Donald Trump's Wealth Drops By A Whopping $600 Million

Forbes is reporting that the value of Donald Trump's wealth declined so much in 2016 that he dropped 92 spots on the list of richest people in America.

A tough New York real estate market, a costly lawsuit and an expensive presidential campaign all contributed to the declining fortune of the 45th president. After months of digging through financial disclosures and public property records and conducting dozens of interviews, Forbes now estimates POTUS’ net worth at $3.1 billion, down from $3.7 billion a year ago. He drops to No. 248 in the ranks of the richest people in America, down from No. 156 in 2016.

The biggest hit was to Trump’s real estate portfolio, which is weighted heavily toward New York City. Values of several Manhattan properties, particularly those on or near Fifth Avenue, have dropped, shaving nearly $400 million off his fortune.

Some of his golf properties, including ones in Miami, Ireland and Scotland, have also declined in value, as some would-be guests stayed away, apparently offended by the president’s politics and bombast. Trump’s cash pile is down an estimated $100 million since last year, after he spent $66 million on his campaign and $25 million settling a lawsuit over Trump University. As always, we refined our estimates based on new information uncovered during months of reporting.

Congrats Tea People!

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That's Important To Me!

Last week, the GOP-led House voted 240-179 to repeal the estate tax. This tax give-away will benefit only the wealthiest of wealthy at a Treasury cost of $270 billion over the next ten years.

At the same time, the same politicians seek to cut all government programs other than military with the vast majority of such cuts impacting middle and lower class Americans.

And yet, blue collar workers in middle America vote over and over against their own economic interests.

The Wealthiest Members of Congress

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35 percent of Congress' members have a disclosed net worth of at least $1 million.

Check the map to see who the wealthiest member of Congress in your state is.

(via Vox)

Poll: Majority of Americans agree wealthy should pay more in taxes

The Pew Center has released the results of a new poll that shows 58% of Americans feel the wealthy should pay more in taxes.

In addition, Pew adds "Even among those who consider themselves upper or upper-middle class, fully 52% say upper-income people pay too little. Only 10% of this group says upper-class adults say people pay too much in taxes."

Other results of the poll show that 63 percent of those surveyed said the Republican party favors the rich. Nearly 70 percent said the Democratic party favors either the middle class or the poor.

However, it is worth noting that the vast majority of middle class respondents - 92% - say they admire the rich who get wealthy through hard work.

More results here.

Wealthy GOP voters like Mitt Romney best

Among individuals making more than $100,000, Mitt Romney regularly wins more votes than his competitors.  The wealthy really like Mitt Romney.  The less fortunate?  Not so much.

In Alabama, Romney took home 36% of top earners, which is 5 points more than Santorum, and 11 points more than Newt Gingrich.

The story was much the same in Mississippi, where the former Massachusetts governor won votes from 34% of individuals who reported incomes above $100,000. Santorum won among voters making between $50,000 and $100,000, while Gingrich had his best showing with those making less than $50,000.

The contrast is even more striking in states like Michigan and Ohio, where Romney did well enough to win the primaries.

In his home state of Michigan, Romney won 48% of primary voters making more than $100,000. Santorum was second with 34%.

In Georgia, where every candidate in the field was trounced by Gingrich, Romney still won among voters making more than $200,000 (Gingrich won when the limit was extended down to $100,000.)
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