Donald Trump Has Dropped On Forbes’ 400 Richest Americans List

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Former President Donald Trump fell on the Forbes 400 list of the richest people in America for the first time in 25 years, despite the fact he goes on to become a billionaire.

Forbes published its annual list of the 400 richest Americans on Tuesday and the former president and New York real estate mogul was not featured. The list is led by former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

On their 2020 list, Trump is in 339th place, down from 275th place in 2019. Earlier this year, Forbes reported that Trump lost $ 1 billion-more than one-third of his wealth – during his presidency.

However, Forbes estimates Trump’s value at $ 2.5 billion, meaning he is extremely wealthy. But that number leaves him $ 400 million embarrassed to get on the list of the 400 richest Americans.

Trump lost an estimated $ 600 million in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an article explaining how Trump fell off the list, Forbes senior editor Dan Alexander said: “From 1997 to 2016, Donald Trump maintained a spot in the top half of the Forbes 400. But things turned out worse than the year he won the presidency. After five years of falling out of the ranks, he is now off the list. “

Alexander made a similar argument in April when Forbes reported that Trump’s estimated wealth has declined from $ 3.5 billion to $ 2.4 billion since he was sworn into office in January 2017.

Trump did not remove himself from his real estate assets when he became president – a decision that has been controversial and raised questions about ethics. Past presidents have divested from their businesses. Perhaps most famously, former President Jimmy Carter put his nuts in a blind trust when he took office.

Alexander argued Tuesday that if Trump had removed his real estate assets, he could have been richer now, estimating that Trump would have had $ 2.4 billion at the start of his presidency if he had sold the real estate and paid the necessary taxes.

“By plowing $ 2.4 billion into an index fund that tracks the S&P 500, for example, Trump’s fortune could swell to $ 4.5 billion right now, leaving him 80% richer than he is today. his refusal to divest, in other words, cost him $ 2 billion, ”he wrote.

While Bezos tops the Forbes list, he joins the top five by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Google co-founder Larry Page. Sergey Brin, Google’s other co-founder, was placed in sixth.

UPDATE 10/5/21 8.10am ET: This article has been updated to include more information.

Former US President Donald Trump greeted the crowd at a rally on September 25, 2021 in Perry, Georgia. Trump is not on Forbes ’list of the 400 richest Americans for the first time in 25 years. Sean Rayford / Getty Images

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