ArcaMax

Not every president has been such a gold-digger. In his masterful biography of our 33rd president, David McCullough describes Harry Truman’s humble return to Independence, Missouri.

“He had traveled home from Washington unprotected by Secret Service agents and there were to be none watching over him. He had come home without salary or pension. He had no income or support of any kind from the federal government other than his Army pension of $112.56 a month. He was provided with no government funds for secretarial help or office space, and not a penny of expense money.” In his last weeks in office, McCullough reports, Truman had to take out a bank loan to tide him over.

As former president, Truman had no plans or interest in future employment. McCullough writes: “He said his only intention was to do nothing – accept no position, lend his name to no organization or transaction – that would exploit or commercialize the prestige and dignity of the office of the President.”

There could be no greater contrast to Donald Trump, who from the start saw the presidency, not just as a monumental ego trip, but as the ultimate get-rich opportunity. Speaking to Fortune magazine in 2000, back when he was first thinking about running for president, Trump famously said: “It’s very possible that I could be the first presidential candidate to run and make money on it.”

Bingo. Said and done. If nothing else, that’s one goal he’s accomplished. Both as a candidate and in office, Trump’s primary focus has been how to accumulate more wealth – an obscene amount of wealth – for himself and his family. He sees his job as president not as serving the public, but as personal profiteering. And, in that, he has succeeded beyond even his wildest imagination.

Of course, Trump himself would never tell us how much money he’s pocketed as president. He still hasn’t released his tax returns, and never will – because he’d be embarrassed by how much he’s made and how little he’s paid in taxes. But if, like me, you’d wondered how much Trump’s raking in from all the money-making deals he’s made, fret no more. As a great public service, and a tribute to the importance of investigative journalism, the New Yorker magazine’s exposed the raw truth.

In its August 1 1 edition – it’s worth subscribing, just to read the whole thing – the New Yorker features “The Number,” a blockbuster 17-page article by reporter David D. Kirkpatrick. As Kirkpatrick explains, there’d been a lot of talk about deals Trump’s made or merch he’s selling, but nobody had added it all up, so “I decided to attempt to tally up just how much Trump and his immediate family have pocketed off his time at the White House.” Fasten your seat belts. The total is staggering.

Kirkpatrick breaks it down into every category Trump’s involved in, from golf courses to new hotel deals to his various crypto ventures. In each, he’s careful to include only what he can confirm. And he provides a running total of Trump’s haul.

As documented by Kirkpatrick, here’s the cash bonanza for each Trump money-making scheme. Mar-A Lago: $125 million; Trump Merch: $127.7 million; Persian Gulf: $320 million; More Saudi deals: $105.8 million; Private jet: $150 million; Hotel Hanoi: $40 million; Corporate squeeze: $91 million; Truth Social: $25 million; 1789 Capital: $19.6 million; Token Investments: $412.5 million; American Bitcoin: $13 million; Crypto ventures: $14.4 million; Crypto Gulf: $243 million; $Trump: $385 million; Trump Media Crypto: $1.3 billion.

Don’t reach for your calculator. Kirkpatrick’s added it up for you. Some of those deals were made by Trump himself, some by sons Donald Jr. or Eric, some by son-in-law Jared Kushner, but a big bite of every deal goes into Trump’s own pocket – for a total of $3.4 billion!

Put that in your pipe and smoke it. While Donald Trump’s been mass firing federal employees, rounding up and deporting immigrants who’ve committed no crimes, weaponizing the Justice Department against his political opponents, rolling back environmental protections, and sending the military into American cities, he’s also been exploiting the presidency to become richer and richer.

But where’s the outrage? Sherman Adams, Eisenhower’s chief of staff, was forced to resign after the gift of a vicuna coat. House Speaker Jim Wright was tossed out for profiting from a book deal. First Lady Hillary Clinton was condemned for making $100,000 on a stock trade – 14 years before her husband was elected president.

There was a time when ethics mattered. No more.

(Bill Press is host of The BillPressPod, and author of 10 books, including: “From the Left: My Life in the Crossfire.” His email address is: bill@billpress.com. Readers may also follow him on Twitter @billpresspod and on BlueSky @BillPress.bsky.social.)

©2025 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.