Revenue at President Donald Trump”s Washington, DC, hotel and several of his biggest clubs and resorts mostly held steady last year before the coronavirus forced many to shut their doors and lay off workers, according to a financial disclosure report released Friday.
Trump”s DC hotel and his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, both took in slightly less revenue in 2019 for the third year in a row. Revenue at the president”s golf club near Miami and at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club inched up.
In sum, the disclosure report released by the Office of Government Ethics appears to provide little evidence that the free publicity from Trump”s frequent trips to some of his properties have helped them much, as his critics had feared.
Trump”s DC hotel, a magnet for lobbyists and diplomats hoping to curry favor with the administration, took in USD 40.5 million before its lobby was closed due to the coronavirus and other operations cut back. That is down from USD 40.8 million in 2018. Mar-a-Lago took in USD 21.4 million, down from USD 22.7 million.
One of the biggest revenue generators among Trump”s properties last year, the Trump National Doral Golf Club near Miami, took in USD 77.2 million, up from USD 76 million in 2018, its third year of climbing.
The Doral and Mar-a-Lago clubs were among many of Trump”s properties in several states and abroad that closed earlier this year due to the coronavirus. The company has asked for relief from tax authorities in Palm Beach County, where it operates two golf courses, and reportedly from its biggest lender, Deutsche Bank. In March and April, it laid off or furloughed at least 1,300 of its workers.
Eric Trump, who is running the family business with his brother, Don Jr., said “2019 was a fantastic year for our country and one of the best years in the history of The Trump Organisation.”
For all the detail in Trump”s latest disclosure report, it gives only a partial picture of how his business has fared. It lists only revenues, not profits, for instance, and many figures are given in ranges.
Trump”s tax returns would give a better picture, but he has refused to disclose them, a first in the modern presidency. He also broke with presidential tradition by deciding not to sell off his holdings to avoid the potential conflicts with his decisions over regulations, taxes and laws that could benefit his business.
The Trump Organisation, an umbrella group for his holdings, has struggled with boycotts and business blowback from Trump”s divisive comments and policies for years.
Several buildings have stripped the Trump name from their façades, including hotels in Manhattan and Toronto, and the company had to halt the rollout of two new hotel chains last year after it struggled to sign up business partners.
The total for Trump”s personal liabilities was unchanged between 2019 and 2020, showing he continues to owe debts amounting to at least USD 315 million to eight banks and commercial lenders.
Trump”s major creditors include German-based Deutsche Bank, owed at least USD 130 million, and New York-headquartered commercial lender Ladder Capital, owed at least USD 110 million.
The only shift in Trump”s debt was a new lender, the Bryn Mawr Trust Company, a suburban Philadelphia bank which merged in 2017 with Royal Bank America, which had held a Trump debt worth between USD 5 million and USD 25 million for Seven Springs, a New York estate owned by the Trump Organisation. The debt was due in 2019, but the new creditor extended Trump”s due date to 2029.
