Donald Trump picks a fight with Forbes over his net worth
Donald Trump picks a fight with Forbes over his net worth. The real estate mogul is infuriated with the magazine for claiming his fortune exceeds $10 billion. Trump reiterates his earlier claims that he is in reality almost $6 billion ‘poorer’ than the mainstream speculations about his wealth.
“I’m a private company […] I like the people at Forbes but they don’t really know my assets very well,”
Trump insisted in an interview with CNBC. He went on to say that Forbes is a “bankrupt magazine” and criticized journalists who use it as a reference point on the matter.
This is not the first time the billionaire has condemned the Forbes editorial about estimates of his net worth. In 1990 the situation was reversed as Trump feuded with the magazine over allegedly underestimating his total wealth.
Listed in their annual 400 richest Americans, Trump was dissatisfied for having his assets estimated at $1.7 billion, as opposed to the $3.7 billion he claimed for himself. In response, the magazine published an even more defamatory piece by stating that the billionaire was “bleeding at the rate of $40 million a year, $3 million a month, $770,000 a week.”
Accusations also surfaced that Trump owed more than $180 million a year in interest when his properties only generated $140 million each year in revenue. As is the case nowadays, he only dismissed the claims as propaganda against his personal image and even accused the editors of the magazine of bearing a personal grudge against him.
The Republican candidate even started a series of ad hominem attacks Malcolm Forbes by claiming that the late editor
“lived as a homosexual – which he had every right to do – but expected the media and his famous friends to cover for him.”
Trump went on to call him a hypocrite who provided favorable coverage only to those who agreed to advertise in his magazine.
This marks another entry in a long list of controversies surrounding the Republican candidate. He recently came under heavy fire for his remarks against Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, deemed by many as misogynistic. He also criticized Senator John McCain over his POW experience in Vietnam, by claiming that he admired soldiers “that don’t get captured.”
Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, Rand Paul and other fellow Republican candidates have also been the targets of his controversial remarks. Despite the negativity surrounding his public image, Trump remains in the spotlight and maintains a favorable position in the run for the White House.
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