Former President Trump fell nearly 300 spots on the Forbes billionaires list after his fortune decreased by more than $1 billion during his four years in office.
Trump ranked 1,299 on the Forbes billionaires list, released on Tuesday, with an estimated worth of $2.4 billion.
Last year, Trump ranked 1,001 on the list.
Forbes reported that Trump’s estimated net worth in January 2017, when he entered office, was $3.5 billion.
Forbes noted, however, that Trump is richer now than he was a year ago, when the outlet released their valuations at the beginning of the pandemic. His ranking slipped, Forbes wrote, because he could not keep pace with the other billionaires on the list who saw their fortunes rise.
Trump brushed off the results as unsurprising, saying in a statement to The Hill, “That’s the way it’s supposed to be, a politician is not supposed to make money while in office, and a rich person should come out of office with less.”
“That’s why people like me, because I am honest. Unlike most politicians, I didn’t run for office to get rich, I gave up billions of dollars to help save our country. I did a great job for the people on the border, the vaccine, our economy, our military, Space Force, the second amendment, and everything else,” Trump continued.
Trump went on to tout his efforts in developing the coronavirus vaccine, saying it will help get the economy reopened, including the travel and hospitality industries.
“I’m fortunate that we have the best properties and very little debt, which is a big difference between us and others. And with my developing the vaccine, we’re now going to get our economy reopened and help the travel and hospitality industries start growing again.”
Bloomberg News reported similar statistics last month, when they found that the former president’s net worth fell from $3 billion to $2.3 billion over the course of his presidency.
Bloomberg noted that the coronavirus pandemic and fallout from the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol attack heavily impacted his business empire.
Several of Trump’s businesses, including hotels, casinos and office spaces, were hurt during the pandemic, when workplaces shuttered and tourism came to a halt because of global travel restrictions.
Via The Hill
