Trump’s fortune erodes with commercial property decline

Operating income is down at 725 Fifth Avenue, 40 Wall Street, 1290 Sixth Avenue

Donald Trump with 40 Wall Street, 725 Fifth Avenue and 1290 Sixth Avenue (Getty, Wikipedia, Trump Organization, Vornado)
Donald Trump with 40 Wall Street, 725 Fifth Avenue and 1290 Sixth Avenue (Getty, Wikipedia, Trump Organization, Vornado)

Donald Trump’s businesses are on the wrong side of the Covid-19 divide.

While the stock market has roared back and some tech companies have flourished during the pandemic, the travel and leisure industry on which the president’s properties depend has sustained unprecedented losses.

Yet even before the crisis, their value had started to slide, according to Bloomberg, and Trump’s heavy investment in golf is at odds with changing generational tastes.

The office sector is not so hot either. Vornado Realty Trust is considering selling a pair of office buildings it owns alongside Trump’s firm.

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The real estate investment trust is looking at options to recapitalize 1290 Sixth Avenue in Manhattan and 555 California Street in San Francisco. Vornado owns a 70 percent controlling stake in the properties.

Operating income at three Trump buildings with public financials — 725 Fifth Avenue, 40 Wall Street and 1290 Sixth Avenue — declined by $16.3 million in 2019, according to Bloomberg.

Since the publication began tracking Trump’s wealth in 2015, the past year has been the worst for Trump as his net worth declined by $300 million, or about 10 percent of his fortune. Forbes in April estimated that it fell by a full $1 billion, to $2.1 billion. [Bloomberg] — Orion Jones