Donald Trump brags about his success in his Atlantic City casinos. A central argument of his presidential candidacy is that he would bring this business skill to the White House. A New York Times investigation reveals a different story.
The Times reports that Trump built his casino empire by borrowing money at high interest rates, even though he told regulators he would not. He invested little of his own money. The high interest rates meant his casinos never could last because they couldn’t draw in enough gamblers to support all of the borrowing. But Trump took his casinos public and shifted all his personal debt risk to stockholders.
While Trump was collecting a huge salary and bonus, his casino companies made four trips to bankruptcy court. Investors were in love with Trump’s celebrity charm and he kept persuading them to accept little profit. It was astonishing.
Trump has firmly maintained his were the highest-performing casinos in Atlantic City. In reality, the revenue at Trump’s casinos had consistently lagged behind their competitors.
In the end, Trump walked away from his casinos after making millions, leaving vendors and contract workers unpaid and investors in ruin. So the question is: Do you think Donald Trump will do what’s best for America?
