The Donald Trump campaign is touting a personal financial disclosure form the presidential candidate has just filed with the federal election commission (FEC), after Trump’s unwillingness to release his tax returns gave new fuel to questions about the size of his fortune.
“Mr Trump’s net worth has increased since the last statement was filed in July of 2015,” a campaign statement claimed. “As of this date, Mr Trump’s net worth is in excess of $10bn dollars.”
While the form requires candidates to indicate where their income falls in a range, it is a clumsy tool for estimating net worth because the ranges are extremely broad and because some securities transactions, certain real estate and assets, retirement accounts, and other pertinent financial information may be left off.
Trump has said he may not release his tax returns.
The Trump campaign claims the new form, which is being processed by the FEC and is not yet publicly available, shows income “in excess of $557m”, “tremendous cash flow”, and “a revenue increase of approximately $190m dollars”.
A Wall Street Journal analysis of Trump’s finances published over the weekend estimated Trump’s 2016 pretax income to be about $160m. Trump’s last financial disclosure form showed between $78m and $232m in cash, stocks and bonds.
In his statement, Trump boasted about the page count of his form and took a swipe at Bernie Sanders.
“Despite the fact that I am allowed extensions, I have again filed my report, which is 104 pages, on time,” Trump said. “Bernie Sanders has requested, on the other hand, an extension for his small report. This is the difference between a businessman and the all talk, no action politicians that have failed the American people for far too long.”
