Initiation fees at Trumps clubs put millions in his pocket

[babylonsister]

July 07, 2017 5:00 AM
Initiation fees at Trump’s clubs put millions in his pocket

By Anita Kumar


PALM BEACH, FLA.

Even as he serves as president, Donald Trump earns a tidy sum — tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars — every time a new member joins one of his tony clubs.

Whether it’s the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., where the U.S. Women’s Open Golf Championship starts Monday; the club outside the nation’s capital, where the president often spends time over the weekend; the historic Mar-a-Lago Club, where he hosted the president of China and the prime minister of Japan; or one of his other exclusive addresses, each collects a hefty initiation fee from new members — up to $450,000 per person, with annual dues on top of that.

Trump has benefited greatly from these initiation fees for years. Even back when it was typical for membership fees to take the form of refundable deposits, he broke with the norm for such clubs by taking the money for himself, according to documents and interviews.

In 2004, Trump had access to nearly $100 million from refundable fees from members at just four clubs, including Mar-a-Lago, the resort in Palm Beach, Fla. that Trump has dubbed the Winter White House, according to a personal financial statement written by his accountant that year and obtained by McClatchy.

Reporting by McClatchy, including nearly 20 interviews and hundreds of pages of documents — some from litigation involving Trump and his businesses — shows that the president put in place unusual policies that allowed him to keep the high one-time fees charged to new members and put language in his club rules that allowed him to spend the money on anything he wanted.

more...

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/white-house/article159988019.html

[Vinca]

1. The fee at Mar-a-Lago doubled after Trump was elected, but they still claim he's not profiteering.

It really does seem this man can do anything and get away with it.

[tanyev]

2. You don't have to con everyone--just enough to make it worth your while.

[spanone]

3. criminal-in-chief