Trump reportedly ‘lost more money than nearly any other individual American taxpayer’ from 1985 to 1994.
While President Trump won over supporters partly by hailing his own business savvy, previously unseen tax returns reveal that he suffered over $1 billion in business losses in a single decade and managed to avoid paying federal income tax for several years in a row, The New York Times reports, citing 10 years’ worth of financial records.
While the tax information revealed by the Times covers 1985 to 1994, predating the more recent tax periods under scrutiny by Democrats wary of Trump’s business ties with Russia, the tax returns do shed some light on his deal-making tactics.
The Key Takeaways:
He Got Out of Paying Income Taxes for Eight Years
The numbers cited by the Times show that Trump lost a total of $1.17 billion from 1985 to 1994. He lost so much money throughout the decade that he was able to avoid paying income taxes for eight of the 10 years, according to the report.
Since most of the money lost was borrowed from banks and bond investors, however, Trump didn’t suffer the same consequences others might in the face of such steep business losses.
He Apparently Lost More Than Any Other Taxpayer
In 1990 and 1991, Trump reported losses of more than $250 million—more than double that of any other high-income individual taxpayer for those years based on IRS data, according to Times.
The Times reports that the trend appeared to repeat throughout the entire decade, with Trump appearing to lose “more money than nearly any other individual American taxpayer” year after year.
He Made Millions by Posing as a Corporate Raider
From 1986 to 1988, Trump reportedly made $57 million by posing as a corporate raider intent on taking over companies including Hilton Hotels, the Gillette razor company, and Federated Department Stores. Using borrowed money, he reportedly bought up shares in the companies before putting out the message that he was about to buy enough to become a majority owner—and then sold the stock once the price subsequently shot up. While the “corporate raider” tactic has previously been reported, the newly revealed tax information shows Trump actually lost most of the gains he made in that period, according to the Times. And by 1989, many investors had already wised up to his takeover ploys.
