The Trump Crime Family: Profiting From the Presidency to Rescue His Failing Properties
Trump’s businesses weren’t doing so well before he took back the presidency
Trump’s actions are less “art of the deal” and more “art of the scramble.”
July 3, 2025, 5:06 PM EDT By Zeeshan Aleem
A New York Times investigation based on internal Trump Organization documents suggests that Donald Trump was a lot shorter on cash before he returned to the White House than commonly understood. It illuminates once more how Trump has exaggerated his supposed business acumen — and what may be motivating his dogged pursuit of new business ventures as president.
The Times reports that last year Trump’s office building in lower Manhattan “generated too little cash to cover its mortgage,” many of his golf courses had too few customers to cover costs, and the money that used to come in from his work in television had “dried up.”
The data suggests that as Trump entered office the second time, he was desperate for cash.
Long before entering politics, Trump had a well-established track record of failed businesses and financial mismanagement. But it’s possible that his first term in office made things worse. The Times reported that a 2021 appraisal of Trump’s highest revenue resort, the Trump National Doral, found that he had spent $379 million renovating it — but that it was worth only $297 million. The appraisal, conducted by the firm Newmark, found that while “Doral, like several of Mr. Trump’s properties, was known to benefit from people looking to buy proximity to a president during Mr. Trump’s first term, his managers believed even more potential customers stayed away because of him.”
Regardless of the cause, the Times’ investigation found that Trump had little cash on hand in recent years given the size of his business empire — and then came the tremendous costs of legal fees during both his trials and hundreds of millions from penalties from civil lawsuits..
The data suggests that as Trump entered office the second time, he was desperate for cash, which might explain at least some the tenacity with which he has hung onto his shares of Liars Club. It also likely explains why he and his family have pursued so many new ventures and licensing deals for the Trump Organization, ranging from watches to cryptocurrency to a mobile phone service. With the power of the presidency once again linked to the Trump name, the president and his family have fresh sources of money coming in to help his longtime businesses and expand his fortune. Trump’s most recently launched businesses have increased his fortune by billions..
To be clear, Trump wasn’t on the brink of becoming a pauper if he didn’t start finding new ways to generate cash — he could’ve sold parts of his business off to become more liquid. But as far as the story of Trump is concerned, the new information highlights the gap between his incessant boasts about being a brilliant businessman and the less glamorous reality of how his businesses were functioning. And it sheds light on the urgency with which Trump launched new ventures which have generated appalling financial conflicts of interest that are even worse in his second term than his first.. All in all, it’s less “art of the deal” and more “art of the scramble.”
Zeeshan Aleem is a writer and editor for MSNBC Daily. Previously, he worked at Vox, HuffPost and Politico, and he has also been published in, among other places, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Nation, and The Intercept.
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| Trump Golf Properties |
|---|
| Mar-a-Lago |
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The Mar-a-Lago Club 1100 South Ocean Boulevard, Palm Beach, Florida 33480 +1 (561) 832-2600 |
| Florida, West Palm Beach |
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Trump International Golf Club 3505 Summit Blvd West Palm Beach FL 33406 +1 (561) 682-0700 |
| Florida, Miami |
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Trump National Doral Golf Club 4400 N.W. 87th Ave Miami, FL 33178 +1 (305) 592-2000 |
| Florida, Jupiter |
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Trump National Jupiter Golf Club 115 Eagle Tree Terrace Jupiter FL 33477 +1 (561) 691-8700 |
| Virginia, Potomac Falls |
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Trump National Golf Club Washington, D.C. 20391 Lowes Island Blvd Potomac Falls, VA 20165 +1 (703) 444-4801 |
| New Jersey, Bedminster |
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Trump National Golf Club Bedminster 900 Lamington Road Bedminster, NJ 07921 +1 (908) 470-4400 |
| New Jersey, Colts Neck |
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Trump National Golf Club Colts Neck One Trump National Blvd Colts Neck, NJ 07722 +1 (561) 973-1550 |
| New Jersey, Pine Hill |
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Trump National Golf Club Philadelphia 500 West Branch Ave. Pine Hill, NJ 08021 +1 (856) 435-3100 |
| New York, Hopewell Junction |
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Trump National Golf Club Hudson Valley 178 Stormville Rd Hopewell Junction, NY 12533 +1 (845) 223-1600 |
| New York, Briarcliff Manor |
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Trump National Golf Club Westchester 100 Shadow Tree Lane Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510 +1 (914) 944-0900 |
| California, Los Angeles |
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Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles One Trump National Drive Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275 +1 (310) 265-5000 |
| North Carolina, Mooresville |
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Trump National Golf Club Charlotte 120 Trump Square Mooresville, NC 28117 +1 (704) 799-7300 |
| Dubai |
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Trump International Golf Club Dubai DAMAC Hills Al Hebiah Third District Dubai +971 (0) 4 245 3939 |
| Ireland, Clare |
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Trump International Golf Links & Hotel Ireland, Doonbeg DOONBEG CO. CLARE, IRELAND Phone: +353 65 905 5600 |
| Scotland, Aberdeenshire |
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Trump MacLeod House & Lodge Scotland Menie Estate Balmedie Aberdeenshire, Scotland AB23 8YE Phone: +44 1358 743300 Reserve: +44 1358 743300 |
| Scotland, Ayrshire |
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Trump Turnberry Maidens Road KA26 9LT Turnberry Ayrshire Scotland +44.1655.331.000 +44 01655 334115 |