Trump lost an estimated $600 billion in wealth over the course of the pandemic
Donald Trump would be worth $400 million more than he is today if he took his inheritance and invested it in a fund tracking the S&P 500 instead of his trademark real estate holdings, according to a report released Monday.
That $400 million figure is the same amount by which he missed a spot on Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans for the first time since 1996.
Forbes tracks Trump's wealth twice per year and claims he's currently worth $2.5 billion.
But if he invested the money Fred Trump gave him into Standard & Poor's tracker of the 500 largest companies on the stock exchange, it could've been $2.94 billion as of October 8.
Instead, Trump vastly expanded on his father's real estate empire to include luxury apartments and hotels in numerous major cities - many of which took a significant hit during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Monday Forbes report notes that Trump's investments overperformed relative to the market for many years, attributing it to 'great buildings,' his marketing skill and simple luck.
An October 2018 investigation into Trump's taxes by the New York Times found that he had inherited at least $413 million. Calculations showed that he would be worth $1.96 billion if he invested all of it in the S&P 500.
But at the time he was worth an estimated $3.1 billion according to Forbes, outperforming the market by roughly $1 billion.
Both Trump's net worth and the S&P 500 took hits in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic upended the economy, but unlike the ex-president's wealth the stock index has successfully rebounded thanks to big tech
Trump's wealth fell sharply in March 2020, when the pandemic took hold of the global economy. Health restrictions as well as travel bans dealt a massive blow to the hospitality and tourism sectors, and the value of luxury apartments in some major cities dropped dramatically.
At the time his net worth fell from $3.1 billion to $2.1 billion.
His commercial real estate holdings, first worth $1.9 billion before the upheaval, were worth $1.2 billion after the pandemic took hold in March.
Businesses saw little need for office space when restrictions forced most of the white collar workforce to operate remotely, and the coffee shops and convenience stores that supported office lift also struggled.
The value of Trump's stake in commercial building 1290 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan has dropped by $80 million, to $685 million, according to a Bloomberg estimate, which examined financial disclosures, real estate documents, and loan documents.
At the same time the S&P 500 steadily rose after a brief, sharp fall in mid-March. The growth was driven by big tech firms like Apple, Tesla and Microsoft.
Trump received an estimated $413 million from his father Fred, a 2018 investigation into his tax returns revealed
Trump's net worth lagged in contrast, and by early 2021 was overtaken by the stock index's value.
Meanwhile he's accumulated debts worth an estimated $1.3 billion, according to a report from last week. That's almost $200 million more than the Trump Organization owed before he was president.
Trump's $400 million deficit from if he had just invested in S&P 500 companies from the start could have been enough to keep him in Forbes' coveted 400 richest Americans list.
Calculations for the list are done in September and for the first time in almost 25 years, the ex-president was $400 million shy of making it on after losing more than $600 during the pandemic.
Trump was ranked 339th last year. His highest ever position was at 71st in 2003, the year before he launched his NBC hit series The Apprentice.
