Reading the financial press since Donald Trump was elected the next President of the United States of America you would be forgiven for assuming he was the devil incarnate. While stock markets around the world were marked sharply lower after the result was announced they have since bounced back to former levels. Many people seem to forget that Donald Trump is a businessman, a dealmaker and despite his public persona is a very successful negotiator. However, does Donald Trump have a conflict of interests with his property assets?
US property market
The Forbes website lists Donald Trump’s assets at $3.7 billion down from $4.5 billion 12 months prior. This is obviously a significant reduction in his wealth although when you bear in mind the majority of his assets are property based that is perhaps understandable in the current economic environment. He has been particularly hard-hit by a softening of the New York real estate market with Trump Tower in particular suffering a downturn.
Of the 28 assets and asset classes scrutinised by Forbes it is believed that 18 of Trump’s have fallen in value over the last 12 months. So, surely Donald Trump has a vested interest in a buoyant US economy and a buoyant US real estate market?
Tread carefully
In reality Donald Trump is the highest profile businessman ever to take the president’s office in the USA. He has a portfolio valued in the billions of dollars and business interests which span the globe. In many ways Donald Trump has been set up for a fall because of his business and investment interests and the fact that he can have a great influence on the US economy in the short to medium term. There is no doubt that his critics will scrutinise every economic tweak, but whatever he does, his personal interests are nothing compared to the size of the US real estate market.
Perhaps even his critics should be looking at this from a more positive point of view because Donald Trump has been there, done it, lost it and made it back again. He brings an experience and knowledge of the business world which few presidents before him could ever imagine. Trump himself has overcome prejudice and discrimination, perhaps not helped by some of his personality traits, and life has certainly not been an easy ride for the incoming US president.
Focusing on the US economy
The US economy and the US employment market will be high on Donald Trump’s to-do list once he finally enters office in January 2017. The US economy is the key to the future prosperity and will have a direct impact upon the employment market and the investment arena. We can only hope that he is allowed to use his experience and his undoubted business skills for the better of the US economy. He will likely make mistakes along the way, nothing will ever be smooth were he is involved, but he has the experience to get there in the end.
If Donald Trump is able to breathe new life into the US economy then the US real estate market will most certainly follow suit. Surely this would be a win-win for all concerned?
The conflict of interest appears to be very obvious since much of his policy is geared towards protecting the interests of the rich (e.g. reducing estate tax), rather than the population at large. Moreover, his international affiliations are another area of concern.