Washington: Plunging commercial real estate values due to the novel coronavirus crisis reduced President Donald Trump''s net worth by $600 million in the past year, Forbes reported on Tuesday. The crisis hit the industries in which Trump holds his biggest assets. Values for office buildings have plummeted, along with hotels, particularly ones in big cities, the report said. Trump''s net worth dropped $600 million since last September to $2.5 billion, placing the president at No. 339 on the Forbes list of the 400 wealthiest Americans, down 64 spots from a year ago, the report also said.
Forbes explained that declining property values of Trump''s New York real estate portfolio accounted for more than half of the president''s declining wealth. For example, Forbes valued the Trump Tower at $167 million, $70 million less than the landmark property was worth in September 2019, the report said. Trump has significant debt against properties in Washington, DC and Chicago, as well as his Doral golf resort in Florida. Doral is now worth an estimated $28 million, after accounting for its mortgages, down 80 percent in the past year.
The report pointed out a few bright spots in the Trump portfolio, including parking 350 parking spaces in New York City, which appear to be prospering amid the pandemic with people afraid to ride the subway. Trump''s Mar-a-Lago Club and three nearby homes are also benefiting during the pandemic as wealthy New Yorkers flee the city for Florida, thereby driving up property values, according to the report.
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