Donald Trump returns to a business empire ravaged by coronavirus pandemic
- Some of former president Donald Trump’s most high profile hospitality assets took a revenue hit last year
- Rare bright spot was Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, where he is expected to spend his time post presidency
Donald Trump is returning to a family business ravaged by pandemic shutdowns and restrictions, with revenue plunging more than 40 per cent at his Doral golf property, his Washington hotel and both his Scottish resorts over the past year.
Trump’s 2020 financial disclosure released as he left office this week was just the latest bad news for his financial empire after banks, real estate brokerages and golf organisations announced they were cutting ties with his company following the storming of the Capitol this month by his political supporters.
The disclosure showed sizeable debt facing the company of more than US$300 million, much of it coming due in the next four years, and a major bright spot: revenue at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, his new post-presidency home, rose by a few million dollars.
Eric Trump, who with Donald Trump Jnr has run the Trump Organisation the past four years, said that the disclosure doesn’t tell the whole story, calling the debt “negligible” and the outlook for the company bright, especially at its golf resorts and courses.
“The golf business has never been stronger. We took in hundreds and hundreds of new members,” he said, adding that profits were in the “tens of millions”.