Guess who's back, back again? Trump is back, tell a friend.
Donald Trump has certainly been on the receiving end of a lot of bad news lately.
Back on the List
The former president is being sued by the New York State Attorney General's Office for $250 million over "years of financial fraud," involving inflated property valuations for
The House select committee is still investigating the January 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection; and there's that whole U.S. Department of Justice top secret document thing and the Georgia election interference investigation, the Westchester golf course probe, and numerous lawsuits.
Well, we've finally got some good news for the king of covfefe: Trump has returned to the Forbes 400 after dropping off a year ago.
The reality show star and real estate wheeler dealer saw his estimated net worth jump from $2.5 billion to $3.2 billion, which earns him the No. 343 spot on Forbes Magazine's ranking of America's richest people.
Trump will be returning to the ranking that sees Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk in the top position, followed by Amazon (AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos, and Microsoft (MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates.
Truth Social Boost
Not bad for a guy who declared bankruptcy six times and is carrying an estimated $1.1 billion in debt.
Forbes said that Truth Social, Trump's Twitter (TWTR) wannabe, is a big factor in his return to the 400 list, noting that the Trump Media and Technology Group, which owns the Truth Social app, "is now the former president’s single most valuable asset."
Digital World Acquisition (DWAC) , a blank check company, is attempting to merge with Trump's fledgling media group.
Forbes reckoned that Trump's 73 million shares would be worth $730 million, assuming a $10 per share stock price for Digital World, which was has been trading just under $17.
Digital World is facing some challenges, though, as it failed to find enough shareholder support earlier this month for a one-year extension on its merger plans.
The company instead arranged a three-month extension, which lasts until December 10, while postponing a vote deadline on the full one-year extension until October 10.
'Change of Address'
The deal with TMTG has been delayed by a series of investigations into its dealings with Digital World prior to the September 2021 IPO as well as questions linked to its underlying finances.
Digital World also changed its listed address to a UPS Store in Miami, according to CNBC.
The company said in a filing that between Sept. 19 and Sept. 23, it had received termination notices from private investors in public equity, or PIPE investors, representing about $138.5 million of the $1 billion PIPE.
But there are other assets. Trump sold his hotel in Washington, D.C. for a reported $375 million, Forbes noted, allowing him to pay back a $170 million loan from Deutsche Bank and still take home an estimated $135 million
Trump is sharing his spot on the Forbes hit parade with several people in an eight-billionaire tie that includes former Wynn Resorts (WYNN) CEO Steve Wynn, Video Gaming Technologies founder Jon Yarbrough; and investment banker Warren Stephens.
'Slick and Smooth'
In his book "The Art of the Deal", Trump described Wynn as “slick and smooth, but he’s also a very strange guy.”
Wynn, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, asked “How deeply is he disturbed? When he was a kid growing up — who did this to him?”
The two patched things up when Trump moved into the White House and made Wynn finance chair of the Republican National Committee.
However, in May the Justice Department--yes, them again--sued Wynn to compel him to register as a foreign agent because of lobbying work it says he performed at the behest of the Chinese government during the Trump administration.
In 2018, Wynn stepped down as chairman and chief executive of Wynn Resorts in response to sexual misconduct allegations, citing “an avalanche of negative publicity."
'A Shell Game?'
Also on Trump's terrain are Herb Simon, a real estate developer and owner of the Indiana Pacers; philanthropist Lynn Schusterman; Yahoo co-founder David Filo; and real estate developer Bennett Dorrance, who recently retired as the longest serving member of the Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) board after a 33-year hitch.
Reaction on social media to Trump's Forbes return was spirited. One person posted a montage of audio clips that had the former president reciting the lyrics of Eminem's "Without Me."
"Really he’s still on the list… haven’t we determined already that his is a shell game…," one person tweeted.
"Lol even after you have seen documents of him lying about his wealth in a lawsuit?" one poster asked Forbes. "Are your employees ignorant?"
