Trump’s Trademark Trumps His Business Savvy

Increasingly, Donald Trump’s fortune has been more reliant on harnessing his celebrity brand than the business strategy – risking capital in real estate investments – that he touts on the campaign trail. According to the one-page financial summary released when Trump launched his campaign, “real estate licensing brand, brand and branded developments” are valued at more than $3.3 billion, the largest single source of his claimed $8.7 billion total net worth in 2014. Trump told the FEC he earned income last year from 24 licensing agreements covering such things as home furnishings, menswear and energy drinks. In 2013, he paid out an undisclosed settlement to more than 100 investors who lost deposits made to secure luxury condos in a Trump-branded development in Mexico that was never built. In that deal, the Washington Post reports, Trump was paid $250,000 up front, plus additional fees up to $1 million, but invested no money and was allowed to get out if the developer went bankrupt.