How much Donald Trump is worth financially is one of the enduring mysteries of the 2016 presidential race, and with Trump declining to release his tax returns and abruptly announcing he will no longer self-finance his campaign, The Wall Street Journal investigated to see what it could find out. What the newspaper determined — after looking at Trump's financial disclosure form filed last summer, talking to experts, and crunching lots of numbers — is that Trump probably earns about $160 million a year, before taxes, and "in terms of ready cash, he would be ill-equipped to foot the bill himself" for his general election campaign.
With that amount of income and between $78 million and $232 million in relatively liquid assets, as Trump reported last summer, he would either have to borrow against his property or sell some of it if he were to bankroll his campaign. Asked to respond to The Journal's analysis, Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks said: "The income number is wrong by a lot, but Mr. Trump said, 'Who cares — it doesn't matter.'" Trump himself told the newspaper in March that he earns "hundreds of millions of dollars" from 114 licensing deals.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
When will mortgage rates finally start coming down?The Explainer Much to potential homebuyers' chagrin, mortgage rates are still elevated
-
Women are getting their own baseball league againIn the Spotlight The league is on track to debut in 2026
-
Giant TVs are becoming the next big retail commodityUnder the Radar Some manufacturers are introducing TVs over 8 feet long
-
Wyoming judge strikes down abortion, pill bansSpeed Read The judge said the laws — one of which was a first-in-the-nation prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy — violated the state's constitution
-
US sanctions Israeli West Bank settler groupSpeed Read The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on Amana, Israel's largest settlement development organization
-
Gaetz ethics report in limbo as sex allegations emergeSpeed Read A lawyer representing two women alleges that Matt Gaetz paid them for sex, and one witnessed him having sex with minor
-
Biden allows Ukraine to hit deep in RussiaSpeed Read The U.S. gave Ukraine the green light to use ATACMS missiles supplied by Washington, a decision influenced by Russia's escalation of the war with North Korean troops
-
Sri Lanka's new Marxist leader wins huge majoritySpeed Read The left-leaning coalition of newly elected Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake won 159 of the legislature's 225 seats
-
Biden arrives in Peru for final summitsSpeed Read President Joe Biden will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, visit the Amazon rainforest and attend two major international summits
-
Senate GOP selects Thune, House GOP keeps JohnsonSpeed Read John Thune will replace Mitch McConnell as Senate majority leader, and Mike Johnson will remain House speaker in Congress
-
Trump tests GOP loyalty with Gaetz, Gabbard picksSpeed Read He named Matt Gaetz as his pick for attorney general and Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence. Both have little experience in their proposed jurisdictions.
