Donald Trump’s net worth has intrigued people for many years, ever since he took over his father Fred Trump’s real-estate business in the 1970s and moved into the famous Trump Tower on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue in the 1980s.
Trump has always presented himself as a wealthy businessman, showing off his money on TV, particularly when he hosted The Apprentice, and even during his presidential campaigns, like when he said, “I’m really rich,” while running for president.
But just how rich is Donald Trump, really? Read on to learn more about his wealth, how he made it, and what debts he might still owe today.
How did Donald Trump make his money?
Donald Trump has long claimed that he is a self-made billionaire who turned a $1 million loan from his father, the late Fred Trump, into a real-estate empire that includes hotels, casinos, and golf courses. He once said, “I built what I built myself.”
However, in 2018, The New York Times revealed a different story. They reported that Trump’s parents transferred over $1 billion in wealth to their children, with Donald being the fourth of five kids. By the time Trump graduated from Wharton School of Business, he was already receiving about $1 million a year from his father. This amount increased to over $5 million a year when he was in his 40s and 50s. The investigation showed that Trump’s finances were closely tied to his father’s wealth throughout his life.
Trump took over his father’s company in 1971 and renamed it The Trump Organization two years later. While Fred Trump made most of his fortune by building low-income housing in New York’s outer boroughs, Donald focused on luxury real estate in Manhattan.
One of his first big deals was in 1976 when he partnered with the Hyatt Organization to buy the Commodore Hotel, which was later renamed the Grand Hyatt. Twenty years later, he sold his half-share of the hotel to Hyatt for $142 million.
In 1983, Trump moved into Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, a building that was partly funded by his father’s money. Trump lived in one of the penthouses there for many years, and he still owns a triplex in the building, along with retail and office space.
Trump Tower helped establish the Trump name as a brand, which he would go on to license for products, properties, hotels, and golf courses. This allowed him to earn royalties and licensing fees without fully owning everything.
Beyond real estate, Trump gained more recognition—and increased his wealth—by hosting The Apprentice, which aired from 2004 to 2017, with Trump as the main host until 2015.
Then, of course, came the presidency. While being president didn’t directly increase his wealth (he chose to forgo the $400,000 annual salary), it did help his personal brand and make him wealthier. For example, before his second inauguration, he launched a meme coin ($Trump), which, according to Axios, made up 89% of his net worth at the time.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he signs executive orders in the White House (Jim Muller/Getty Images)How much did Donald Trump inherit from his father?
A 2018 investigation by The New York Times revealed that Trump received $413 million from his father’s real estate business over the years, after adjusting for inflation. The report also mentioned that Trump used questionable tax strategies to get that money (Trump’s lawyer denied any wrongdoing in response to the investigation).
When his father passed away in 1999, Trump and his surviving siblings (his older brother Fred Jr. had died in 1981 from alcoholism at the age of 43) inherited Fred Trump’s real estate portfolio. They sold it in 2004 for $700 million, and according to The New York Times, Trump’s share of that sale was $177.3 million, which would be nearly $300 million in today’s money.
What is Donald Trump’s net worth in 2025?
According to Forbes, Donald Trump’s net worth is $4.6 billion.
What was Donald Trump’s net worth in 2015, before becoming president?
In 2015, Forbes estimated Trump’s net worth to be $4.5 billion, which was less than half of what he claimed at the time. This difference seemed to bother him.
“I’m running for president,” Trump told Forbes. “I’m worth much more than you have me down [for]. I don’t look good, to be honest. I mean, I look better if I’m worth $10 billion than if I’m worth $4 billion.”
“And look, all I can say is Forbes is a bankrupt magazine, doesn’t know what they’re talking about,” he added. “That’s all I’m gonna say. ‘Cause it’s embarrassing to me.”
Does Donald Trump own Trump Tower?
Donald Trump owns office and retail space in Trump Tower, along with the triplex penthouse where he once lived. However, he does not own the entire building.
How much is Trump Tower worth?
According to a 2024 report from Forbes, Trump Tower is valued at $97 million.
Trump licenses his name to other developers, which allows him to earn money without taking on the full responsibility of ownership. As a result, many buildings in New York City (and around the world) carry the “Trump” name, but he doesn’t own all of them. Here’s a list of buildings in New York City that Trump is connected to (via Curbed):
- Trump International Hotel and Tower (he owns the service areas)
- Trump Tower (he owns retail and office space, plus a triplex penthouse)
- The Trump Building (he owns the ground lease)
- 1290 Avenue of the Americas (he owns a 30 percent stake)
- Trump Park Avenue (he may own “some units,” according to Curbed)
- ‘Niketown’ (he owns the ground lease)
- Trump Parc and Trump Parc East (he may own some units)
- 167 East 61st Street—formerly Trump Plaza (he may own some units; he leases “the retail portion of the building and the garage,” according to Curbed)
Some buildings have his name on them, but Trump never owned them in any way:
- Trump World Tower
- 200 East 69th Street (formerly known as Trump Palace)
- 140, 160, 180, 200, 220, and 240 Riverside Boulevard (formerly known as Trump Place)
- The Dominick Hotel (formerly known as Trump SoHo)
- Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point
President Donald Trump speaks at a reception celebrating Women’s History Month in the East Room of the White House (Kane Solomon/Getty Images)How much does Trump owe in his New York civil fraud case?
In September 2022, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against Trump and several Trump Organization executives, accusing them of financial fraud and illegal actions. The claim was that they had lied for many years about Trump’s wealth to get better deals on loans and insurance. In February 2024, a judge ruled in favor of the attorney general, ordering Trump to pay more than $355 million, plus interest at a rate of 9 percent each year in New York.
As of January 2025, the total owed was just over $500 million, with Trump personally responsible for $490 million. The amount continues to increase by about $100,000 daily while the case is being appealed.
How much does Trump owe E. Jean Carroll?
Writer E. Jean Carroll filed two lawsuits against Trump after she accused him of raping her in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman in the 1990s. In response, Trump verbally attacked her and claimed she wasn’t his “type.”
Forbes estimates that Trump owes Carroll about $91 million in total: $5.3 million for the first trial, concerning sexual abuse and defamation, and $85.3 million for the second trial, concerning defamation.
Who owns Mar-a-lago?
Donald Trump owns Mar-a-lago, a nearly 17-acre waterfront property located on Palm Beach’s Billionaires’ Row. He purchased it in 1985 for $10 million.
How much is Mar-a-lago worth?
The value of Mar-a-lago depends on who you ask. During his civil trial in New York, Trump testified that he believed it was worth between $1 billion and $1.5 billion. This is 40 times higher than the $37 million appraisal from the local appraiser’s office.
It may be somewhere in between. The Wall Street Journal notes that homes in Palm Beach with much less land than Mar-a-lago have sold for over $150 million. For example, Rush Limbaugh’s 2.7-acre property sold for $155 million in 2023.
What is Trump’s Truth Social worth?
The stock prices of Trump Media & Technology Group, which owns Truth Social, change depending on how Trump is doing in the news. For example, just before his second inauguration in January 2025, the share prices went up by 20 percent, increasing his net worth to about $7 billion, according to Forbes. But in March 2025, the stock hit its lowest price in five months, which caused his net worth to drop by $300 million.
In October 2024, Truth Social’s value was higher than Elon Musk’s X, with Truth Social worth more than $10 billion at the time, compared to X’s $9.4 billion.
Elon Musk and Donald Trump (Ben Miller/Getty Images)What is Donald Trump’s salary?
As president, Trump earned $400,000 per year. He also got $50,000 for expenses related to his official duties, a $100,000 budget for travel, and a $19,000 allowance for entertainment.
Why did Donald Trump file for bankruptcy?
Trump himself has never filed for bankruptcy, but several of his companies have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (which allows businesses to keep operating while their debt is erased)—a total of six filings since 1991.
Does Donald Trump pay taxes?
Yes, but the amount he pays has caused controversy over the years. In 2020, The New York Times reported on a leak of Trump’s tax returns over two decades. According to their investigation, Trump paid only $750 in federal income taxes in 2016, the year he became president, and in 2017. The investigation also found that he took deductions on expenses that would usually be considered personal, like $70,000 for hairstyling for television.
How much did Donald Trump make doing The Apprentice?
According to a tax analysis by The New York Times, Trump made about $197 million directly from The Apprentice. This does not include the business and licensing deals he was able to make because of the show’s success, which The Times valued at about $230 million.
How much did Donald Trump make per episode of The Apprentice?
At the beginning of the show, Trump made $25,000 per episode. However, as described in Apprentice in Wonderland: How Donald Trump and Mark Burnett Took America Through the Looking Glass, Trump asked for a large raise for Season 2.
“Friends had six people,” Trump told author Ramin Setoodeh (via People). “They’re getting $1 million an episode each. That’s $6 million. So if they’re getting $6 million, and I have higher ratings than they do—because this is the end of Friends, and they were fading out—I said, ‘You should pay me $6 million an episode.’”
NBC didn’t accept his request and reportedly threatened to cancel the show. But later, they returned with a deal that Trump called “a fortune.”