Donald Trump didn't have the cash to self-finance campaign, analysis suggests

(Image credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

published 16 May 2016

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.

Curiously, Aaron Elstein reports at Crain's New York Business, Trump for years has taken a New York State tax break of $302 that is only for couples who earn $500,000 a year or less. Tax experts tell Crain's that there are several ways Trump could substantially lower his taxable income, but Martha Stark, a former New York City finance commissioner and property tax expert says "it's strange that a billionaire would apply for a $302 tax benefit and, moreover, that he would take it." You can watch The Wall Street Journal's report on Trump's finances below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.