Donald Trump Is No Longer One of the 400 Richest Americans: 3 Reasons His Net Worth Has Dropped in 2023
Former President Donald Trump has dropped off Forbes’ 400 list of the wealthiest people in the United States for the second time in three years.
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“With an estimated $2.6 billion fortune, he is $300 million shy of the cutoff for The Forbes 400 ranking of America’s richest people, the annual measurement that Trump has obsessed over for decades, relentlessly lying to reporters to try to vault himself higher on the list,” Forbes’ Dan Alexander wrote.
Of course, Trump is still exceedingly wealthy, just not quite as rich as he was a couple of years ago. His net worth is nearly as high as New York Attorney General Letitia James says Trump claimed it was between 2011 and 2021, per Alexander.
A $250 million civil fraud trial case brought by James accuses Trump, his two adult sons, his company and top executives of inflating the values of their assets to get tax benefits and advantageous loan terms. The trial began on Oct. 2.
This isn’t the first time Trump has fallen off the prestigious wealth list — he did so in 1990, then again in 2021 — but the reasons this time are different than before.
3 Reasons Donald Trump’s Net Worth Has Dropped in 2023
1. Truth Social Tanking
The main reason for the drop in Trump’s net worth is a steep decline in the value of his social media business. Truth Social. Trump created the platform after losing the 2020 presidential election, and the value of his stake has fallen from an estimated $730 million to less than $100 million, per Alexander.
According to Search Logistics, Truth Social had about 2 million active users in September, although Forbes indicated around 6.5 million people have signed up.
2. A Plummeting Portfolio
As Forbes reported, Trump’s real estate portfolio also played a role in the drop of his fortune, with office building values in San Francisco and New York down millions of dollars. “The president-turned-social-media mogul remains a real estate investor at heart, with a Manhattan portfolio worth an estimated $770 million after debt, down from $1 billion a year ago and $930 million in September. Rising interest rates have dragged down the numbers,” Forbes claimed.
3. Exaggerated Net Worth
Another reason Trump’s net worth dropped over the past year might be the fact that his wealth may never have been as high as claimed. According to the latest civil suit filing, Trump’s net worth was allegedly embellished by between $1.9 billion and $3.6 billion, per The Guardian.
Central to the lawsuit is the overstated size of Trump Tower, of which Forbes claims Trump has been lying about for years. “Property records list 235,000 square feet, 53,000 of which cover less-valuable common elements like elevators, public restrooms and mechanical spaces,” Forbes suggested. Trump had reportedly claimed the building included 246,000 square feet of retail and office space.
Through accusations, lawsuits, social media missteps and net worth plummets, Trump’s popularity never seems to wane. He retains a wide lead in Republican presidential polling and is the overwhelming favorite to face off against Joe Biden in the 2024 race for the White House.
In addition to the ongoing civil suit, the former president is facing 91 criminal charges under four separate indictments, for state (13 charges) and federal (four) election subversion, retention of classified documents (40) and hush-money payments during the 2016 election (34). These are slated for 2024.
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