Tax Fraud Investigation: Trump Helped Receive $413 Million Through Fraudulent Schemes

Overview

Trump's origin story was that he built a real estate empire from a $1 million loan from his father. The New York Times, working from more than 100,000 pages of confidential tax records, found that he received at least $413 million.

The money was not transferred through simple gifts — gift taxes would have applied. It was transferred through a series of mechanisms that the Times described as tax evasion and in several instances outright fraud.

All County Building Supply

The mechanism was not subtle once explained. Fred Trump's properties needed supplies. Rather than buying those supplies directly, Fred Trump's company bought them from All County Building Supply — a company owned by his children, including Donald. All County marked up the prices and the difference went to the children.

This transfer of money from father to children was not subjected to gift taxes. The All County markup disguised it as a business transaction.

The Estate Valuation

When Fred Trump died, his estate needed to be valued for estate tax purposes. The estate was valued at $41.4 million. The Times commissioned independent appraisers who estimated the actual value of the real estate holdings at $500-600 million.

The gap between $41.4 million and $500-600 million represents estate taxes that were not paid on a difference of approximately $460-560 million.

The Self-Made Claim

Trump claimed throughout his career to be a self-made billionaire who had received only a $1 million loan from his father. The Times investigation, based on primary documents, found the actual transfers totaled at least $413 million in today's dollars.

The $1 million loan claim was false by a factor of more than 400.