Debunking the myth Trump is a great businessman [View all]

[Albertoo]

I am surprised Democrats are not better at debunking this myth created by Trump
(without mentioning Trump's chapter 11s, because it could be claimed he ventured often)

Here is a demonstration which proves Trump did not create extra value in 35 years (1982-2016)
compared to the option he had of investing his 1982 money on the stock market:

• The first Forbes 400 in 1982 stated Trump and his father evenly split a fortune of $200M
=> Worth of Donald Trump in 1982 = $100M (* more on that later)

(*) http://www.forbes.com/sites/randalllane/2015/09/29/inside-the-epic-fantasy-thats-driven-donald-trump-for-33-years/#7b39d7bd19ce

• Now, $100M invested in the stock market in 1982 would be worth ... 5.2 Billion in 2016

http://observationsandnotes.blogspot.sg/2011/11/if-i-had-invested-1-in-19xx.html

But, still according to Forbes, Donald is only worth ... 4.5 Billion in 2016.

(*) http://www.forbes.com/sites/randalllane/2015/09/29/inside-the-epic-fantasy-thats-driven-donald-trump-for-33-years/#595dd95919ce

• So, all in all, Trump would have been better off by 700 million investing all his money on the stock exchange, leaving it to professionals.

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But wait, it gets funnier if we stick to the on-record claims by Donald Trump himself:

• In the article quoted twice (*), Donald Trump claimed in 1982 to be worth $500M.
• He now famously claims to be worth $10 billion.

$500M of 1982 invested across
- the Dow Jones would have become $25 billion in 2016 (Trump LOST $15 billion)
- the NASDAQ would have become $32 billion in 2016 (Trump LOST $22 billion)

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Bottom line:

By Forbes' measures, Trump is not a great manager.

By Trump's declarations, he's a horrible money manager.