Here is how bad Trump is at business.

[Quixote1818]

I wish Democrats would talk about this more and have charts like Trump uses to make it simple for most people to understand. He has averaged just over 4% a year with compound interest. That's absolutly horrible!



I asked ChatGPT how much he would be worth had he just invested in a passive index fund:


Initial inheritance: $413 Million
According to detailed investigative reporting by the New York Times (2018) and supported by AP and other reputable outlets, Donald Trump received at least $413 million from his father over several decades — through a combination of inheritance, loans, trust distributions, and disguised gifts.

So let’s run that number instead of $40 million:

📈 What If Trump Had Invested $413 Million in Index Funds?
Let’s assume he took the full amount in 1982 (an approximate average midpoint of the distribution period) and invested it in the S&P 500 with dividends reinvested.

📊 Using conservative 10% annual return (net of taxes/fees):
$413 million compounded from 1982 to 2024 (42 years) at 10% =
🟩 ~$24.2 billion

📈 Using historical 11.5% total return:
$413 million @ 11.5% for 42 years =
🟩 ~$42.8 billion

🆚 Trump’s Actual Wealth Today:
Estimated between $2.3 billion and $3.1 billion.

Much of it is tied up in illiquid assets with high debt exposure.

So even conservatively, he may have underperformed a passive index fund strategy by 10x to 15x.

🤯 Bottom Line:
If Trump had done absolutely nothing but stick that money in a low-cost S&P 500 index fund, he’d likely be worth $20 to $40+ billion today — far more than his current fortune and without the bankruptcies, scandals, or lawsuits.

[Ping Tung]

1. Does that include the potential returns on his trading cards, shoes,bibles, and trophy wives?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

3. Real billionaires aren't reduced to selling trinkets. . . . . . nt

[calimary]

4. There is that.

There certainly is that.

[Keepthesoulalive]

2. It doesn't matter

Americans eyes glaze over when you talk about economics, math is hard . Lie to us so we don’t have to think.