Trump’s business was crashing even before the Capitol riot made his brand toxic
Donald Trump’s businesses generated nearly 40% less revenue last year as the coronavirus pandemic slammed the hotel industry, putting the former president under financial pressure even before corporate partners and banks ditched him in the wake of the insurrection at the US Capitol.
Posted on Wednesday as he left the White House, Trump’s final financial disclosure as president reveals a steep decline in revenue at some of his marquee properties in 2020 and the first 20 days of this year. Sales at the Trump International Hotel Washington plummeted by 63% compared with 2019 to $15.1 million, while revenue fell 62% to $9.8 million at Scottish golf resort Turnberry.
Revenue at one of the former president’s biggest businesses, the Trump National Doral golf resort near Miami, declined to $44.2 million from $77.2 million in 2019. Trump has mortgages on the property totaling between $55 million and $75 million, according to the document. The loans from Deutsche Bank mature in 2023.
Federal officials are allowed to disclose their income and the value of their assets in broad ranges. Overall, Trump reported revenue for 2020 of $278 million to $313 million, down from $445 million to $483 million in 2019. Based on the midpoint of those ranges, revenue fell by 37%.
Hotels and other hospitality companies, which form a substantial part of Trump’s business empire, have been hit especially hard during the pandemic as travelers stay home and governments impose lockdowns. In Scotland, for example, Trump Turnberry has been forced to close because of government restrictions designed to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
There were a few bright spots for the Trump Organization. Revenue was fairly steady at his golf courses in Charlotte, North Carolina, Philadelphia and New York’s Hudson Valley. Sales at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, where Trump returned after leaving the White House on Wednesday, increased to $24.2 million from $21.4 million. (He transferred his permanent residence to the Florida property from Trump Tower in New York in 2019, and spent hundreds of days golfing at courses he owned during his presidency.)
Still, there are major questions about the president’s business after his supporters vandalized the Capitol earlier this month in a brazen assault that left five people dead and sparked a major corporate backlash.
Twitter and Facebook banned Trump indefinitely, taking away his biggest megaphones. Stripe is no longer processing credit card payments for his campaign organization, Shopify stopped operating online stores for the Trump Organization and the campaign and the PGA announced it was pulling a major golf tournament from his Bedminster, New Jersey, course.
New York City is seeking to terminate its business relationships with the Trump Organization. That would prevent Trump from continuing to operate several recreational venues including the Wollman ice skating rink in Central Park, which generated $4.5 million in revenue in 2020, according to the financial disclosure.
Deutsche Bank has decided to no longer do business with Trump, a source told CNN Business earlier this month. In addition to the mortgages on the Doral property, Germany’s biggest bank has also provided loans for the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago and the company’s hotel in Washington.
The Trump Organization owes Deutsche Bank approximately $340 million in the coming years, the source said. It’s unclear which, if any, other banks will want to loan money to the Trump Organization.
New York state criminal investigators looking into Trump’s business practices have subpoenaed the bank about its lending relationship with the Trump Organization. Late last month the two private bankers at Deutsche Bank who worked most closely with Trump resigned their positions.
Signature Bank said following the attack on the Capitol that it had started closing Trump’s personal accounts. The former president has a checking account with the bank, according to his financial disclosure.
The Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
— Matt Egan and Chris Isidore contributed reporting.
