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The Daily 202: Lessons from my search for Donald Trump's personal giving to charity
The Daily 202: Lessons from my search for Donald Trump's personal giving to charity
By James Hohmann August 5 at 7:49 AM
THE BIG IDEA:
By David Fahrenthold, filling in for James, who is on vacation.
I’ve spent the last few months trying to prove Donald Trump right about something important. ... So far, I’ve failed.
....
2.) But Trump seems to want to acquire his reputation for charity as cheaply as possible, and with other people's money if he can
In all, I've identified about $7.8 million that Trump has given to charity since 1984. That's a great deal of money, but it is a rather paltry sum for a billionaire. If Trump is worth $10 billion now, as he claims, then his lifetime charity would be equal to 0.08 percent of his current net worth. Star Wars' George Lucas, who is tied with Trump on Forbes' list of billionaires, gave $925 million to charity in a single recent year. ... Despite this relatively low total, Trump has employed a pair of strategies to make his charitable impact seem more impressive.
For one thing, he frequently attends charity galas and events, where attendance carries the implication (but not the requirement) that guests have made donations to the cause. I've even found galas where Trump was given a title like "honorary chairman" -- with the implication of an even bigger gift -- but actually gave nothing. In fact, Trump often *made* money on these galas, since they were held at his Florida clubs. Several of the charities said they were glad to have Trump as the honorary chairman anyway, since Trump's name drew a crowd.
Separately, Trump seems to exploit the assumption that the money in the Donald J. Trump Foundation came originally from Donald J. Trump's pocket. It doesn't, and hasn't for years. Instead, the foundation's biggest recent gifts came from wrestling moguls Vince and Linda McMahon, who gave a total $5 million (and won't comment about why). Since then, Trump has been effectively giving the McMahons' money away, but -- because his name is on the foundation -- the recipients often give Trump the credit.
By James Hohmann August 5 at 7:49 AM
THE BIG IDEA:
By David Fahrenthold, filling in for James, who is on vacation.
I’ve spent the last few months trying to prove Donald Trump right about something important. ... So far, I’ve failed.
....
2.) But Trump seems to want to acquire his reputation for charity as cheaply as possible, and with other people's money if he can
In all, I've identified about $7.8 million that Trump has given to charity since 1984. That's a great deal of money, but it is a rather paltry sum for a billionaire. If Trump is worth $10 billion now, as he claims, then his lifetime charity would be equal to 0.08 percent of his current net worth. Star Wars' George Lucas, who is tied with Trump on Forbes' list of billionaires, gave $925 million to charity in a single recent year. ... Despite this relatively low total, Trump has employed a pair of strategies to make his charitable impact seem more impressive.
For one thing, he frequently attends charity galas and events, where attendance carries the implication (but not the requirement) that guests have made donations to the cause. I've even found galas where Trump was given a title like "honorary chairman" -- with the implication of an even bigger gift -- but actually gave nothing. In fact, Trump often *made* money on these galas, since they were held at his Florida clubs. Several of the charities said they were glad to have Trump as the honorary chairman anyway, since Trump's name drew a crowd.
Separately, Trump seems to exploit the assumption that the money in the Donald J. Trump Foundation came originally from Donald J. Trump's pocket. It doesn't, and hasn't for years. Instead, the foundation's biggest recent gifts came from wrestling moguls Vince and Linda McMahon, who gave a total $5 million (and won't comment about why). Since then, Trump has been effectively giving the McMahons' money away, but -- because his name is on the foundation -- the recipients often give Trump the credit.
