Donald Trump made the first "shots" in a global trade war, inflicting financial damage on all kinds of people and businesses, including myself. On April 2, the day Trump unveiled his plans for higher tariffs, Forbes estimated my net worth at $4.7 billion. Less than a week later, it fell to about $4.2 billion, as the value of its public shares and private holdings fell in tandem with the broader market. What are (some of) the main financial losses of the American president, Forbes describes.
Trump's biggest loss came from his most valuable asset, Trump Media and Technology Growth, which fell 8% in just three trading days, reaching its lowest price since October. His stake, worth $2.2 billion, is now worth $2 billion (a week ago).
ΠTrump's commercial properties have "gone up" by about $90 million, assuming they have suffered similar price declines as publicly traded commercial real estate companies, Forbes writes. For example, the share price of the New York real estate company SL Green fell by 15%. Trump's portfolio, which includes properties like Vornado, Trump Tower and 40 Wall Street, is now worth about $570 million, down from $660 million a week ago.
The US president's golf estates are also losing value. The real threat to Trump's portfolio, however, is the possibility of "belt tightening". Club members could cut spending on weddings, lavish dinners or even memberships.
Hotel assets are not in a better position. Trump's largest such asset is Trump National Doral, a 643-room resort in Miami, where Saudi Arabia-affiliated LIV Golf recently hosted an event where Trump appeared shortly after announcing the tariffs.
In addition to Doral, Trump continues to own hundreds of hotel apartments in Chicago and Las Vegas. If the value of Trump's assets fell by, say, 16%, he would lose another $65 million.
Residential real estate has also seen a sharp decline. Trump owns dozens of apartments in buildings he built years ago. With the decline in that portfolio, my net worth has fallen by about $20 million. If the values of luxury and expensive trophy residential properties also decreased, for example, by just 5%, Trump would lose another $32 million.
According to Trump's latest financial statement, he holds a diversified bond portfolio. Overall, Donald Trump's losses from private assets appear to be exceeding those from his publicly traded stocks.
The biggest threat to Trump's fortune isn't the direct tariffs on products, which, given that his business doesn't sell many goods, is the loss of investor confidence around the world. The crowd relies on whims, not logic, when deciding whether to buy or abandon luxury real estate, expensive club memberships, etc. The more uncertainty Trump injects into the global economy, the more my net worth will fall, he also writes in the Forbes article.