Analysis puts Trump's wealth at $2.9B

A Bloomberg Billionaires Index analysis put the greater part of Donald Trump’s wealth in real estate holdings and golf courses.
A Bloomberg Billionaires Index analysis put the greater part of Donald Trump’s wealth in real estate holdings and golf courses.

An analysis of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's assets revealed a portfolio dominated by skyscrapers and golf courses that is worth $2.9 billion.

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index analysis was based in part on a 92-page personal financial-disclosure form that Trump made public last week.

The greater part of Trump's fortune is derived from real estate holdings that include a partnership with Vornado Realty Trust; resorts such as the Mar-a-Lago and Trump Doral resorts in Florida; and Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York, according to the Bloomberg index. Other properties include Turnberry in Scotland and Doonbeg in Ireland, both golf courses.

The Bloomberg index values the real estate based on income it produces. Trump's retail spaces could fetch higher rents if vacated and leased to new tenants at prevailing rates. It doesn't value Trump's brand beyond accounting for cash held in accounts for his licensing deals and business partnerships. Trump's estimations include much higher values for his brand.

Hope Hicks, a Trump spokesman, declined to comment.

During a campaign rally in Iowa on Saturday, Trump said critics had doubted whether he would run for office because of the financial-disclosure requirements.

"They said, 'Well, he's probably not as rich as people think.' But then it turned out I'm much richer." He said he's actually worth more than $10 billion.

Last month, Trump released a summary of his net worth as of June 30, 2014, which calculated his fortune at $8.7 billion, including $3.3 billion for the value of his name.

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index is a daily ranking of the world's biggest fortunes. It uses a standardized approach to value the assets owned by the world's wealthiest people.

The analysis included a review of the personal financial disclosure that Trump verified, signed and filed and that was made public by the Federal Election Commission. The document provides information on cash, marketable securities and airplanes, offering further clarity on assets.

The federal disclosure doesn't require Trump to list real estate for his own use, nor other personal property such as art or clothing.

The federal form requires disclosures of value ranges rather than specific sums. The government doesn't mandate how to assess real estate. Trump valued many properties in excess of $50 million -- the highest category on the form.

There may be additional assets that the analysis doesn't include. The federal disclosure lists 11 entities without values or incomes, and those aren't included in the calculation. Also, Trump's disclosed revenue range of $32 million to $55 million from royalties, television, management fees, model commissions, restaurants and beauty pageants is accounted for as cash.

Trump has vaulted to the top of some polls in the crowded field of Republican contenders hoping to win the White House next year. His comments against illegal immigration and Sen. John McCain's status as a Vietnam War hero have attracted attention.

In an interview Tuesday with Fox News' Greta Van Susteren, Trump took aim at the nuclear deal with Iran and stood up for Mike Huckabee over a Holocaust analogy in which the former Arkansas governor claimed the deal placed Israel at "the door of the oven."

"I mean, I'm OK with it," Trump said of Huckabee's choice of words. "I think he's a very good guy, Huckabee, by the way, and I'm really OK with it.

"Some people are saying, 'Oh, the tone' ... but it's not about tone. I mean, they're chopping off Christians' heads in Syria and lots of other places, and we're worried about tone. I think what Mike has done is he has hit a nerve, and he's made people think a little bit."

"This deal with Iran is a terrible deal," Trump said. "I think it's going to lead to nuclear proliferation."

Also on Tuesday night, Trump said in a phone interview with CNN that he had no plans to fire attorney Michael Cohen, who apologized earlier in the day for making the incorrect assertion that "by the very definition, you can't rape your spouse."

In a story published Monday night by The Daily Beast website, Cohen was quoted as threatening a reporter with legal action over a story looking into decades-old allegations reportedly made by Trump's first wife, Ivana Trump, during divorce proceedings.

Cohen was answering questions about Ivana Trump using the word "rape" in a deposition to describe a 1989 sexual encounter with Donald Trump.

In a statement, Cohen apologized for his comments.

"As an attorney, husband and father there are many injustices that offend me, but nothing more than charges of rape or racism. They hit me at my core," Cohen said. "Rarely am I surprised by the press, but the gall of this particular reporter to make such a reprehensible and false allegation against Mr. Trump truly stunned me. In my moment of shock and anger, I made an inarticulate comment -- which I do not believe -- and which I apologize for entirely."

Trump's campaign also released a statement from Ivana Trump calling the story "totally without merit."

Information for this article was contributed by Caleb Melby, Richard Rubin, Patrick Clark, Lauren Streibin, Ben Brody and David Knowles of Bloomberg News; and by Jill Colvin of The Associated Press.

A Section on 07/29/2015

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