President Donald Trump recently mixed business with pleasure on a five-day trip to Scotland wherein he played golf while promoting his wealthy family’s luxury properties and — as an added benefit — worked out the framework for a major trade deal with the European Union (EU) regarding tariffs.
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But what all does this mean? Find out below what you can glean from Trump’s recent venture to apply to your own wealth.
Trump’s Golf Courses Are Earning Him Millions
According to Trump Golf, Trump has an array of luxury golf courses located in places like:
- Los Angeles
- Miami and Jupiter, FL
- Colts Neck and Bedminster, NJ
- Charlotte, NC
- Westchester and Hudson Valley, NY
- Washington
- Doonbeg, Ireland
- Aberdeen, Scotland
- Turnberry, Scotland
- Dubai
- Muscat, Oman
- Bali and Lido City, Indonesia
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As part of Trump’s visit to Scotland (the place where his mother was born), he celebrated the opening of another 18-hole course — this one at Trump International Golf Links near Aberdeen, per Sky News. He also visited another golf course, the one in Turnberry.
According to Sportico, analyzing data from the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, Trump earned $354 million from his golf properties in 2024. An estimated $6.1 million of this comes from the golf course in Aberdeen, Scotland.
Trump Is Mixing Business With Pleasure
President Trump’s visit to Scotland isn’t only about personal pleasure and business. According to CBS News, the president of the European Union Commission Ursula von der Leyen agreed to meet with the U.S. President to discuss international trade. The visit also included meetings with Scotland’s prime minister and the leader of the Scottish National Party, John Swinney.
Taxpayers Are Footing (Some of) the Bill
While in office, Trump’s family is handling most of his outside businesses. However, certain costs for this trip to Scotland are covered by taxpayer dollars. As per CBS, this includes the $192,000 an hour it costs to operate Air Force One and pay for Secret Service and staff accommodations.
Trump Is Using White House Connections To Promote His Brand
According to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, Trump has profiteered off his time in office. In just his second term, he’s visited his own properties 99 times — 62 of which were to his golf courses. This is a 37% increase from his first term as president.
Trump has also hosted multiple events with special interest groups and foreign committees at his properties. Not every visit involves golfing but, as per a Donald Trump golf tracker website, the president has golfed nearly a quarter of his second term to date.
It’s worth noting that the president’s recent trip to Scotland isn’t the first time — or the only way — he has used his time in office to promote his other businesses or establish greater wealth for his family. Here are a few other things he’s done in 2025 alone:
- Worked out foreign real estate deals in Europe and the Middle East amounting to billions of dollars, thanks to his sons, per The New York Times.
- Co-founded with his son a private club in D.C. with a $500,000 membership fee, per CNBC.
- Launched a crypto project with an investment fund in Abu Dhabi with the potential of earning hundreds of millions of dollars for the Trump family, per The New York Times.
According to CBS News, Trump has added almost $3 billion to his family’s total wealth since taking office earlier this year.
Editor’s note on political coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on GOBankingRates.com.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 4 Things To Glean From Trump’s New Side Gig
