Donald Trump is Off Forbes List of 400 Richest Americans for First Time in 25 Years
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Forbes has announced that former President Donald Trump has fallen off of its list of the 400 richest people in America.
The magazine released an article noting that this is the first time in 25 years where Trump didn’t make the cut. The president has been sliding down on the list over the last 5 years, and Forbes’ write-up spells out why he lost his spot on the list.
The first explanation is that much of Trump’s fortune is wrapped up in his ownership of city properties that tanked in value over the course of the Covid pandemic. Forbes’ Dan Alexander goes into detail about how Trump could’ve done a lot better for himself if he divested himself of his real estate assets and switched to broad-based index funds before he took office.
Trump’s assets were valued at $3.5 billion at the start of his presidency, and if he sold them off, Forbes’ estimates suggest he would’ve been left with $2.4 billion after taxes. Despite the loss, Forbes estimates that if he had poured all of his remaining money into an index fund, “Trump’s fortune would have ballooned to $4.5 billion by now, leaving him 80 percent richer than he is today.”
The article goes on to say its unclear whether Trump, as president, would’ve been granted the capital-gains tax exemption that other government workers are eligible for if they get rid of their holdings. Walter Shaub, former head of the Office of Government Ethics, told Forbes he would have granted Trump a certificate of divestiture if he did that, but Trump’s team “never showed any interest” in the idea, and Trump might’ve had even more funds to invest into an S&P 500 index fund if he pursued it.
From the magazine:
In that alternate scenario, Trump would have been worth an estimated $7 billion by this September, when Forbes locked in estimates for its annual list, enough to earn a spot as the 133rd-richest person in the country. Instead, he’s off the Forbes 400 for the first time in a quarter-century.
