Monday, March 18, 2024

How Many Times Has Trump Filed Bankrupcy

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Trumps Businesses That Have Had Filed For Bankruptcy

Donald Trump Bankruptcy Math Doesnt Add Up | NBC News

1. Trump opened the $1.2 billion Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City in April 1990. One year later, in the summer of 1991, it sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection because it was unable to generate enough gambling revenue to cover the massive costs of building the facility, particularly amid a recession.

2. The Castle Hotel & Casino entered bankruptcy in March 1992 and had the most difficulty of Trump’s Atlantic City properties in covering its operational costs. The Trump Organization relinquished half of its holdings in the Castle to the bondholders.

3. The Plaza Casino was one of two Trump casinos in Atlantic City to enter bankruptcy in March 1992.

4. Trump’s Plaza Hotel was more than $550 million in debt when it entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1992.


5. Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts, a holding company for Trump’s three casinos, entered Chapter 11 in November 2004 as part of a deal with bondholders to restructure $1.8 billion of debt.

6. Trump Entertainment Resorts, the casino holding company, entered Chapter 11 in February 2009 amid The Great Recession. The holding company emerged from bankruptcy in February 2016 and became a subsidiary of investor Carl Icahn’s Icahn Enterprises.

Hillary Clinton mocked Donald Trumps business failings in a major speech arguing that the presumptive Republican nominee would be disastrous for the economy.

Fourth Times A Charm: How Donald Trump Made Bankruptcy Work For Him

Trump Plaza, Atlantic City. Image via Flickr.

Here at FORBES, weve been tracking Donald Trumps wealth since the inaugural Forbes 400 rich list in 1982. Today, we value him at $2.7 billion, although he claims hes worth far more. One question were often asked when talk turns to Trumps fortune: how can a man who has been bankrupt so many times remain a multi-billionaire? How is he worth more now, post-bankruptcies? We spoke to bankruptcy lawyers and casino industry experts some of whom have had firsthand involvement in Chapter 11 cases connected to Trump in an attempt to explain how he has survived corporate bankruptcies and thrived in the aftermath.


1. Its nothing personal

First things first: Donald Trump has filed for corporate bankruptcy four times, in 1991, 1992, 2004 and 2009. All of these bankruptcies were connected to over-leveraged casino and hotel properties in Atlantic City, all of which are now operated under the banner of Trump Entertainment Resorts. He has never filed for personal bankruptcy an important distinction when considering his ability to emerge relatively unscathed, at least financially.

Corporations, limited partnerships, and LLCs in which he had an ownership interest or companies that had his name attached have filed for bankruptcy, said Michael Viscount of Atlantic City law firm

In Presidential Bid)

2. its just business.


3. Its better than the alternative.

4. Hes leveraged his persona.

6. Hes not the one to blame.

Famous People Who Filed Bankruptcy

And the list keeps growing.

They all used bankruptcy to get rid of debt,…and then got on with their lives.


Each of these famous people got the full benefit of filing bankruptcy…when they needed it.

Why not you?

Bad times come to all of us…even celebrities.

If someone that well off could get into financial trouble…it could happen to anyone.

If it could happen to anyone,…maybe you shouldnt be so hard on yourself.


These famous people were given a chance……to get rid of debt…to get rid of stress…to get back on track…and to start over fresh.

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Admirably Tough Or Downright Slimy Your Call

Donald Trump has ticked off a whole lot of different groups during his outspoken and unconventional run for the presidency. Few small business owners are among them.

Back during the primaries when he was an unlikely challenger to a slew of other more mainstream Republican candidates, Trump managed to attract the support of a whopping 41 percent of small business owners despite the crowded field. Even after a year of gaffes and controversy, more recentpolls suggest small business owners remain among Trumps most stalwart supporters.

But there are some interesting and very vocal exceptions the many small business owners Donald Trump has stiffed in his long career as a real estate tycoon.


Recently several media outlets have dug up a handful of business owners with worrying tales to tell of Trumps bullying, unfairness, and failure to pay. And while their numbers arent huge, there are enough of them to suggest a pattern of behavior that raises questions about whether pre-politics Trump was much of a friend to small business in practice. Here are a few of their stories:

Construction And Property Law Matters

Donald Trump And His Bankruptcies

In 2011, Donald Trump sued Scotland, alleging that it built the Aberdeen Bay Wind Farm after assuring him it would not be built. He had recently built a golf course there and planned to build an adjacent hotel. Trump lost his suit, with the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom unanimously ruling in favor of the Scottish government in 2015.

In 2013, 87-year-old Jacqueline Goldberg unsuccessfully sued Trump on allegations that he cheated her in a condominium sale by bait-and-switch when she was purchasing properties at the Trump International Hotel and Tower.

In 2015, Trump initiated a $100 million lawsuit against Palm Beach County claiming that officials, in a deliberate and malicious act, pressured the FAA to direct air traffic to the Palm Beach International Airport over his estate, because he said the airplanes damaged the building and disrupted its ambiance. Trump had previously sued the county twice over airport noise the first lawsuit, in 1995, ended with an agreement between Trump and the county Trumps second lawsuit, in 2010, was dismissed.

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We Have A Company Thats Really Got Great Potential 2005

Though he has acknowledged mistakes in piling crippling debt on Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts, Donald Trump has steadfastly maintained that his resorts were the best-run and highest-performing casinos in Atlantic City.

The casinos have done very well from a business standpoint, he told Playboy magazine in 2004. People agree that theyre well run, they look good and customers love them.

In reality, the revenue at Mr. Trumps casinos had consistently lagged behind their competitors for a decade before larger forces ravaged the industry. Beginning in 1997, his share of the Atlantic City gambling market began to slip from its peak of 30 percent.

Revenues at other Atlantic City casinos rose 18 percent from 1997 through 2002 Mr. Trumps fell by 1 percent.


Competition grew more intense in 2003, when the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa opened. The $1.1 billion, 40-story resort redefined the concept of an Atlantic City luxury casino. Revenues at Trump casinos dropped another 6 percent in a little more than a year.

Had Mr. Trumps revenues grown at the rate of other Atlantic City casinos, his company could have made its interest payments and possibly registered a profit. But with sagging revenues and high costs, his casinos had too little money for renovations and improvements, which are vital for hotels to attract guests. The public company never logged a profitable year.

I think the biggest thing is, it understates his compensation, Mr. Cox said.

They Will See How Great It Will Become 2009

When Donald Trump has been pressed on his casinos performance during his presidential campaign, he has repeatedly said he left Atlantic City at the right time.

Atlantic City is a disaster, and I did great in Atlantic City, he said during a Republican Party debate last September, according to a transcript. I knew when to get out. My timing was great. And I got a lot of credit for it.


That would suggest Mr. Trump willingly left sometime around 2006, the year that revenues peaked in Atlantic City and that Pennsylvania allowed its first casino to open, a development that marked the start of a rapid downward spiral in the city. The drop-off was exacerbated by the recession that began in 2008.

But in early 2009, as Trump casinos lurched toward bankruptcy for the fourth time, Mr. Trump was still trying to hang on. At loggerheads with board members who had been selected by bondholders after the 2004 bankruptcy, he offered to buy all or a part of the casino company bearing his name. He was rebuffed, and he quit the board soon after.

Testifying in bankruptcy court in Camden, N.J., Mr. Trump argued that the company could not use his name, since shortly before filing the bankruptcy it had stopped paying him the $166,000 a month he received under the services agreement. He testified that his brand was worth $3 billion. He also testified that he was personally negotiating the settlement of a lawsuit in Florida that would yield more than $100 million for the company.

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Personal Vs Corporate Bankruptcy

One point of clarification: Trump has never filed personal bankruptcy, only corporate bankruptcy related to some of his business interests. I have never gone bankrupt, Trump has said.

Here is a look at the six Trump corporate bankruptcies. The details are a matter of public record and have been widely published by the news media and even discussed by Trump himself.

Time Limits Apply To Discharges Not Bankruptcy Filings

1990s: After Bankruptcies, Donald Trump Goes From Building To Branding | NBC News

Bankruptcy law doesnt set a minimum period that you must wait before filing for bankruptcy a second time. However, theres a catch. If you file too soon after wiping out debt in a previous case, you wont be eligible for another debt discharge .

Although there are times that it makes sense to file for bankruptcy even though you wont receive a discharge, these situations are rare . Because a bankruptcy filed too soon will end up being a waste of time and money in most cases, its essential to know how to time your bankruptcy filing.

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How Is Donald Trump Able To File For Bankruptcy So Many Times

Prior to the 2016 presidential election, when people discussed then-candidate Donald Trump, they often focused on his personal finances and how he had run his businesses. One of the common refrains had to do with his bankruptcies. According to pundits and critics, Trump had been unsuccessful in business, having to file bankruptcy several times in order to get by. Some people may have seen those stories and read the reports only to wonder how a person can declare bankruptcy so many times. For someone with the wealth of Donald Trump, how is it possible to keep declaring bankruptcy?

Donald Trump and personal bankrtupcyTo understand Donald Trump and bankruptcy, one must first understand the distinction between personal finances and business finances. Businesses are separate entities according to the law. In particular, corporations have their own legal personhood. They are specifically created so that people can avoid personal financial liability if things happen to go wrong. With this in mind, Donald Trump has actually never declared personal bankruptcy. In each instance, his bankruptcy has been a result of a business failure rather than a personal failure.

There have been many other business bankruptcies. Most of those have involved casinos. While Trump has tried hard in the casino business, he has had a number of failures there. On top of that, his Trump Plaza Hotel had to declare bankruptcy in order to seek ample protections.

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Further, the S-4 mentions other ongoing litigation involving President Trump related to the 2020 election, including a lawsuit filed by the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, and a criminal investigation launched by the Fulton County, Ga., district attorneys office … into President Trumps alleged interference in the presidential election.

Also, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform is investigating President Trumps alleged destruction and removal of classified documents and White House records, as well as potential inaccurate financial statements filed by the Trump Organization in relation to the Trump Hotel in Washington, D.C. ”

The document continues, On April 25, 2022, a New York state court judge held President Trump in civil contempt for failing to comply with a subpoena for documents related to the New York attorney generals investigation of the Trump Organization. President Trump, along with his three eldest children , are defendants in a class-action lawsuit accusing them and the Trump Corp. of defrauding investors in exchange for secret payments from multiple companies.

Also, The Trump Organization recently paid $750,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the District of Columbia accusing the organization of misusing nonprofit funds from the 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee.

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How Trump Leveraged Other Peoples Money To Make Bankruptcy Work For Him: A Timeline

Donald Trump is the self-proclaimed king of debt. Before becoming president, he built his brand and companies with massive amounts of borrowed money.

Allmand Law teamed up with James Publishing to illustrate this timeline by Mother Jones, outlining Trumps Bankruptcies: How Trump Leveraged Other Peoples Money to Make Bankruptcy Work for Him.

In the 1980s, Trump amassed casinos, hotels, an airline, and a 282-foot mega yacht. But his gold-plated bubble popped. By June 1990, Trump was unable to make loan payments on his $3.4 billion in outstanding debts. In total, Trump businesses filed for bankruptcy six times.

In many ways, Trumps path to bankruptcy is just like that of many other business owners. His ambition was bigger than his financial resources. Risky business decisions didnt play out as planned. And his attempts to restructure his debt were unsuccessful. But, in classic Trump form, there are flourishes of scandal.

So how did he rebound and rebuild? Trump, along with his bankruptcy attorneys and financial advisors, used federal bankruptcy laws to their advantage. While investors and creditors lost a lot of their money, Trump was highly compensated for his day-to-day work, earned fees during the property transfers, and slashed his personal debts.

How Many Times Has Donald Trump Filed Bankruptcy Trumps Businesses That Have Had Filed For Bankruptcy

Donald Trump and the Illusion of a Strong Economy

Donald Trump has portrayed himself as a successful businessman who has amassed a net worth of as much as $10 billion. But he has also led some of his companies into bankruptcy, maneuvers he says were designed to restructure their massive debt.

The most interesting moment of the first republican debates for me personally was the confrontation of presidential candidate Donald Trump and Fox News host Chris Wallace. The latter asked an eccentric billionaire a head-on question: How can we entrust the governance of a country to a person who has bankrupt his business four times in the past 25 years?

I acted within the laws of the United States and pursued the interests of my company, employees, family, said Trump. – The greatest businessmen of the United States do the same. I’ve never been bankrupt!

Donald Trump likes to boast he has never filed bankruptcy and honestly, he has not ever filed bankruptcy personally. He has had numerous Companies though that he has owned and managed so poorly that he has had to file bankruptcy for at least 6 different companies.

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Books By Donald Trump

Trump has written at least 15 books about business and golf. The most widely read and successful of his books is The Art of the Deal, published in 1987 by Random House. Trump receives annual royalties valued between $15,001 and $50,000 from sales of the book, according to federal records. He also receives $50,000 and $100,000 in income a year from sales of Time to Get Tough, published in 2011 by Regnery Publishing.

Trumps other books include:

  • Trump: Surviving at the Top, published in 1990 by Random House
  • The Art of the Comeback, published in 1997 by Random House
  • The America We Deserve, published in 2000 by Renaissance Books
  • How to Get Rich, published in 2004 by Random House
  • Think Like a Billionaire, published in 2004 by Random House
  • The Way to the Top, published in 2004 by Bill Adler Books
  • The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received, published in 2005 by Thomas Nelson Inc.
  • The Best Golf Advice I Ever Received, published in 2005 by Random House
  • Think Big and Kick Ass, published in 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers
  • Trump 101: The Way to Success, published in 2007 by John Wiley & Sons
  • Why We Want You to Be Rich, published in 2008 by Plata Publishing
  • Never Give Up, published in 2008 by John Wiley & Sons
  • Think Like a Champion, published in 2009 by Vanguard Press

Used Law To Protect Interests

Critics have cited the Trump corporate bankruptcies as examples of his recklessness and inability to manage, but the real estate developer, casino operator, and former reality-television star says his use of federal law to protect his interests illustrates his sharp business acumen.

Trump said in August 2015:

âI have used the laws of this country just like the greatest people that you read about every day in business have used the laws of this country, the chapter laws, to do a great job for my company, my employees, myself and my family.

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If Trump Companies Can File For Bankruptcy Why Cant I

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In a Nutshell

Bankruptcy isnât something to be ashamed of. It helps businesses and people â including the former leader of the free world â escape from debt and move forward. Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly used bankruptcy to help his businesses and himself get ahead. This article discusses Donald Trumpâs bankruptcies and how they benefited his companies. It also addresses how personal bankruptcy compares to business bankruptcy and why both are necessary for a healthy economy.

Written byAttorney Paige Hooper.

  • Letâs Summarizeâ¦
  • Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly used bankruptcy to help his businesses and himself get ahead. Trump understands that filing for bankruptcy is nothing to be ashamed of. Instead, in some cases, bankruptcy is simply the best decision that a company can make to move forward financially. This logic doesnât only apply to businesses, though. Itâs also true for individuals and couples who file personal bankruptcy to address financial hardships and improve their financial situations.

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