Forbes rich list: President Trump's wealth shrinking

  • 18/10/2017

The personal wealth of US President Donald Trump has declined in the last year, Forbes magazine says.

The publication, which keeps a ranking of the 400 richest Americans based on public records of their holdings and assets, estimated Trump's fortune at $US3.1 billion (NZ$4.32 billion), down by $US600 million (NZ$836 million) from a year ago.

Even as the wealth of most people on the list rose - amid strong gains in the stock market - Mr Trump dropped from 156th on the list last year to 248th in the latest Forbes rankings.

Most of the decline in Mr Trump's wealth was due to declining values of his high- end Manhattan real estate holdings, Forbes reported. Some of the golf courses owned by his family-run Trump Organisation have lost value.

Mr Trump spent $US66 million (NZ$92 million) on his presidential campaign and $US25 million (NZ$34 million) to settle a lawsuit regarding his Trump University, which offered a course in real estate investing that New York state authorities alleged was fraudulent.

While most of Mr Trump's real estate is in New York City, a few of his hotels and other buildings in the western United States gained in estimated value.

Reuters