Trump made $300,000 for endorsing Bible, financial disclosure shows

Donald Trump’s latest financial disclosure lists more than $100 million in liabilities stemming from three lawsuits he lost in New York that required him to obtain bonds to pay the judgments — but also profits from licensing fees at Trump-branded properties in Dubai and Oman, as well as income that he made from his post-presidential books, including a Trump-endorsed Bible.

The former president also holds more than $1 million in cryptocurrency as he courts the industry for financial support in his 2024 campaign. A related industry, NFT collectibles, is also a source of income.

The disclosure, filed Thursday and required annually for federal candidates and officeholders, often describes assets, investments, sources of income and liabilities in broad ranges, though some figures are provided in greater detail.

The three new liabilities that appear on Trump’s form are all related to his legal troubles, including a line item of more than $50 million to cover his bond in a civil fraud case brought by the New York attorney general, Letitia James.

The two judgments against him in the sexual abuse case involving E. Jean Carroll are listed as “litigation; stayed pending appeal; bonded.” The larger of the two is listed in the largest category for liabilities: $50 million or more. The actual judgment was for $83.3 million.

The book Letters to Trump, a compendium of personal notes that various celebrities have written to Trump over many decades, with short blurbs about the people in question, brought in $4.5 million, according to the filing. (The book includes a letter from Willie Brown, the former mayor of San Francisco with whom Trump claims he was traveling when they experienced an emergency helicopter landing. Trump included that anecdote in the book, but Brown says it did not take place, and another Black politician from California, Nate Holden, says he was the one on that helicopter ride.)

Trump made money from two other recently released books, including $505,763 from one listed as A MAGA Journey. He also reported a $300,000 royalty payment for The Greenwood Bible, which appears to be for a version of the Bible that Trump and singer Lee Greenwood have endorsed.

The Bible is on sale online for $60 with a copy signed by Trump selling for $1,000. “Yes, this is the only Bible endorsed by President Trump!” the site advertises.

The disclosure also detailed holdings in the parent company of his social media site Truth Social, which is called Trump Media and Technology Group. It showed he has 114 million shares of common stock that are “subject to lockup period” and that he owns nearly 65 per cent of the company. The disclosure lists the value only as more than $50 million — the highest category on the form — though at its stock peak it has been a multibillion-dollar holding. Its shares closed under $24 on Thursday.

Trump’s wife, Melania, who has made extremely limited appearances on behalf of her husband’s campaign, reported being paid $237,500 to speak at an event for Log Cabin Republicans, the gay Republican group, this April. The group similarly paid her $250,000 for a speaking engagement in 2022, past reports show.

She also was paid $330,609 in license fees for the sale of NFT collectible digital tokens, according to the new report.

That sum was far less than Trump appears to have made from the collectibles industry while running for president. His disclosure shows a $7.15 million payment as part of a licensing agreement with a company listed as NFT INT. Trump also listed a cryptocurrency wallet and holdings in “virtual ethereum key” of $1 million to $5 million.

Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private club in Florida where he lives in the winter and sells memberships, is a financial boon. He reported $56.9 million in resort-related revenue at the site, where numerous Republicans now hold campaign events and where Trump kicked off his 2024 run. His revenue from Mar-a-Lago is up from $52.3 million in his financial disclosure from last year.

Trump’s pension for his work in the Screen Actors Guild was worth $90,776 last year, according to the disclosure. And nearly 40 years after he first published “The Art of the Deal,” book royalties are still coming in: between $50,000 and $100,000 in the new disclosure.

Trump chose to continue to separately list the revenue of most of his businesses, a figure that can look impressive — including $160.1 million at Trump National Doral in Miami and $56.9 million at Mar-a-Lago — but reveals nothing about whether the businesses turned a profit or a loss or whether he was able to pay himself anything. For a few businesses, he listed an “income” range, but the form does not define that term in a meaningful way.

The filing does show that revenue rose significantly at many of Trump’s resorts, including a 7 per cent increase at Doral, a 15 pe cent increase at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, and a 5 per cent jump at Mar-a-Lago.

In terms of money in Trump’s pocket, a clear leader was his investment in two office buildings — one in San Francisco and one in Manhattan — that he does not run. Vornado Realty Trust, the majority owner, paid Trump distributions of $16.7 million.

That figure was down significantly from Trump’s prior filing, when he reported $62 million in distributions, which may have been affected by the refinancing of a loan on one of the buildings that generated a windfall. (Trump also reported $63.2 million in “partnership income” from the California building this cycle, but that term is not defined in the document.)