A Trump Empire Built On Inside Connections And $885 Million In Tax Breaks
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The way Donald J. Trump tells it, his first solo project as a real estate developer, the conversion of a faded railroad hotel on 42nd Street into the sleek, 30-story Grand Hyatt, was a triumph from the very beginning.
The hotel, Mr. Trump bragged in Trump: The Art of the Deal, his 1987 best seller, was a hit from the first day. Gross operating profits now exceed $30 million a year.
But that book, and numerous interviews over the years, make little mention of a crucial factor in getting the hotel built: an extraordinary 40-year tax break that has cost New York City $360 million to date in forgiven, or uncollected, taxes, with four years still to run, on a property that cost only $120 million to build in 1980.
The project set the pattern for Mr. Trumps New York career: He used his fathers, and, later, his own, extensive political connections, and relied on a huge amount of assistance from the government and taxpayers in the form of tax breaks, grants and incentives to benefit the 15 buildings at the core of his Manhattan real estate empire.
Mr. Trump, the Republican nominee for president, has made clear over the course of his campaign how proud he is that as a businessman I want to pay as little tax as possible.
The tax breaks for those two projects alone totaled $157 million.
Trump Old Post Office Llc
- 2019 Revenue: $40,523,041
- 2019 Asset Value: Over $50,000,000
- Business Type: Hotel
This business is a holding company for the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., which operates in the Old Post Office building, a national landmark. Trump’s company holds a long-term lease on the property, owned by the U.S. government, which could last nearly 100 years with extensions.
The hotel was at the center of a major emoluments case against the former president. A group of hotel and restaurant owners sued Trump for violating the emoluments clause, alleging that he was unconstitutionally profiting from his office because his hotel gets the business of foreign officials staying there to curry his favor. The group argued that this gave the former president’s hotel an unfair competitive advantage against their businesses.
Possibly as a result of lawsuits and public criticism, the Trump Organization planned to sell its lease to the property. They were seeking a purchase price of more than $500 million, one of the highest-priced hotel deals per room ever. The sale process was placed on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump Also Lent His Name To A Set Of Towers In Sunny Isles Florida
The Trump Towers in Sunny Isles, Florida, are the product of another licensing deal. In 2013, the Trump Organization estimated that it had $74 million worth of licensing deals in real estate.
On its website, the organization highlights the “opulence, comfort, and convenience” of the Sunny Isles location. The towers’ amenities include a heated swimming pool, a spa, and beachfront cabanas.
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Owner Of Trump Hotel In Vancouver Files For Bankruptcy
The company that owns the Trump International Hotel in Vancouver has filed for bankruptcy
VANCOUVER, Canada — The company that owns the Trump International Hotel in Vancouver has filed for bankruptcy.
According to the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada, TA Hotel Management Limited Partnership filed for bankruptcy on Thursday. Records show the company has CDN$4.7 million in liabilities and CDN$1.1 million in assets.
The first meeting of creditors is expected on Sept. 16.
A call to the hotels reservation desk was not answered, nor was a call to TA Hotel Management Ltd.
The hotel officially opened in February 2017 with Donald Jr. and Eric Trump attending, along with developer Tiah Joo Kim. Protestors gathered outside and then Mayor Gregor Robertson and other local politicians did not attend the ceremony.
The hotel employed about 250 people.
The 63-story building is the second tallest building in Metro Vancouver. The hotels 147 guest rooms, amenities, and ballrooms occupy the first 15 floors. Above that are 217 condominiums.
TA Hotel Management Ltd. Limited Partnership is a subsidiary of TA Global Berhad, which is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Kim has been the companys CEO since January 2016.
The companys website lists the Trump International Hotel & Tower Vancouver amongst the landmarks that we have created.
Kim is also CEO of Vancouver-based Holborn Group, which has a licensing agreement to use the Trump name.
Trump Ocean Club International Hotel And Tower: Panama City Panama
The project incorporates 369 in townhouse units, 700 apartment suite units, 1500 parking spots, retail shops, gambling club, utilization of a private shoreline club on Viveros Island, yacht club and wharf, wellbeing spa, recreational center, pool deck, meeting and occasion spaces, and a business focus. The architecture was developed by absolute acreage administrator Donald Trump of the Trump Organization and Roger Khafif, President of the K Group, a Panama resort developer.
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How Many Hotels Does Trump Own
Trump Hotels “is a brand of five-star luxury hotels and resortswith a mission of providing extraordinary customer experiencesand luxury accommodations,” according to the organization’s website.
“Our exceptionally designed hotels in iconic locations put guests at the heart of each destination.”
Trump owns luxury hotels in at least 11 cities around the world.
In the US he has hotels in Miami, New York City, Chicago, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Charlottesville and Washington, DC.
He has two luxury hotels in Scotland , one in Doonbeg, Ireland and one in Vancouver.
The Trump Organization also owns dozens of residential properties and golf courses.
“Trump Golf was founded in 1999 with the mission to create the worlds best luxury golf experience that celebrates the purity of the game, family values and tradition,” the organization says.
Some properties that have the Trump name are not necessarily owned by the organization.
Trump “frequently licenses his name to products – and buildings – he has not developed and does not own, such as the hotel and condominium Trump Soho in Manhattan and the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Dubai,” according to The Real Deal.
He has licensed his name at least 50 times, according to The Washington Post.
Istanbul Is Home To The First Trump Towers Ever Built In Europe
Trump Towers Istanbul consists of not one but two towers an office tower and a residential building. The structures are owned by Turkish billionaire Aydn Doan, who signed a licensing deal to use Trump’s name.
In 2016, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoan called for Trump’s name to be removed from the project after Trump floated a proposal to deny Muslims entry to the US.
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An Adaptation From White House Inc: How Donald Trump Turned The Presidency Into A Business By Dan Alexander
WASHINGTON, D.C., is full of monuments to presidents, but none quite like the Trump International Hotel, down the street from the White House. A bottle of chardonnay from the Trump winery in Virginia goes for $68. A seafood platter called the Trump Tower, which includes a puny lobster and a dozen oysters and clams, runs $120. And a hamburger goes for $26. The only free thing on the menu? The ever-present cocktail of money and power, which anyone can absorb simply by peering around the lobby.
Revenues at the brand-new hotel hit nearly $6 million in January 2017, the month of Trumps inaugurationroughly double internal expectations. The business turned a one-month profit of $1.6 million. In addition to all the money coming directly from Trumps billionaire buddiesVegas tycoon Phil Ruffin spent $18,000 a night on a suite$1.5 million reportedly flowed from the 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee, the group that had raised money from Trump supporters for the weeks festivities. Based on those numbers, at least 25% of the revenue that Trumps hotel generated in January 2017his first month in officecame from Trumps own political donors. It pays to be the president.
Or perhaps, paid. On July 24, more than three years after the D.C. hotel opened, Forbes valued it at $168 million, less than the $170 million mortgage the Trumps used to fix up the place. The rest of the money they put into the renovationat least $30 millioncurrently looks like a total loss.
Trump Hid Losses Of $70m At Dc Hotel During His Presidency Records Reveal
House Democrats say deception about hotel, which became a place for Republicans to do business, was detailed in documents
Donald Trump hid losses of more than $70m at his eponymous Washington DC hotel while he was in the White House, House Democrats said on Friday.
The House oversight committee said the deception was detailed in documents released by the General Services Administration , which leased the Old Post Office building on Pennsylvania Avenue to the Trump Organization in 2011 and which signed off on its operation of the hotel after Trump entered the White House, just steps away.
Trump has faced wide-ranging questions about alleged self-dealing to his businesses while he was in power.
His Washington hotel became a place for Republicans to be seen and to do business but it suffered under the pandemic and after Trumps defeat by Joe Biden last November. The Trump Organization is reported to be nearing a sale of the lease.
According to the House committee: On his federally mandated financial disclosures, President Trump reported that the Trump Hotel earned him over $150m in revenue during his time in office.
However, the records obtained by the committee show that the Trump Hotel actually incurred net losses of over $70m, leading the former presidents holding company to inject at least $24m to aid the struggling hotel.
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Trump Reportedly Nears Dc Hotel Rights Sale As Ally Says I Think Hes Gonna Run
- Hotel, which opened in 2016, was hub for government business
- Jim Jordan tells supporters in Ohio that Trump is likely to run
Donald Trump is reportedly close to selling rights to his hotel near the White House in Washington, a move the website Axios said would carry a symbolism savoured by opponents, given it would mean the removal of Trumps brash, golden branding from Pennsylvania Avenue.
Reports from Iowa, however, indicated that the former president is close to announcing an attempt to return to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, often called the most powerful address in the world, with a run for the Republican nomination in 2024.
According to the Des Moines Register, at a dinner in Dallas County, Iowa on Thursday, the Ohio congressman Jim Jordan, a close Trump ally, told Republicans: I think hes gonna run. I want him to run. Hes proven he can take the heat.
Jordan took heat himself after a liberal activist covertly recorded him being more definite about Trumps plans, telling attendees: President Trump, hes gonna run again. Jordan denied the remark, before the footage was released.
Another figure close to Trump, his former adviser Jason Miller, told Cheddar TV on Thursday the chances of another run were somewhere between 99 and 100%. I think hes definitely running in 2024.
Attempts to sell the hotel have been reported since 2019.
Trump Plaza Tower: Ramat Israel
Trump Plaza Tower in Ramat Gan in Israel is still under construction and is set to be the tallest building in Israel once complete. Initially, it was known as the Elite tower and was purchased by Donald Trump for $44 million. Trump later slowed down the arrangements to construct the tower in 2007 when he sold the site to Azorim Group. The location is on the historic site of the Elite Candy Factory.
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Condos At The Trump Tower In Westchester County New York Start At $645000
When New York developer Louis Cappelli agreed to build a Trump Tower in Westchester County, New York, the area was experiencing a boom in residential construction.
By 2008, The New York Times reported that owners who tried to flip their units were having to reduce their prices.
More recently, the local real-estate market appears to be doing better because of a low inventory of homes. But buyers at Trump Tower will still have to shell out between $645,000 and $1 million for a condo.
Apartments At Trump Tower In Kolkata Set To Be Completed In 2020 Are Billed As Luxurious Yet Reasonably Priced
The Times of India reported that apartments at Trump Tower Kolkata are about half the price of standard Trump condos in India, which sell for between $1 million and $20 million.
“Like other Trump Towers, it is an address that one can flaunt and gain immediate attention and recognition,” a managing partner at the building’s codeveloper, Tribeca, told the paper. “Trump is a successful name in real estate that no one questions even today.”
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Follow The Paper Trail
According to President Trumps July 2015 financial disclosurewhich was not verified by regulators and therefore may not include all of his foreign deals or assetsTrump owned, had ownership interest in, or was a managing member of several companies related to potential business in China, including the following:
- THC China Development LLC, president
- Value: $100,001 to $250,000
- Income amount: None
According to President Trumps May 2016 financial disclosurewhich also was not verified by regulators and therefore may not include all of his foreign deals or assetsTrump owned, had ownership interest in, or was a managing member of several companies related to potential business in China, including the following:
- China Trademark LLC, member, president
- THC China Development LLC, president
- Value: $1,001 to $15,000
A Slew Of Hotels Are Heeding Cities’ Pleas For Help Trump’s Aren’t
Local and state officials are asking hotels to volunteer to house patients or first responders, but Trump’s businesses have yet to step up.
04/09/2020 04:30 AM EDT
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New York City needs more space additional field hospitals, rooms for medical workers, shelters for the homeless. But President Donald Trumps flagship property remains open and isnt among the 20-plus hotels that have offered up empty rooms.
Its a situation playing out across the country. In the seven American cities with Trump luxury hotels, no local officials said the Trump properties were in discussions to house overflow patients or medical personnel.
In three cities New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C. the presidents properties are still open, even though they have few guests, according to hotel, union and city officials and industry representatives. In four other cities Las Vegas, Miami, Honolulu and Charlottesville, Va. Trumps properties are closed.
The Trump hotels arent alone. Thousands of hotels in New York and elsewhere have not responded to the voluntary requests of local and state officials, though they could do so later as the outbreak grows. Hotels that are used for shelters or housing as opposed to hospitals might even be able to keep some employees on staff.
Yet the presidents own businesses have not yet stepped into the breach, a fact Trumps critics were quick to pounce on but that most state and local officials didnt want to directly address.
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