New revelations about Trump’s debt load
It's no surprise that a property developer like Donald Trump would carry debt. But who he owes it to is politically embarrassing.
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It’s no surprise that a property developer like Donald Trump would carry debt. But who he owes it to is politically embarrassing.
A New York Times investigation finds companies owned by the Republican presidential nominee owe $US650 million (three passive partnerships Mr Trump is involved in owe an additional $US2 billion, although the New Yorker would not be personally liable in the event of a default).
Mr Trump’s largest single liability is his 30% share of $US950 million debt on an office building on the Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan. The lenders include the Bank of China and Goldman Sachs.
China and Goldman Sachs are, of course, two of the Republican nominee’s two favourite targets.
It’s typical for a president to put their assets in a blind trust to avoid the appearance of being beholden to any business interests.
In Mr Trump’s case, he says his children would run his business.
It seems unlikely they would utilise a blind trust, but even if they did, an academic consulted by the Times says it would be like “like putting a gold watch in a box and pretending you don’t know it is in there.”
The Republican nominee has officially declared $US350 million in debt, albeit on a federal form that did not require comprehensive disclosure.
He continues to refuse to release his tax return, leaving open questions about his true wealth (variously estimated from a few hundred million to Mr Trump’s self-assessment of $US10 billion), his debt, whether he has lived up to his charity brags, the impact of his involvement in four business bankruptcies and nature of his business partnerships at home and abroad.
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