, which has been a controversial issue for years.
Trump once said that his fortune stands at $10 billion, but since he repeatedly refused to release his tax returns it is unclear if his claim holds water. Trump is the first U.S. president not to disclose the financial data since Richard Nixon.
Trump Lost Money Last Year
Forbes has been keeping an eye on the President’s wealth since 1982, which marks the beginning of the list. The magazine thinks that the recent loss of wealth can be attributed to a softening in the retail and real estate markets in New York City. Forbes has found that Trump’s Manhattan properties have lost so much value that they slashed his fortune by $400 million. The most affected properties were those located around Fifth Avenue.
Trump also lost some money after heavily investing in his presidential campaign last year. According to official records, the campaign efforts cost him $66 million. And there was also the Trump university scandal which cost him $25 million in legal fees and compensation.
Experts believe that Trump’s numerous golf courses also hemorrhaged money. Yet, the loses have been partially offset by the revenues brought by Trump’s tower in Las Vegas and an office building in San Francisco.
On this year Forbes list, Microsoft boss Bill Gates holds the first spot, with an $89 million net income, and Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos the second spot, with a net worth of $81 billion.
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