The cumulative revenue of 3.4 billion dollars has reshaped the record of power monetization in American political history. This article is sourced from a piece by David D. Kirkpatrick in The New Yorker, organized, translated, and written by Luffy of Foresight News. (Background: Eric Trump, the second son of Trump, warns 'Don’t short BTC, ETH now': You will be squeezed) (Supplementary background: Nvidia and AMD agree to Trump's '15% AI chip tax', in exchange for importing H20 and MI308 to China, with gross profits directly remitted to Washington) President Donald Trump faced questions from the public about his business empire and conflicts of interest for the first time at a press conference after taking office in January 2017. His company, the 'Trump Organization', profits from luxury apartments, hotel leases, development projects, and club memberships around the world. He also collaborates with various business entities to license his name for a fee on various products. Can people believe he would place the public interest above personal gain? How would he assure Americans that the funds flowing to his businesses would not become a form of bribery? When asked if he would publicly disclose his tax returns like previous presidents, he bluntly refused and referred to the loophole that exempts the presidency from conflict of interest regulations as the 'no conflict of interest clause', as if it were an exclusive privilege. He also revealed that during the transition period, he considered a $2 billion business proposal in Dubai from UAE real estate tycoon Hossain Sakiwani, but ultimately abandoned it, citing 'not wanting to take advantage', and instead allowed his eldest son Donald Jr. and second son Eric to manage his businesses. His tax attorney, Sheri Dillon, stated that Trump would not 'destroy the company he built' and promised that the family would never 'abuse presidential power'. However, these promises gradually crumbled during Trump's political career. After the Capitol riot in 2021, Dillon's law firm terminated its representation; by the second term, the Trump family completely broke the promise of 'not engaging in new overseas deals', profiting from five major transactions in the Gulf region alone. Donald Jr. candidly stated that the restraint of the first term did not stop external criticism, 'there’s no need to self-restrain anymore'. Now, the scale of funds flowing to Trump and his family is staggering: a $2 billion investment from the Saudi Crown Prince's controlled fund, a luxury plane gifted by the Emir of Qatar, profits from cryptocurrency businesses, exclusive club membership fees... Moral reform advocate Fred Wertheimer remarked: 'In terms of using public office for personal gain, Trump is unprecedented.' Although estimates of Trump's net worth by Forbes and The New York Times exceed $5 billion and $10 billion respectively, these figures include a lot of paper profits and assets unrelated to his presidency. Government ethics lawyer Norm Eisen candidly stated: 'We do not know the full amount.' Robert Weissman, co-chair of the Public Citizen organization, stated: 'We will never truly know.' Indeed, assessing how much value Trump's presidency has generated is a daunting task. But in this article, I aim to fairly and objectively quantify the profits that the Trump family has gained from two presidential terms. Mar-a-Lago, this for-profit club, has now become the holy land of the 'Make America Great Again' movement and a weekend White House, clearly serving as a focal point. During the 2016 campaign, Trump claimed that his presidential campaign had 'little impact' on his hotel and resort business, with Mar-a-Lago as the exception. This Palm Beach estate, purchased in 1985 for $10 million, experienced 'the best year ever' due to the campaign. Unlike other presidents who traded opportunities for campaign donations, Trump directly sold opportunities for unlimited access to him and his circle. Mar-a-Lago claims a membership cap of 500 people, with early members paying around $20,000 per year; after 2016, the membership fee skyrocketed to $100,000, and last year it was planned to rise to $1 million. Financial records show its annual revenue jumped from $10 million in 2014 to $50 million, while operating costs stabilized between $12 million and $16 million. Based on this, it is estimated that the extra profits gained from Mar-a-Lago during Trump's presidency amount to at least $125 million. Cumulative total: $125 million. Legal Fees and Merchandise Trump’s campaign team has spent over $20 million at Trump-owned hotels and resorts in the past decade, contributing to Mar-a-Lago’s profits. The 2016 and 2024 campaign teams paid $18 million to use his Boeing 757, comparable to the costs for Obama and Romney renting campaign aircraft. However, Trump’s innovation lies in operating a personal online store, selling merchandise that competes with the campaign's promotional items, such as $50 'Make America Great Again' baseball caps and $18 beer koozies. Financial disclosures indicate that these sales generated over $17 million in revenue, almost all profit. Additionally, his licensing income includes guitars ($1.1 million), watches ($2.8 million), sneakers and perfumes ($2.5 million), books ($3 million), and Bibles ($1.3 million), totaling at least $27.7 million. More notably, Trump used supporter donations through a Political Action Committee (PAC) to pay legal fees, totaling over $100 million, covering cases such as sexual assault allegations, hush money fraud, and attempts to overturn election results. This expense can be termed 'a $100 million personal gift'. Cumulative total: $125 million + $127.7 million = $252.7 million. Washington Hotel During Trump's first term, the Trump International Hotel in Washington was often viewed by Democrats as a 'center of corruption'. Foreign leaders booked entire floors, and lobbyists and officials crowded the bar. Yet, in reality, the hotel lost over $70 million annually, with his presidency attracting some customers while driving away an equal number of potential clients who were deterred by scandal concerns. In 2012, Trump agreed to pay at least $3 million annually to the federal government to lease this building in Washington, D.C. (formerly the post office headquarters) long-term, and invested at least $200 million in renovations. The hotel opened in 2016, and Trump sold it for $375 million in 2022. Additionally, while Trump Turnberry golf resort in Scotland received U.S. military lodging expenditures (at least $184,000 over 23 months as of 2019), it sustained losses for four years and only became profitable in 2022, with the U.S. military continuing to stay there during Biden's term. Overall, the spending of government agencies and profit-seekers at Trump’s hotel offset each other, with revenues counted as zero. Cumulative total: $252.7 million (unchanged). Gulf Region The Arab monarchs in the Gulf region play a dual role as both heads of state and major buyers of American assets, providing unique business opportunities for the Trump family. During Trump’s first term, his son-in-law Jared Kushner secured a $2 billion investment from the Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund by supporting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after leaving office. Kushner’s Affinity Partners subsequently raised funds from the UAE, Qatar, and Taiwanese businessman Terry Gou, managing assets totaling $4.8 billion. By industry standards, the firm could earn $81 million annually in management fees, totaling $810 million over ten years. It is conservatively estimated that Kushner personally received half to two-thirds of the earnings, valued at approximately $320 million. Cumulative total: $252.7 million + $320 million = $572.7 million.

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