Donald Trump is running for president of the United States because he thinks he can make the country better off. He may have also come up with a formula to make us all wealthier, at least on paper.
On Wednesday, Trump filed his financial disclosure forms. His campaign said Trump’s net worth exceeds $10 billion. They used capital letters.
Others disagree. Wealth-X, a consulting firm, puts Trump’s net worth at $4.5 billion. Forbes says the real estate tycoon-turned-reality star-turned-presidential hopeful is worth $4 billion. And the magazine estimates that Trump’s net worth has dropped by at least $125 million since he announced his presidential run a month ago. Author Timothy O’Brien famously estimated Trump’s net worth was as little as $125 million. Trump sued for libel, but the case was thrown out by the judge.
Who’s right? It’s hard to tell based on what Trump has disclosed so far. In his statement on Wednesday, Trump said he had income of $362 million last year. That didn’t included dividends or other capital gains. After taxes, that’s $217 million. If Trump were a stock, for him to be worth $10 billion, he would have a price-to-earnings ratio of 46. Facebook (FB) has a p/e that’s roughly equivalent to that. But the social network’s cash flow is rising by 40% a year. Trump’s, likely, is not.
You have worth, a lot of it. The biggest discrepancy between what Trump thinks he’s worth and what others say is the value of his brand. Forbes used to say it was worth $125 million, but now it might be zero, as business partners have severed their relationships with him recently, after some remarks. Trump says his personal brand is worth somewhere north of $3 billion. So figure out what you might be worth, and then add some zeros.
Real Estate. Trump doesn’t own many of his properties but rather a long-term lease holder. So if you rent, go ahead and add the value of the place to your net worth. Trump also seems to think his clubs are more valuable than they are worth, about $1 billion more than what Forbes says.
Your wish list is a reality. Trump includes $300 million in his net worth for properties under development. Others have said the value of those projects, since they are not completed, and it’s not clear trump owns the land, is essentially zero. So, are you thinking of eventually building that dream beach house, but don’t actually own any land yet? No problem. That’s worth a few million. Tack it on.
Of course, calculating net worth is not a science. So Trump’s method could be just as valid as the ones used by any of the others who have examined his assets. What would you be worth if you used the Trump method? Follow the steps above or enter what you think you’re worth and our Trump Net Income Calculator will do the math. (Just numbers and commas. No dollar signs.)