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Guest Post: Is Donald Trump Broke?
Doug Litowitz raises a speculative contrarian position on Donald Trump's exact worth, based on what was released to the FEC. The bottom line is that no one knows Trump's net worth, but the speculation usually starts in the billions. Doug Litowitz explores the opposite possibility, namely that Trump is, in relative terms, broke. This is solely his speculation and is not meant as a factual statement but a possibility that has been ignored in the mainstream press.
Submitted by Doug Litowitz via TheAlphaPages.com,
I’ve just slogged through all ninety-two pages of Donald Trump’s financial disclosure submission to the Federal Election Commission, and I can’t make heads or tails of it.
I cannot tell how much Trump is worth, if anything. His empire, if he has one, is as mysterious as his haircut, and as impervious as his skyscraper in Chicago - a gigantic phallic mirror named after himself.
In terms of real, lasting assets - is Donald Trump worth roughly $10 billion?
The mainstream press erred horrendously by taking seriously Trump’s disclosure to the FEC, by asking reporters to sit down with the document and try to understand it on its own terms, so to speak. This approach yielded nothing but exhaustion and bewilderment. No one dared speculate that Trump’s purpose in disclosing so much was to disclose so little. It was a 52-Card Pickup, a maze of trees without a forest. The assets - some as small as the single-digit thousands - pile up like obsessive compulsive do-dads in the claustrophobic home of a hoarder. The range of projects goes beyond greed and passes into desperation. High rise buildings and golf courses are one thing, but the list of assets quickly degrades into obscure wineries, Israeli vodka and energy drinks, a mattress and clothing line, television shows, a pension from the screen actors guild, bottled water, book royalties, speaking gigs, and endless inchoate and impossible to value ‘marks’ (i.e. trademarks) and positions in partnerships that have his own name.
This is why the New York Times threw up its hands and proclaimed with cool intrigue that Trump’s income and wealth were “hard to pinpoint.”
The Wall Street Journal punted, saying tautologically that Trump’s disclosures contain disclosures totaling at least $1.5 billion, but conceding that the actual numbers are not known.
Forbes puts his wealth at $4 billion, Bloomberg at $2.9 billion. Trump said recently that he is worth $10 billion and that his wealth has increased by more than $1 billion in the last year due to spiraling real estate prices (this was probably supposed to impress people, but it actually shows a dangerous volatility). The FEC form allows the filing party to value assets and liabilities within a range or at an upper limit, and most of Trump’s assets are vague interests of indeterminate worth and undisclosed indebtedness.
Trump’s illiquid assets and unknown liabilities may or may not offset each other – and he isn’t telling.
What does that leave?
Not much. A relatively small amount of money in a couple of hedge funds, and brokerage portfolios of garden-variety stocks, a couple hundred thousand in gold, and other ho-hum assets consisting almost entirely of his ‘marks.’ He could be worth hundreds of millions, theoretically, but if leveraged, his worth could be negative. Who knows?
This ambiguity plays into Trump’s hands: he loves a playing field where there is no difference between reality and fantasy, where the majestic paneled board room is really a stage set, where he is Making America Great by manufacturing clothes in Bangladesh, where he insults Mexicans and then sues a Spanish television network for not showing the Miss USA pageant, a paean to female innocence brought to us by a womanizer on his third marriage. This is Trump-territory: a nowhere land in which he threatens to sue anyone who disparages the size of an empire that he refuses to disclose.
You will never figure out Trump’s worth by looking at numbers. He’s far too slick for that, he can hide the ball forever.
So let’s put aside the numbers. Instead, let’s look at his FEC submission as a psychological document, a testament, a confession.
Here we are faced with a paradox: Trump does not speak, act, or behave like a normal billionaire, nor even like a renegade or eccentric billionaire. He behaves like someone who is desperately broke.
I know that sounds odd. Improbable. Counterintuitive. And I don’t – I can’t – I won’t - say for certain whether he is broke. But I think it is a very distinct possibility.
I base this judgment on many years of working closely with very rich people. I’ve had the pleasure – though that is not quite the right word – of spending a lot of time around people who are extremely wealthy, and none of them behaves remotely like Trump.
For one thing, true billionaires hate seeing their name in the papers or being discussed in public. They don’t want people stealing their ideas, they don’t want scrutiny from regulators, they don’t want others to control the narrative about their business dealings, and frankly there is no financial advantage to being well known among ordinary people who don’t have money to invest.
The truly wealthy seek to be known in the right circles and not to the general public. It’s a fair bet that if the richest twenty hedge fund managers walked down the street, no one in the general public would turn their head; conversely, it is a also a fair bet that the twenty guys at the airport talking loudly into their cell phones about how they are returning to the head office after closing a big deal in Baltimore are actually worth next to nothing. Powerful people have secrets, barriers, walls. If Trump really had special ideas or assets, he would crave secrecy, not publicity.
Second, the truly wealthy do not brand themselves. Whatever you may think of how Bill Gates or Warren Buffett or Steven Cohen made their fortunes, they did not get into the bottled water industry to compete with “Trump Ice,” nor do them sponsor beauty pageants or have television shows where they send out contestants to make ice cream cones and then berate them mercilessly for choosing $1.45 as a price point. There is a very revealing type of bullying taking place on Trump’s show The Apprentice.
He never puts himself up against equals in world of finance, but surrounds himself with childlike sycophants whose fate he controls with an iron hand. By demonstrating so much power against unequal opponents, and by expressing this power in an artificial setting, he actually conveys his own powerlessness in the real world. In attempting to come off as patrician, he devolves into sanctimonious self-aggrandizement while flanked by his robotic and obedient offspring who are displayed like products.
Third, billionaires do not announce how much money they have. It’s déclassé. And they don’t want to boast because it gives the Internal Revenue Service, the SEC, and regulators another bite at the apple. If someone says you are worth $1 billion and you are really worth $10 billion that can be great news! Use it to your advantage.
Finally, real billionaires also choose their deals carefully, weighing risk and return. They don’t start clothing lines or energy drinks because the risks (bad reviews, parodies, lawsuits) outweigh the rewards. What kind of person starts their own Trump University and then lets it dissolve a few years later amid lawsuits and investigations by the New York State Attorney General that the students were being defrauded. What is the economic advantage to a billionaire 10 times over of having a brand of bottled water that brings in $280,000, or a beauty pageant, or a line of cheap clothing, or a modeling agency, when the money can just sit in an account that mirrors the market and makes double digit growth? Some of these eponymous projects can be dismissed as flights of narcissism; but there are so many that something other than narcissism is at work here.
It smells of overreach, desperation, and pettiness.
Fourth, consider how Trump reacts with vituperative indignation when anyone has the temerity to question his supposed wealth. When comedienne Rosie O’Donnell claimed that Trump was a “snake oil salesman” who had been bankrupt, he threatened to sue her for defamation (presumably because the bankruptcy of Trump casino was not a personal bankruptcy for Trump himself). When MSNBC reporter Lawrence O’Donnell suggested that Trump was worth less than $1 billion, Trump threatened to sue. A decade ago he sued the author of a book about him for claiming that he was only worth a few hundred million instead of the nearly $3 billion that he claimed to be worth at the time. He even threatened to sue his ex-wife Ivana for talking too much about his finances, in violation of her agreement to keep quiet.
Methinks he doth protest too much.
Why threaten to sue someone for underestimating your wealth . . . unless . . . unless . . . unless the sole valuable asset that you have is the general belief that you are worth $10 billion? Unless, that is, if you are really much poorer, and you have nothing to fall back on besides your reputation, and your main asset is the impression you convey. In that case, you might consider doing precisely what Trump does.
Here is where I am heading: Could it be the case that Trump is an empty suit with no meaningful net assets other than his persona, his brand? That like a shark, he has to keep moving and keep projecting the image of great wealth, or else his empire will sink? This is consistent with the FEC disclosure document where so many of his assets are ‘marks’; in other words, he makes money by lending his name.
Trump’s FEC document impresses me as the statement of a person who does not have much of anything other than himself – he is his own product. He is the professional wrestler of the financial world – a person who is famous for being famous, the tragic product of a society that produces images instead of actual things.
Yes, he has built a few golf courses and buildings, but so have others – on a bigger scale; what he has really built is himself, or rather a caricature of himself. My suspicion is that Trump has nothing other than himself. He invented himself. He is his own brand, and that is all he is. Any crack in the mask will cause the whole thing to crumble down.
It is fitting that he gets a pension from the Screen Actors Guild.
He is an actor who plays a man worth $10 billion.
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WHO CARES WHAT TRUMP IS WORTH? ELECT HIM AS PRESIDENT...HE IS BETTER THEN ANY OF THE SET OF POLITICIANS RUNNING AGAINST HIM!
www.ViewLasVegasRealEstate.com
Hey, Doug Litowitz, you lost me at the “Trump’s haircut”, you fuckin’ hairCUNT!
Looney
cant tell if he's broke or not?
He must use Mark to Oligarch accounting
Trump/Palin
Sanders/Pocahontas
Since most of his wealth is based on highly leveraged real estate, I doubt that even he can figure out what it is really worth.
You never know what real estate is worth till you actually sell it.
Bingo. I can say my property is worth $1 million. When I put it up for sale I will find out what it's worth
"Hey you fucking Jew hatcket, you didn't present one fact or piece of evidence. All hyperbole and innuendo. Why don't you go write for Huffington post, you cock sucker. You dumb fucking hilary criminal cunt supporter." Donald Trump
If he has "a couple hundred thousand in gold" (could be millions for all this tool knows) he is far far far from broke.
As shady as Obongo and just as committed to jew banksters. In other words, the right man for the job. Lol
It's funny to me that the author mentions that trump prefers to surround himself with a bunch of sycophants. If that's the case, he would LOVE you guys.
Maybe her really is that loaded, maybe he isn't. But he shares a lot of characteristics and personality traits with a childhood friend of mines father who liked to go around pretending he was loaded, always talking about how much better this years BMW is than the two year old one he just got rid of (always leased) to everyone else in the neighborhood. Anyway, turns out he was dead broke and in debt up to his eyeballs due to constantly trying to one up all the neighbors.
We've all known someone like that, and you can't say trump doesn't remind you of them.
No one appears to be able to label or quantify Trump. That's good.
Debating wealth vs. broke is irrelevant because we live in the post Bretton Woods era where debt makes one rich, and savings makes one poor.
Donald Trump has declared bankruptcy multiple times, and still lives the high life. Other people live frugally, and pinch every penny and have nothing to show for it. It's all a matter of choice.
As for creating a "brand", we all do it. The walmart worker of 10 years angry about only making $2 more an hour than the new hires and "talking" about quitting after all of these years has his own brand too. His brand is only worth $11.50 an hour and his only client is his manager at walmart.
As for the introverted billionaires, they have a "brand" for their inner circle. Donald is more extroverted so that's why he reaches out to masses. It's a personality type.
If the author can't make heads or tails of the financial disclosure statement, then by today's rules, the Don did an excellent job.
My mentor always tells us to own nothing and control everything.
Guess it depends on what is imporant to you. If it is cool to you to lie and use smoke and mirrors to live off of others, then there is your definition of success. You are cool with you, have at it.
I don't think that is okay.
I vote for The Don for Pres and The Don's Hair as VP ....
I think the hair runs the whole organism. Notice he does not cut it...Notice it is on top of his brain...Now there is the real expose'.
Donald is hair-brained.
The Donald might be broke. But he's still better than Bush and Clinton. We need new blood.
A lessor of 3 evils? Why do we have to pick between evils? Do you see what I am saying here?
The Fed and this country's relationship to $ is the problem. The banks and corporations literally pay to put someone into the presidency. Why should we bother to pick from who they have PAID to put in there?
No way any of them represent you and me.
This post by Info-Wars gives me another concern as to why Trump is running for President.
http://www.infowars.com/is-donald-trump-a-hillary-plant/
Great article and spot on!
Unfortunately, most ZeroHedgers are dumb and naive, you know, the people that think that a totalitarian copy/paste state like China will elevate their gold holdings.
WAKE UP! Trump is like ANY other politician: a charlatan who's in the game for his own personal welfare.
Also, many ZeroHedgers are very contradictory, because if salvation has to come from a single person, then you might as well stop prepping and stop trying to be self-reliant. Better join a cult or a religion instead! ;-)
Hah.....Hair brained indeed......
Does he wear a toupeece suit?
I am just stunned that he is being taken seriously overall.
The fact that so many people here are trump-thumpers is beyond shocking.
Perhaps now the ZH audience too has jumped the shark.
Scary....
Hair suit? ;-)
Maybe they are so depressed they will cling to any thing that looks hopeful at all. I don't get it.
100% correct Regional Indian.
ZHers are only looking for 2 things;
1) a scapegoat (read: The FED, JPM, gold manipulation etcetera) and
2) a Savior who says what they want to hear (read: China, Trump, KWN, Russia, David Stockman, Peter Schiff etcetera)
So in effect, ZHers are about as mainstream and as dumb as the average Joe Sixpack with a car loan and a mortgage.
Na. ZH'ers like Trump (I sure do) because he's the President that this country deserves...shallow, empty, anti-intellectual, buffoonish. He's the lion-hunting dentist (coward) we can vote for. He's almost the PERFECT President for our times. It's one thing to quietly laugh at this government (quietly, because they have guns with which to steal everything we own); it's quite another to have permission to laugh out loud at a President and government that obviously is not worthy of existence. It would be a RELIEF to have Trump as President, because it will give us all permission to be honest about the situation this country it in. Of course Sarah Palin could also have been very good in that role, as would a few others.
How is he anti-intellectual? He calls bs, bs. That's a necessary and almost sufficient condition for a true intellectual.
Makes him sound a bit like Kim Kardashian without the tits and ass? Perhaps she would make an ideal running mate, she'd bring in the "Wowen's" vote, the FSA and, by extension, the Jenner crowd.
Carl Icahn, one of the richest men in the world, just announced that he backed Trump and has now accepted Trump's offer of Treasury Chief--after initially declining. Something tells me that people like Icahn are not drawn to phonies.
TeamDepends If he has "a couple hundred thousand in gold" (could be millions for all this tool knows) he is far far far from broke.
-----
Um, a couple of hundred thousand in gold is still worth only a couple of hundred thousand. He didn't say a couple of hundred thousand ounces of gold.
Well Said!!
He owns a fiddle company I know of, off the books of course.
Trump is America.
"Trump is America". Indeed!
Yes, Trump = America = fake = loud mouthed = bankrupt 4 times = real estate 'empire' build on cheap money!
Trump has never filed for PERSONAL bankruptcy you idiot. Looks like the FOX ploy worked on your little brain. Also,why not enlighten us with your definition of "cheap" money. I'd like to get me some.
True, he never filed for PERSONAL bankruptcy, so I guess he does not really believe in PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY either, right?
I guess if his arrogant and megalomaniac plans don't work out as expected, he lets someone else deal with the debts. That sounds like a radically new strategy for the USA...NOT! ;-)
Which is to say ethically, morally, intellectually, and financially bankrupt.
His 2014 tax return has him making 360 million. The lotto isn't that big. I think he is doing just fine.
Where did you get this info? From a Trump interview? Was that gross or net? Sure would like to have a LINK to that info.
Well if he's broke becoming Prez means he's set for life just on speaking engagements alone. Plus he gets his iconic hair guarded free forever. So yeah, probably the smartest business move he'll ever make IMO.
If anyone could inspire the secret service to step out of the way of an incoming bullet, Trump would be the guy.
LOL !!
There is ALWAYS a reason for everyone to do anything. And the crazier the stunt, the bigger the reason.
All makes sense now. Donald needs a paycheck. And if he doesn't get it....then he can leverage the noteriety of his "campaign" to launch into a new business or reality TV show or both.
Of course, he needs to solidify his deals quick. His campaign will be ending soon enough. The MIC won't all it too much longer. Just like the way the MIC allowed Greece to have it "Fuck You" vote. And we all saw that it took less than a week to prove that it meant nothing.
Come'on gang lets sign a Scooby Song!
Scooby Dooby Doo where are you?
I'm shilling for Mr. Trumpy.
And Scooby Dooby Doo why do you do that?
Because I'm an undercover joo humpy.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_psRb5AtpI
I always thought Scooby was a boy dog.
If ya wanna troll, make it funny, BITCH!
Ohhh. Tough crowd, tough crowd. I'm getting heckled from the cheap seats.
Arhooo roo, Scooby Doo!
Thats right, Forget Trump, Vote Hillary she deserves it, its her turn, no one can accuse her of being broke, she'll bring some class, and the Clinton name to the White House again.
I think Trump would be a safer choice that Hillary. Hillary is a true thief...she'll steal our money and freedom. Trump just wants to be loved.
Do you not find it interesting that Fox gave Trump twice (and the most) speaking time of Rand Paul (the least) and yet Paul came out second (distant) in the follow up poll?
Any you think Trump is an outsider... silly, silly steve.
Shut up, sneakerpimp.
At least he has an American birth certificate and an honest social security number.
William F. Buckley once famously proclaimed he'd prefer federal government under the leadership of the first thousand names in the Boston telephone book than form anybody in DC politics.
Trump can't be any worse than the pack of clowns and so-called "Americans" in DC right now.
And its certain he'll be a whole lot more entertaining.
The man has that fabulous golden marmot hair, which makes him wealthy beyond compare.
I'd like to make a pair of golf socks with his hair.
Why do you all keep forgetting the quotes?!
He still got more money than me........
That's because you work for no compensation.
If the author is correct, you don't really know that. What you know is that he is skimming the churn that comes up from him "marketing" himself. You probably don't have that action going on. You probably don't want to live in that mental/emotional space. It is worth no amount of money as far as I am concerned.
Perhaps you should get over your aversion to theft?
Can't wait for Litowitz's next piece- "Jeb is a great guy."
Well, that's what his mom said when she was detoxing.
(Or maybe it was "He's such a nice boy.")
Oy vey! With a name like that, I'm thinking Trump support is the right thing to do. Fuck the yid. Go Trump!
"Heckuva jeb"
Like anyone with assets, they are worth what someone is willing to pay not the asking price. If you have to unload you get bottom price but you can say they are worth whatever.
Yes he is WAY better than any of the other clowns. Maybe Rand Paul but forget the rest. And Bush? OMG get him outta here.
Yes Trump, no matter what he is really worth is shaking things up and if there was EVER a need too shake things up, it's now.
"Yes Trump, no matter what he is really worth is shaking things up and if there was EVER a need too shake things up, it's now."
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/08/07/trumps-triumph-billionaire-blowha...
His daughter is married to a jewish billionaire, she converted to judaism, and now she is Kosher.
His son married a jewish woman, so he is Kosher as well.
Trump is Kosher, as long as he prepares the way to the White House for Hillary.
joo lovers and nigger lovers, what good are they?
You think the pooter is kosher? Smells like gefelte fish?
Trump is characterized aptly in this article IMHO. Moreover, this article is clear indication that Israel, and Jews, don't want Trump in the running because Trump is the kind of guy that the Jews cannot control.
Are we not actuallly all "broke" at the end of the day? $19...TRILLION people....19.
It was your money or your life at $8 trillion so it's twice as bad now.
I don't have enough up marks for your comment. So true.
At the same time, is that a reason to say yes to this and support it?
If Ron Paul was possible, would you say, "Fuck it, we are all broke, lets take The Donald?"
he is just like america, constantly on the edge of insolvency. he may be the perfect man for the us presidency in that regard.
Don't forget projecting an image that says otherwise, and deliberately reporting statistics that are untrue to keep that image in play for smoke and mirror sessions.
And doubling down on it, don't forget that.
Perfection.
Honestly, who is better qualified to drive a once prosperous endeavour straight into the ground? The man is a LEGEND!
What's a " Doug Litowitz"?
The fact that this clown even asks the question of ANYONES worth just shows he's tribal wanabe.
You'ld be wise to remember "Paper Promises" are what people use to convince others, of their value.
Just ask Jeffrey Bezos~ you assclown!
At least Trump has some 'Bricks & Mortar' to toss around.
I remember Trump from the 80's when he owned actual assets (Trump Tower, Plaza Hotel...etc), he acted the same way, we just didn't have the internet back then.
Considering what the Clinton's have been implicated in, Trump is a saint in comparison.
I did not mark your comment down, but your logic is sickening and sad.
Fuck Clintons.
Fuck Bushes.
Fuck most of the contenders out there.
That does not make The Donald okay.
LOL, "sickening and sad". Being a bit melodramatic, aren't we?
Know where did I state Trump was okay, more the lesser of two evils. If you look at the history of the Clintons in politics they have been implicated in far worse than overstating their finances.
So you weigh the crimes, decide which is less, then support the lesser criminal to lead the country? You don't mean that.
the point is, both sides hate him because he is a wild card, unselected, unvetted, uncontrollable. many people are seeing that as a huge positive
Unvetted...yeah that worked out GREAT for McCain. Heheh.
Then you remember Trump fixing the Wollman Rink:
WHO CAN FIX THE WOLLMAN RINK FASTER? CITY AND TRUMP AGREE IT'S TRUMPhttp://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/06/nyregion/who-can-fix-the-wollman-rink-...
NEW YORK HOPES TO LEARN FROM RINK TRUMP FIXED; Wollman Rink Scorecardhttp://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/21/nyregion/new-york-hopes-to-learn-from-...
Thanks for the links. Beautiful litany of management failure by public officials. They take 12 years, with lots of wasted activity and resources, including $13M spent, to not fix the rink, then when they give up Trump comes along and does the job in 5 months for $3M.
Is it any wonder this guy thinks he can do a far better job than the people running the US government?
Well it appears he has at least 3, 32 oz gold bars.
https://youtu.be/2_kJKrM_Mxg
Tungston with Gold plate, just like the hair on the head.
Leased, like everything else he "owns".
<-- I still believe that a smart, charismatic leader will come along and return American to greatness.
<-- Fuck that make-believe bullshit. A steadily depreciating U.S. dollar and exponetially increasing federal debt pretty much ensures America's entry into the Third World Club.
Hope he does a Robert Maxwell.
Maxwell's trick was to sue anybody who intimated his empire was a three card monty game.
Worked for decades, until the POS comitted suicide when the truth came out.
The most skin crawling person I ever had the misfortune to meet.Murdoch is 2nd.
Jimmy Saville ranked about tenth on that list.
Murdoch started his own university too. So did Alan Bond.
An entertaining article.
I have no idea if the article is correct, if Trump has what he says he has, or if he is a fraud. Even so, the article was amusing.
BUT ... it occurred to me that even if he is actually broke, would that make him more of a fraud than the corrupt asshats in both parties who daily vomit out how much they love the country and its working people while doing everything they can to help the 0.01 percent rape the country by transferring wealth upward, by supporting perpetual war, and by helping build the burgeoning police state?
Personally, I'd rather have a braggard and bullshit artist like Trump than any of the mongrels that comprise the rest of the candidate slates in either party.
I marked this comment up for the first part.
Don't settle for shit. Better than the rest does not mean good babe.
I think it is a reach to imply every single billionaire or super wealthy person acts the same way. It's not hard to believe that Trump is simply an immature twat that loves to be the way he is.
I agree. He may or may not be worth billions, but though mentioned, I think the author underestimates the complete and total narcissim that is Donald Trump.
Megalomaniacs are incredibly easy to spot. They like it that way.
Trump does act a lot like a poor person. We all know that guy who drives a BMW and wears nice clothes but doesn't own anything. Warren Buffet is a classic billionaire. He's extremely cheap. Buffet cares a lot about making money, but he doesn't care about showing it off. Buffet doesn't brag about how smart he is. He's a very secretive guy, and he's a master of misdirection. "Raise my taxes," he says, as he pays himself as little as possible to reduce his tax burden.
That doesn't mean Trump is completely broke. He obviously has money. It's just that his wealth might be wildly overstated. His net might be 100 million instead of 10 billion. Ya never know.
Does anyone remember the end of Kill Bill? The difference between Batman and Superman is that Batman is a regular guy. His disguise is to make him look more intimidating. Superman is a truly powerful being, and his disguise is that of a mild mannered reporter. People always try to be what they are not.
So I should ditch my "I am Cait" routine?
I am Knucklin? :)
I hope you know this reference or I am in trouble.
"Bruceeeeeee! I'm horneyyy!"
(Victor/Victoria)
Buffett can afford such so called modesty when the US Gov't bankrolls billions of profits via BNSF oil deliveries and a now in just this instance, a toothless IRS unable to collect billions (For 10 years now) from that fcking fascist Zycon B manufacturer.
Do you have any fucking idea what so ever about the fraction of total revenues that BNSF generates from moving oil by rail? Given that ~5% of so of their carload are oil, you can sorta work off of that...
Buffet may be a douche bag but you are perfect mirror for the Donald, a bloward that makes shit up....
So if Trump went around scruffy it would help him sell more high priced condos?
BTW, it's just possible Superman and Batman and their stories aren't real, just the imaginings of some comic strip writer.
Batman is a PTSD sufferer who self-medicates by beating the shit out of people.
Superman is a wet dream catering to the collective Jewish inferiority complex.
He's got like 10 golf courses on there he's saying are worth >$50M each
His stock portfolio looks like he's got maybe $100m in equities.
And 3-4 buildings he owns in assets are balls deep in debt.
So who the hell knows.
Think of the cash flow, I wanna be rich just like Trump, on any given day I could buy a whole armored truck of Gold Bitchez....
I can't imagine he makes more than $50M a year in income. Not even a ton and half of gold. An F-150 could move that.
3000 pounds of cargo would seriously strain an F-150s suspension and risk catastrophic failure. Unless said cargo was being towed of course.
An F150 can carry 1/2 ton. I recommend an F350 Super Duty.
http://www.ford.com/trucks/superduty/specifications/
but how is he different or exceptional?
@"...I base this judgment on many years of working closely with very rich people."
.
gumby motivation, ok?
https://screen.yahoo.com/gumby-story-000000758.html
Why the fuck'd I ever take that red pill?
my exact thought...wow
Should have held out for the purple rain.
My elderly father, who plays a dumb old farmer, but is in fact an amazingly perceptive genius, told me the whole Trump organization is a front for something. He doesn't know what, he just senses the whole thing is a giant facade with something else behind it.
+1. I've been close to a few very wealthy people, and true to this article, the truly wealthy do not act like Trump. One other guy I knew in particular, who in fact was always pretending he had money, acted very similar to the way trump is acting, minus the presidency run.
I think Trump sees millions being made by presidents for being complete imbeciles (sorry Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Ford, Nixon, Johnson...) but you're all complete idiots.
Trump, in his greedy way, sees $$ in the presidency. He also sees power and prestige. An egomaniacs' glory is the US presidency.
I truly don't know if he's broke, and would suspect he's probably not, but no way he's a billionaire if he were to liquidate all his real estate assets today. Not many with an ego as big as his that would buy those buildings as valued on his balance sheet.
New Nope-- The hope killer,,his message, it is hopeless, might as well surrender now! Look over here I've got a couple of Doozies for you to chose from.
So he's like Paris Hilton, getting paid to show up.
For the love of God, no Donald sex tape please.
That's pretty compelling evidence.
If you'd just told us you though those things about Trump we'd have all downvoted you. But who are we to disagree with your father who really isn't the "dumb old farmer" he seems?
Doug Litowitz is a hedge fund lawyer and a former law professor.
And he has the audacity to call Trump an 'actor playing someone worth $10 billion?'
He lost me when his bio said Hedge Fund Lawyer. A man who protects those who use infinite leverage decrying someone who does the same thing, only in hard assets.
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain (It's time to toss the dice)
The Daily Economist
You got that wrong. Who would know better?
Litowitz? WTF over? Trump according to the inferred conclusion of this Joooo is the epitome of Merikan exceptionalism. Here! Here!
I'd like to see Romney run against Biden.
what -----do I have to read zio news here too??
wtf
Trump is a political flasher whose real agenda is as yet indeterminate. It seems history has proven when politicians lips are moving, they are lying. Why does anyone think sharp tongued, NY billionaire trump is any different? The man has wads of dough, a sharp intellect, a sharper tongue and stage experience; a natural celebrity playing to his audience.
Does anyone believe he does not move in the same circles, eat in the same restaurants, attend the same gatherings as others of his ilk from NY, Chicago, LA, Miami, Los Vegas, etc. etc. etc.? How is it he gets air time trash talking the competition instead of being marginalized by the GOP organizers and media as prior political outsiders did when wading into primary candidacy waters????
Until proven otherwise, he appears to be a cutout playing his role to once again manifest hopium for the useless eaters...
Mexico is going to pay for the wall. His Presidency is worth that, close these fucking borders.
Gonna build a wall along the Canadian border as well ? How about a wall along the South Florida beachfront ?
If The Doug cant make heads or tails of it that means Trump is a lot smarter than him and Magnetar . Mofos should be wearing orange jumpsuits.
http://www.zoominfo.com/p/Douglas-Litowitz/317086445
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/04/rahm-emanuel-and-magnetar-capital-the-definition-of-compromised.html
The moving force behind a brilliant and devastating subprime short strategy was a heretofore unknown Chicago hedge fund, Magnetar, headed by Alec Litowitz, formerly of the hedge fund behemoth Citadel. Our studies indicate that Magnetar alone accounted for between 35% and 60% of demand for subprime mortgages in the year 2006.
This is how their strategy worked in detail.
The ruse at the heart of their transactions was creating subprime (so called “mezz” or mezzanine) collateralized debt obligations by investing in the riskiest layer, the so-called equity tranche. This kind of CDO consisted almost entirely of not just any subprime risk, but that of the dodgiest layer that could be sold short, the BBB tranches, via a combination of actual bonds and credit default swaps.
But Magnetar’s true objective was not to invest in this toxic waste, which its role as funder of the CDO would lead most to believe. While Magnetar paid roughly 5% of the total deal value for its equity stake, it took a much bigger short position by acting as a protection buyer on some of the credit default swaps created by these same CDOs. This insurance in turn was artificially cheap because over 80% of the deal was rated AAA. Most investors did not understand what Magnetar recognized: this concentrated exposure to the very riskiest type of bond associated with risky mortgage borrowers, each of these CDOs was a binary bet. It would either work out (in which case Magnetar would still show a thin profit) or it would fail completely, giving Magnetar an enormous profit and wiping out even the AAA investors who mistakenly believed they were protected by having other investors sit below them and take losses first. Thus the AAA investors were only earning AAA returns for BBB risk.
As the equity investor, Magnetar could further stack the deck in its favor through the influence it gained over the deals’ parameters. It was able to ensure that the CDOs held particularly dubious BBB exposures, and pushed for, and often got, “triggerless” structures, which stripped away another protection most deals had. When CDOs start to show significant losses, the payments to the lower-tier investors, including the equity tranche, are cut or halted to defend the AAA layer, much the way the human body, when exposed to severe cold, will restrict blood flow from the extremities to save the brain and organs. But triggerless deals, even as they started to fail, kept paying the lower tranche holders, including, in this case, Magnetar itself.
While these transactions may sound similar to the widely decried Goldman synthetic CDO program, Abacus, by which the firm went short various real estate exposures, effectively dumping the risk on customers, the Magnetar program was not only much larger, but also produced far more devastating systemic consequences, thanks to the distinctive structure of its CDOs.
Kurious about the Litowitz were ya?
Thanks for the info and links...
All legal. Dont invest in anything you dont understand.
Trump has been bankrupt a few times. But he's always come back. And that's the lesson.
The lesson is, you're getting played. They're(every motherfucker on television) all actors playing parts, nothing more.
I've only been watching this nonsense with slight interest - but my sense is that Trump would claim HE has never gone bankrupt - it was (his) companies. I'd like to see a poll of the employees of those companies on what they think of Trump. How philanthropic is Trump ?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/edwindurgy/2012/05/16/what-mitt-romney-is-re...
There's a story I saw somewhere else that Trump was being chauffered somewhere, during winter, in the usual big limo and it got a flat. They pulled over beside the road and the chauffer, who was an older guy, was trying to change the wheel. Some other guy drives up, sees the problem, and changes the wheel for them. Trump says "thanks, what can I do for you?" The good samaritan says, "just send some flowers to my wife". Trump subsequently found out the guy's details and paid off his mortgage.
True story? No idea.
Sure thats the lesson Irish, Donald is the man to turn the Country around, the other Candidates represent the policies that caused the problem!
That's what I reckon too. Trump is a survivor it would appear. Compared to the other candidates, he's been there and done it.
I've no dog in this fight. I've no vote in this election.
He makes the point that he personally has never been bankrupt but that he has had 4 companies out of hundreds go into bankruptcy. Doesn't sound like a bad track record to me. No one wins on every deal . . . unless they're doing HFT.
Jesus Christ, stop pulling the curtain back! But, but, they say.....
Took a lot of words to state the obvious.
Write in candidate for POTUS: Scat v Toliet Paper. A real choice
What a pathetic piece of disgusting obamatron assclown progressive slander.
FOAD Doug Litowitz.
Grimaldus
Yeah so maybe he's broke at only $100,000,000. I should be so broke.
I wonder if Trump pays people to thumb down articles trashing his name
I had that same thought not long ago.
Obama uses taxpayer money to pay trolls.
It's called "Capital preservation" when all you have is a name.
(brand) and a mouth.
I wish cause I did..................
this guy would give his life to give trump a blow-job.
litowitz the lipshits jew fuck is being paid for what a jewfuck does best, shit. highly doubtful he ever was a billionaire, inherited a few mega apt bldgs from his old man which were paid for cash cows but it takes some serious moolah to run a helicopter like his and a jet and all the residences month in month out, year in year out, through chapter 11s , lawsuits and the rest of the dumb fuck expenses.
Trump is a fucking prick. Pull a Ross Perot you MoFoer and get another Clinton elected as POS of the USA.
I am not sure if I believe your theory on Ross Perot...Its possible and I would not be surprised but I think Ross may have been for real. I dont know, but I think Ross Perot and his family may have been threatened.......I might be wrong, but I do think trump is a patsy......Not enough proof to accuse Ross Perot, but the evidence is adding up in regards to trump
I started naively following Trump in the eighties. Read his bio., etc.
Even then, it was clear that he was just the "Barnum and Bailey" of development. A brilliant marketer and brand huckster that utilizes debt to put up buildings and then sell them off to others.
As I got older, and became aware of how the banksters' grift really works, I realized that all Trump really was was a fence for the grifting banksters and their Zionist masers. And so it does not surprise me that he is out being a foil in the up coming sheeple census of 2016.
Liberty is a demand. Tyranny is submission.