Donald Trump likes to talk about how rich he is. He thinks that being rich makes him more qualified to be President. He mentions his wealth and business acumen in nearly every speech. According to a statement on his own website last week, he submitted his Personal Financial Disclosure, of which Trump modestly said “I am proud to say is the largest in the history of the FEC.” His campaign claims at the end of the statement that “as of this date, Mr. Trump’s net worth is in excess of $10 billion dollars.”

Trump has repeated this $10 billion number multiple times, I guess it has a nice round ring to it. All other sources point to the fact that this number is inflated and exaggerated. As Trump continues to refuse to release his tax returns, all the media has to go off of are estimates from publicly available information and previously submitted Personal Financial Disclosures.

As of July of 2015, Bloomberg estimated Donald Trump’s net worth at $2.9 billion.

As of September of 2015, Forbes estimated Donald Trump’s net worth at $4.5 billion.

As of May of 2015, Fortune estimated Donald Trump’s net worth at $3.7 billion, raising it to $3.9 billion in March of 2016.

These publications went over the PFDs with a fine toothed comb in order to get these numbers, and Fortune especially said they took the most optimistic numbers from the wide ranges given in the document.

Is Donald Trump a very rich man? Yes, definitely. Is he worth the $10 billion that he loves boast? Almost certainly not, yet the public will never know until Mr. Trump releases his tax returns.

Sources:
http://www.refinery29.com/2016/05/111892/what-is-donald-trumps-net-worth
Here’s How Much Donald Trump’s Net Worth Jumped in the Past 10 Months
http://www.forbes.com/donald-trump/#2fb1a2df790b
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-07-28/here-s-our-tally-of-donald-trump-s-wealth
https://www.donaldjtrump.com/press-releases/donald-j.-trump-files-personal-financial-disclosure-form-with-the-federal-e
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/elections-2016-donald-trump-worth-reveals-in-deposition-tim-obrien-lawsuit-2006/