Last week, Donald Trump announced a new venture: Truth Social, his long-threatened attempt to worm his way into the social media game. It’s already in trouble. Shady business dealings and other legal matters may deep six it before it even launches. But according to a new report by NPR, that’s far from the president-turned-failed blogger’s only financial woe.
The article surveys Trump’s businesses and finds that, while his company “still owns valuable assets” and he has a “steady income from commercial real estate properties that don’t bear his name in New York and San Francisco,” he’s still treading water. Multiple investigations into his business are underway, and he’s trying his best not to cooperate. Meanwhile, his brand, synonymous with a controversial former world leader whose term ended in disgrace and who continues to spread misinformation, has become “stagnant.”
The real estate that does bear his name, for instance, is not doing so hot. Trump Tower in Midtown New York City, his former home and the spiritual center of his empire, has sure seen better days:
Once, Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan was a bustling indoor mall, with floors and floors of retail, a pink marble atrium and an indoor waterfall. On a recent visit, the waterfall and the pink marble were still there, but the escalator going up from the first floor was roped off, a currency exchange was closed, and small ground-level shops had been converted to display windows for Trump-branded merchandise.
Meanwhile, other avenues, such as office rentals and retail, continue to struggle post-pandemic. Even his golf courses, which should have thrived over the last two years due to their outdoor locations, have seen in a decline in attendance. To make matters worse, he was recently removed from Forbes’ list of 400 richest people.
Much of this could have been averted, Forbes argued, had Trump “sold off his assets and invested in markets” while president. Had he done that, they estimated, he could have been $4.5 billion richer now. Instead, someone whose celebrity has long been based on how wealthy he claimed he was is at best just hanging on.
(Via NPR)
Source: https://uproxx.com/viral/trump-brand-stangnant-businesses-losing-money/