Sunday 7 October 2018

Is Trump's "I'm a self-made billionaire shtick"... well... a myth?

In an extraordinary and very lengthy piece of investigative journalism, the NYT does a lot to suggest that. Far too long to be reprinted here, below's just the opening salvo:

President Trump participated in dubious tax schemes during the 1990s, including instances of outright fraud, that greatly increased the fortune he received from his parents, an investigation by The New York Times has found.
Mr. Trump won the presidency proclaiming himself a self-made billionaire, and he has long insisted that his father, the legendary New York City builder Fred C. Trump, provided almost no financial help.
But The Times’s investigation, based on a vast trove of confidential tax returns and financial records, reveals that Mr. Trump received the equivalent today of at least $413 million from his father’s real estate empire, starting when he was a toddler and continuing to this day.
Much of this money came to Mr. Trump because he helped his parents dodge taxes. He and his siblings set up a sham corporation to disguise millions of dollars in gifts from their parents, records and interviews show. Records indicate that Mr. Trump helped his father take improper tax deductions worth millions more. He also helped formulate a strategy to undervalue his parents’ real estate holdings by hundreds of millions of dollars on tax returns, sharply reducing the tax bill when those properties were transferred to him and his siblings.
Around the time of the 2016 election PBS broadcastet a Trump documentary biopic that suggested the same (but with less depth) but unfortunately I can't find it.

10 comments:

  1. Does anybody really care except for a few "Gotcha" Leftists? His father died and he inherited his father's fortune, so what? A millionaire inherits more millions...

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    Replies
    1. It's significant because it's just another big lie.

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    2. The dumber side of Trump's base believe he's a brilliant business man, ideally suited to lead the business that is the USA. Both perceptions are plain wrong.

      Trump suffered numerous bankruptcies and was at one point reduced (with Ivana) to starring in numerous TV adverts for prestigious brands (like McDonald).

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    3. You don't learn anything by filing for bankruptcy? Isn't THAT useful information applicable to your next endeavor? He's not successful today?

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  2. "He's not successful today?"

    He is. Largely due to Daddy's fortune.

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    Replies
    1. ...and ANYONE can turn millions into billions?

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    2. "...and ANYONE can turn millions into billions?"

      It's probably easier than you think.

      Point is that he lied AGAIN. Not that his base cares, these dumbos would follow him to the edge of the world, screaming 'fake news!' all the way.

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    3. I spotted an article (can't find it now) that says 70% of inheritors lose their wealth in a single generation...

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    4. Sounds quite plausible, that.

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