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Donald Trump Owes Over A Quarter Of A Billion Dollars To Banks

By Nancy Bailey
Published on: 06:42 PST, Mar 22, 2016

Donald Trump is in debt to banks for various real estate projects to the tune of millions.

Trump’s personal finance disclosure forms revealed that he owes approximately $250 million to a smattering of primarily small firms, such as New Jersey-based Amboy Bank and specialized real-estate firm Ladder Capital Finance LLC. According to the Wall Street Journal, the German-based Deutsche Bank is the only large presence on Wall Street that will continue to lend money to The Donald.

Trump has borrowed over $300 million through Deutsche Bank since 2012. The most recent deal the German bank made with Trump was for $170 million. It loaned the Republican presidential candidate this amount to help renovate an old post office building in Washington, which Trump is converting into a luxury hotel.

This deal is ongoing despite a strained relationship with the Deutsche Bank, which Trump sued in 2005 over a Chicago property loan. That lawsuit was settled five years later.

Big names on Wall Street, such as Citigroup, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., J.P.Morgan Chase & Co., and Morgan Stanley, generally don’t lend to The Donald. Bankers explained that’s because Trump has moved away from purchasing large properties and is now concentrating on renovation and building his name brand. Therefore, he doesn’t need to borrow huge amounts.

Ted Cruz used Trump’s debt as a political jab in January.

In an article by the Washington Examiner, Cruz said that Trump “owes at least $480 million right now, and it could be billions.”

“By the way, when Heidi and I take loans, we pay them back. Donald declared bankruptcy four times.”

Donald Trump denies ever filing for bankruptcy, because according to the Law Dictionary, he didn’t. His corporation, however, did file Chapter 11 bankruptcy four times.

  1. “In 1991, Trump’s Taj Mahal located in Atlantic City was in debt for billions of dollars. As a result, Trump’s corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The bankruptcy court allowed Trump to reorganize his corporate debts and allowed the casino to keep operating. Trump did surrender half of his ownership interests in the Taj Mahal. He chose to sell his yacht and airplane to help make loan payments.”

  2. “In 1992, Trump filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on his Trump Plaza Hotel in Atlantic City. At this time, Trump owed $550 million on the Trump Plaza Hotel. As part of the restructuring, Trump gave Citibank a 49% interest in the hotel. He was given a lenient repayment plan. Trump was able to stay on as CEO but he had to give up his salary.”

  3. “Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts filed for bankruptcy in 2004. The corporation had $1.8 billion dollars of debt. Trump reduced his share in the company to 25% thereby surrendering his control of the corporation. The corporation received lower interest rates and another loan to upgrade the properties.”

  4. “In 2009, Trump Entertainment Resorts filed bankruptcy after missing a large bond interest payment. Trump was not able to agree with his board of directors on a repayment plan so he resigned as chairman of the board and retained only a 10% ownership interest in the corporation.”

In Chapter 11 bankruptcies, the owner’s personal assets remain safe and the personal credit status is not at risk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqsTqzxUbc8

According to Forbes magazine, Donald Trump’s 2016 net worth is $4.5 billion. In 2014, Forbes fashioned a “self-made” score, denoting who among the Forbes 400 inherited their fortune, (scores 1 through 5) and those who truly made it on their own (6 through 10).

“We looked carefully at these billionaires’ upbringing, paying special attention to their parents and their socio-economic status. To merit a score of 10, a member of the Forbes 400 would have to have been born into poverty, or lower middle class, and had to overcome obstacles such as being left an orphan, forced to work low-paying jobs, or faced abuse or discrimination. Oprah Winfrey, who grew up dirt poor, raised alternately by her single mom and her grandmother, and was sexually abused by several male relatives, and George Soros, who survived the Nazi occupation of Budapest, fled Hungary under Communist rule and worked his way through the London School of Economics as a railway porter and a waiter, are prime examples of what a 10 represents.”

Trump scored a four.

[Image via Albert H. Teich/Shutterstock.com]

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