President Donald Trump boasted that he didn't take an income for holding the highest office in the land, and that he donated his $400,000 annual salary to charitable causes. But since his income, aside from his presidential salary, falls just south of a half billion dollars a year, why would he need to take a White House salary?
As president, Trump once again made money like a king in 2018, claiming nearly $434 million in income, according to a report released by the White House on Thursday. Here are some notable numbers from the report:
The president brought in $75.9 million from his Doral Golf Course in Florida, according to a CNN report.
He raked in $40.8 million from his Trump International Hotel located in Washington, D.C., during 2018, only two years after it opened. Though lawsuits that sprung up in Maryland and Washington, D.C., claimed the hotel violated the Emoluments Clause, a provision of the Constitution that prohibits those holding federal office from receiving gifts or payments from foreign governments, the hotel remains a popular gathering spot for government leaders, both foreign and domestic.
Trump Restaurants LLC earned roughly $4.3 million in 2018, which is up about a half million dollars from 2017.
Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida made $22.7 million in 2018, but that's down from the $25.1 million it made in the previous year.
The president received a modest $90,000 a year pension from the Screen Actors Guild—up from last year—and also received slightly more than $8,700 in residuals from the American Federation of Television and Radio artists pension, also up from last year.
Melania Trump reported an income of less than $201, down from the six figures she pulled in during 2018.
The president has more than $250,000 holdings in gold, and he made about $1 million in interest earnings from Capital One checking and savings accounts.
Trump's reported debt is about $315 million, which is an estimated number because five of the loans the president took out years ago were all over $50 million, which makes calculating the actual number nearly impossible, according to CNN.
The president's finances have been under question since his 2016 campaign. In 2016, he said he couldn't release his tax returns because he was under audit, even though the IRS said an audit did not preclude releasing one's taxes.
The New York Times received and analyzed Trump's tax records for a decade from the 1980s to the 1990s, which showed he lost more than $1 billion during that time.
Despite the reports of his losing a billion in the 20th century and his declining personal income over the past year, Trump's son Eric Trump said all was well with his father's enterprises.
"Our company had an exceptional 2018," Eric Trump said in a statement. "Our iconic hotels, golf courses, commercial buildings, residential projects and other assets are the best in the world and unrivaled by anyone."
Uncommon Knowledge
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