Trump Said He Received a 'Small Loan' of $1M From Late Father, But the Actual Figure Was Much Bigger

Although former president Donald Trump has openly discussed getting money from his late father, Fred Trump, he frequently omitted a few zeros when discussing the precise amount. During his 2015 campaign trail speech, Donald told a story about how his father gave him a small loan of $1 million to help him get started in business. The claim stayed alive despite new evidence contradicting its veracity. In 2018, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House Press Secretary, reaffirmed his account of events, saying that Donald had paid back the original $1 million loan and used it to amass a sizeable fortune.

However, a 2018 New York Times article went on to refute this story, and the startling details of how much money Fred gave Donald money were revealed. In actuality, Donald's father had given him a staggering $413 million throughout the years. The Times investigation went on to claim that after Fred Trump passed away in 1999, Trump and his family committed alleged 'tax dodges' by creating fictitious companies to manage the inherited wealth. Tax papers showed only $41 million in property that was inherited, but their real worth was nearly a staggering $1 billion.

Although Donald's attorney angrily refuted the story, records showed Fred's steady financial assistance. According to the investigation, the first loan from Fred was at least $60.7 million, a far cry from the rumored $1 million. Furthermore, the report said that Donald allegedly received an extravagant income of $200,000 when he was just three years old, which increased to around $1 million per year while he was a college student. 

A Newsweek article from 2016 revealed that Donald had used a $38 million line of credit that his father had set up in 1978. By 1980, Fred had given his son loans totaling $7.5 million to get him out of debt. According to Newsweek, Donald could repay these loans whenever it was convenient for him, and there would be no interest charged. Fred stepped in once more to save Donald's Trump Castle Casino Resort in the early 1990s when it was in a serious debt quicksand. This time, he gave a covert $3.35 million loan by buying chips for the establishment through a lawyer. The casino was allowed to keep the loan, but this unorthodox approach resulted in a $30,000 penalty by New Jersey's Division of Gaming Enforcement, per the Washington Post.

In a 1994 Vanity Fair interview, Donald recalled his father's steadfast support during difficult times despite these financial gimmicks, highlighting Fred's everlasting trust in him. "When the s**t hit the fan ... my father would tell people, 'Do yourself a favor. Go to the bookie and put a lot of money on Donald's head,'" he shared. 

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on Dec. 2, 2023. It has since been updated.