Why Donald Trump Is Facing a Financial Nightmare

[babylonsister]

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/09/why-donald-trump-is-facing-a-financial-nightmare/


Why Donald Trump Is Facing a Financial Nightmare
The president has massive debts, struggling businesses, and potentially a $100 million tax bill.
Russ Choma


Donald Trump has hundreds of millions of dollars of debt coming due in the next few years—a cash crunch that will leave him with few good options for paying off or refinancing his loans. And the New York Times’ blockbuster story on his tax returns has revealed a new twist: Depending on the results of an IRS audit, he could also be on the hook for at least another $100 million in taxes, interest, and penalties. Together, these pending and potential liabilities suggest that Trump’s empire—with his core business already suffering from the pandemic—could face intense financial pressure in the immediate future. It’s not at all clear he has the available cash—or the ability to borrow more—to stave off disaster.

Trump entered the Oval Office with more conflicts of interest than any other president in history. Unlike previous ultra-wealthy presidents and vice-presidents, such as John F. Kennedy and Nelson Rockefeller, the question wasn’t simply what he owned. It was and remains what he owes. For years, ethics experts have raised concerns about Trump’s various debts because Trump’s creditors, including German banking giant Deutsche Bank, hold unique leverage over the president. If Trump defaults, they have the power to seize many of his most beloved properties—Trump Tower, his Doral golf course, and his luxury hotel in downtown Washington, DC. In some cases, they could even come after him personally. In June, Mother Jones reported that Trump has nearly a half-billion dollars in loans coming due during a theoretical second term. How Trump plans to handle these debts poses a very real, very serious, and very immediate dilemma.

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Taxes aside, 2020 is likely going to be a historically bad year for Trump’s businesses. According to Trump’s most recent personal financial disclosure, nearly three-quarters of Trump’s revenue (which, as the Times piece reminds us, is not the same as profit) comes from the hospitality industry—his golf courses, hotels, and resorts. And that’s a sector that all but ground to a halt this year, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many of Trump’s properties have reopened, but at nowhere near their previous capacity. In just one example of how the pandemic is afflicting Trump’s bottom line, his Scottish golf resorts, already big money-losers, lost virtually all of their international clientele this summer.

A few weeks ago, it was reported that Trump was seriously trailing Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the fundraising game and was considering pouring as much as $100 million into his own presidential campaign. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to see how he could afford to do that.

[redstatebluegirl]

1. I feel certain he has money stashed overseas in some secret bank account.

No way he loses everything and ends up on the street and not 5th avenue.

[SoonerPride]

3. I think you vastly over estimate how smart he is

I think he has been able to skate from crisis to crisis on celebrity alone.

It all comes crashing down in 6 months and he has nothing left.

There is no secret money squirreled away.

[ace3csusm]

6. He better have reciepts for that money

I think their is too much fire on him now if that money was obtained not on par...

[Wellstone ruled]

2. When it becomes Public Knowledge

that you or your Business's are upside down,the Vultures start circling. Do know my last Employer had anything Trump COD when I retired.

[Raven123]

4. One of the more interesting parts of this story to me

.. is the fact that now that everyone knows his situation, he will have a difficult time selling assets to pay off those loans. He will have to sell at rock bottom prices

[Stuart G]

5. Thank You..Well said, and of interest to many.

[Eyeball_Kid]

7. As the mystery dissipates, so does the magic. Trumpy's reputation is in the gutter.

Pennies on the dollar. Everything. He deserves nothing less.

[ace3csusm]

8. I think he is done

hi has over leveraged the properties 3x over if this article below is half right he is in deep trouble jail maybe his only choice if that money was loaned from wrong individuals...
[link:https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/9/29/1981694/-Buried-in-Trump-s-taxes-what-s-going-on-at-his-golf-resorts-makes-no-sense-unless-it-s-a-lie|

[Mariana]

9. He's the very definition of a "motivated seller". nt.

[lagomorph777]

10. He's got trouble coming from every direction. Expect increased craziness.

[Grins]

11. I think it's even more. And worse!

Another site put his potential tax liability, plus the notes he has coming due at around $650 million.

And the other threat? Prison.

The feds are still looking into “Chicago Unit LLC” where $50 million in canceled debt was not declared as income, per IRS rules. That could add $20 million to his tab, plus penalties, plus whatever he would owe Illinois.

And SDNY is also after him and has publicly said in court filings they were looking at FELONY fraud. On his taxes and his declarations to banks and insurance companies.

Both of those are FELONY crimes, and both carry mandatory prison sentences.

Oh, dear....