Donald Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on his last day in office. Photo / AP
Donald Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on his last day in office. Photo / AP
Former US president 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.
Trump's 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 sizable debt facing the company of more than US$300 million ($416m), 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 Jr has run the Trump Organisation for the past four years, told the Associated Press in an interview on Friday 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.
A security boat patrols near the Trumps' resort in Palm Beach, Florida on January 20. Photo / AP
"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".
Hinting at possible new ventures in the post-presidency era, Eric Trump raised the prospect of a flurry of new licensing deals in which the Trump name is put on a product or building for a fee, a business that has generated tens of millions for the company in the past.
"The opportunities are endless," he said, declining to give details.
The disclosure report filed each year with federal ethics officials shows only revenue figures, not profits, but the hit to Trump's business appeared widespread.
Donald and Melania Trump at Andrews Air Force Base before their departure to Florida. Photo / AP
The National Doral Golf Club outside of Miami, his biggest money maker among the family's golf properties, took in US$44.2m in revenue, a drop of US$33m from 2019.
The Trump International Hotel in Washington, once buzzing with lobbyists and diplomats before operations were cut back last year, generated just US$15.1m in revenue, down more than 60 per cent from the year before.
Trump's Turnberry club in Scotland took in less than US$10m, down more than 60 per cent. Revenue at the family's golf club in Aberdeen also dropped by roughly the same proportion.
Donald Trump's Turnberry golf club in Scotland took in less than US$10 million, down more than 60 per cent. Photo / AP
Mar-a-Lago, the Palm Beach club where Trump arrived yesterday, saw revenue rise 10 per cent to US$24.2m.
The financial blow from former clients and business partners cutting ties to Trump is unclear, but it could be sizable. The PGA of America cancelled a championship tournament at Trump's Bedminster club in New Jersey, and several banks said they would no longer lend to the company, making it more difficult to roll over its debt with new loans.
In addition, New York City said it would be cancelling various contracts with the company, including those running skating rinks and a golf club in the Bronx. Revenue at that course, the Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point, fell 20 per cent last year to US$6.4m.
Eric Trump dismissed the backlash, saying parts of the business that get less attention, such as its commercial buildings, are thriving.
"I've signed 125,000 square feet of office space in the fourth quarter alone," he said, referring to new leases. "We hit it out the park."
The disclosure report was unclear on that business, though the revenue at four of the company's most important buildings - Trump Tower on New York's Fifth Avenue, a Wall Street building, and two towers owned with real estate giant Vornado - seemed to hold up during the pandemic.
The report, which gives some figures in broad ranges and vague "more than" estimates, said the four took in over US$20m in total last year, unchanged from a year earlier.
