Drumpf's Finances...

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Lord Jim
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Drumpf's Finances...

Post by Lord Jim »

Shocking news; he hasn't been honest :o

This should get him lashing out at the press again:
Trump’s Empire: A Maze of Debts and Opaque Ties

On the campaign trail, Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has sold himself as a businessman who has made billions of dollars and is beholden to no one.

But an investigation by The New York Times into the financial maze of Mr. Trump’s real estate holdings in the United States reveals that companies he owns have at least $650 million in debt — twice the amount than can be gleaned from public filings he has made as part of his bid for the White House. The Times’s inquiry also found that Mr. Trump’s fortunes depend deeply on a wide array of financial backers, including one he has cited in attacks during his campaign.

For example, an office building on Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan, of which Mr. Trump is part owner, carries a $950 million loan. Among the lenders: the Bank of China, one of the largest banks in a country that Mr. Trump has railed against as an economic foe of the United States, and Goldman Sachs, a financial institution he has said controls Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, after it paid her $675,000 in speaking fees.

Real estate projects often involve complex ownership and mortgage structures. And given Mr. Trump’s long real estate career in the United States and abroad, as well as his claim that his personal wealth exceeds $10 billion, it is safe to say that no previous major party presidential nominee has had finances nearly as complicated.

As president, Mr. Trump would have substantial sway over monetary and tax policy, as well as the power to make appointments that would directly affect his own financial empire. He would also wield influence over legislative issues that could have a significant impact on his net worth, and would have official dealings with countries in which he has business interests.

Yet The Times’s examination underscored how much of Mr. Trump’s business remains shrouded in mystery. He has declined to disclose his tax returns or allow an independent valuation of his assets.

Earlier in the campaign, Mr. Trump submitted a 104-page federal financial disclosure form. It said his businesses owed at least $315 million to a relatively small group of lenders and listed ties to more than 500 limited liability companies. Though he answered the questions, the form appears to have been designed for candidates with simpler finances than his, and did not require disclosure of portions of his business activities.

Beyond finding that companies owned by Mr. Trump had debts of at least $650 million, The Times discovered that a substantial portion of his wealth is tied up in three passive partnerships that owe an additional $2 billion to a string of lenders, including those that hold the loan on the Avenue of the Americas building. If those loans were to go into default, Mr. Trump would not be held liable, the Trump Organization said. The value of his investments, however, would certainly sink.

Mr. Trump has said that if he were elected president, his children would be likely to run his company. Many presidents, to avoid any appearance of a conflict, have placed their holdings in blind trusts, which typically involves selling the original asset, and replacing it with different assets unknown to the seller.

Mr. Trump’s children seem unlikely to pursue that option.

Richard W. Painter, a professor of law at the University of Minnesota and, from 2005 to 2007, the chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, compared Mr. Trump to Henry M. Paulson Jr., a former chief executive of Goldman Sachs whom Mr. Bush appointed as Treasury secretary.

Professor Painter advised Mr. Paulson on his decision to sell his Goldman Sachs shares, saying it was clear that Mr. Paulson could not simply have placed that stock in trust and pretended it did not exist.

If Mr. Trump were to use a blind trust, the professor said, it would be “like putting a gold watch in a box and pretending you don’t know it is in there.”

‘We Overdisclosed’

“I am the king of debt,” Mr. Trump once said on CNN. “I love debt.” But in his career, debt has sometimes gotten the better of him, leading to at least four business bankruptcies.

He is, however, quick to stress that these days his companies have very little debt.

Mr. Trump indicated in the financial disclosure form he filed in connection with this campaign that he was worth at least $1.5 billion, and has said publicly that the figure is actually greater than $10 billion. Recent estimates by Forbes and Fortune magazines and Bloomberg have put his worth at less than $5 billion.[ The number usually given by reputable sources is around 3.5 billion, most of that not liquid]
A lot more here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/21/us/po ... -debt.html

ETA:

Gee, it sure would be a awful shame if someone were to hack into Trump's accounting firm's computers and get his tax returns and release them...
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Burning Petard
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Re: Drumpf's Finances...

Post by Burning Petard »

That story quoted above was from the front page of the NY Times this Sunday. Not too long ago the Washington Post published a similar review pdf the Donald's charity giving--the post could find almost none.

But also on the same front page of the Times today is this story about Clinton:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/21/us/po ... odayspaper

The story argues that the Clinton Charity foundation is a big weakness for her campaign, perhaps more than the private email server.

Not much to be happy about in the presidential campaign this year.

snailgate.

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Lord Jim
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Re: Drumpf's Finances...

Post by Lord Jim »

Not much to be happy about in the presidential campaign this year.
Man, ain't that an understatement... :(
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BoSoxGal
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Re: Drumpf's Finances...

Post by BoSoxGal »

I'm pretty sure 'Crooked Chump' is many times more a thief, bully and liar than the alternative candidates.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
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Bicycle Bill
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Re: Drumpf's Finances...

Post by Bicycle Bill »

Lance Armstrong got banned from cycling for life for cheating, lying, and bully-ragging and intimidating others.
Too bad there isn't an umbrella organization for politics, similar to the IOC for cycling, that could ban Trump from politics for life for the same reasons.
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Re: Drumpf's Finances...

Post by Big RR »

BoSoxGal wrote:I'm pretty sure 'Crooked Chump' is many times more a thief, bully and liar than the alternative candidates.
But that's not the point, is it? He's a worse ''thief, bully and liar" than Hillary so people should vote for the lesser (least) of the evils? That's both cynical and sad.

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Lord Jim
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Re: Drumpf's Finances...

Post by Lord Jim »

so people should vote for the lesser (least) of the evils?
As I used to reply to Jay years ago, who was big on saying "the lesser of two evils is still evil"...

Yes, that's true, but it's also true that it's still "lesser"...

I'm just a natural "glass half full" kinda guy... 8-)
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Big RR
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Re: Drumpf's Finances...

Post by Big RR »

Jim--sometimes I agree with that, sometimes not; here the worse evil is so bad that there is no choice IMHO. However, defending someone's behavior by saying someone else (their opponent) is worse is wrong IMHO.

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Lord Jim
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Re: Drumpf's Finances...

Post by Lord Jim »

here the worse evil is so bad that there is no choice IMHO.
That's pretty much my take on it...
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Re: Drumpf's Finances...

Post by oldr_n_wsr »

here the worse evil is so bad that there is no choice IMHO.
IMHO too.

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Re: Drumpf's Finances...

Post by Sue U »

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GAH!

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Bicycle Bill
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Re: Drumpf's Finances...

Post by Bicycle Bill »

oldr_n_wsr wrote:
here the worse evil is so bad that there is no choice IMHO.
IMHO too.
IMNSHO as well.
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Drumpf's Finances...

Post by RayThom »

I'm with her... for the most part.

With pluses and minuses weighing out almost equally why not give the position to Hillary? I'm curious to find out if, in fact, a woman can perform in the major leagues of politics every bit as well as a man.

My endorsement goes to Hillary... it's who we deserve.

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Re: Drumpf's Finances...

Post by BoSoxGal »

That's so inaccurate as to be contemptible. If there is one thing HRC isn't, it's stupid. :roll:
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan

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Re: Drumpf's Finances...

Post by Big RR »

I don't know, I think every one of us is stupid about something(s)--Hillary included. it's what makes us human.

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Re: Drumpf's Finances...

Post by BoSoxGal »

There's a large difference, in my book, between acknowledging someone has made mistakes and/or done 'stupid' things, and labeling a person 'stupid'.

"Lacking intelligence and/or common sense" = stupid. That's not our future Madame President, who has done a great deal more right that wrong in her 25 years of public life - and her many years of education beforehand.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
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Re: Drumpf's Finances...

Post by Big RR »

Granted it's a balancing test between the objectively "smart" and "stupid" things any persons does, but how that balance is tipped will vary from person to person. That being said, I am not arguing Hillary Is stupid (I don't believe that), but in a few areas (including some of the advisors she has chosen to listen to and some of the persons she will vigorously defend) she has exhibited a continued lack of common sense IMHO, so I can understand how someone may tip the scale the other way.

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