Trump’s latest financial disclosure shows liabilities, millions from licensing

Former president Donald Trump is continuing to make millions off his properties, book royalties and licensing deals while maintaining large liabilities stemming from costly court judgments, according to his latest financial disclosure.

The disclosure released Thursday provides the latest picture of the Republican presidential nominee’s extensive finances, detailing how Trump, the former president and real estate tycoon, has been making money since leaving office and launching a 2024 bid. However, because candidates are only required to report their assets and liabilities in broad ranges, the overview of Trump’s finances coming out of the disclosure is imprecise.

Trump reported income of at least $635 million from assets described as real estate, hotels, resorts and golf properties, according to the more than 250-page document released by the Federal Election Commission. He reported more than 20 assets as being worth over $50 million, the highest category.

The form’s list of liabilities shows that Trump paid off the mortgage on his Chicago property, financed through Deutsche Bank and valued between $25 million and $50 million, in October 2023. That was the same month Trump’s civil fraud trial kicked off. The judge in the case ultimately found that Trump inflated the value of his assets to attain more favorable loan rates, including from Deutsche Bank. The financial disclosure also states that a mortgage on Trump Plaza was paid off in April of this year.

The disclosure lists liabilities related to judgments against him in two civil cases. The liabilities are in excess of $50 million owed to both the New York attorney general and writer E. Jean Carroll.

In February, a New York judge ordered Trump to pay at least $454 million in a civil fraud case.

Separately, he faces an $83.3 million judgment in a federal defamation case brought by Carroll. Trump has posted bonds in both judgments, which he is appealing.

A large segment of Trump’s net worth is currently tied to his majority stake in shares - 114,750,000 shares in total - of Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Trump’s social media network, Truth Social. A lockup period, the disclosure notes, prevents Trump from selling the shares for six months following the company going public in March.

Trump also gained millions through recent deals leveraging his name and likeness on physical and digital products.

Earlier this year, Trump urged his supporters to buy $59.99 Bibles that included a handwritten chorus to “God Bless the USA” by singer and supporter Lee Greenwood. Trump made some $300,000 in royalties from “The Greenwood Bible,” according to the disclosure.

The former president also made millions in royalties from the sale of post-presidency books, with the form showing $4.4 million from “Letters to Trump” - which retails for $99 or $399 signed by Trump - and about half a million dollars from “A MAGA Journey.”

The publisher behind the books, Winning Team Publishing, was started by Trump ally Sergio Gor and Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. Along with books by Trump, other Trump allies, such as Charlie Kirk, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake all have books published through Winning Team. Campaign finance data shows that Republican political committees and campaigns have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for books and printing-related services from the publisher.

Although Trump was once a cryptocurrency critic going so far as to call bitcoin a scam in 2021, he owns between $1 million and $5 million in the cryptocurrency ethereum through CIC Digital LLC - which licenses Trump’s likeness for non-fungible tokens or NFTs.

Several versions of the NFTs have been released, including a “MugShot edition” in 2023. Those willing to buy 100 digital trading cards would receive “a piece of President Trump’s Suit from the Mugshot,” according to the website collecttrumpcards.com.

Along with the $1 million to $5 million in ethereum held in a cryptocurrency wallet, the form states that Trump received income of $7.1 million through a licensing agreement for the NFT project.

Former first lady Melania Trump also reported that her top source of income, around $330,000, came from a licensing agreement for the sale of collectible NFTs. Her second-highest source of income came from her appearance at an event hosted by Log Cabin Republicans, an LGBTQ+ Republican group, in Palm Beach, Fla., this past April, earning $237,500.

The Post previously reported that the former first lady hosted a fundraiser for the group at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach in April. It was one of her only public political appearances throughout her husband’s 2024 run.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, and her husband, Doug Emhoff, reported a total income of $450,380 in 2023, according to 2023 tax returns released by the White House.

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Amy B Wang and Marianne Levine contributed to this report.