At the height of his legal troubles last year, Donald Trump claimed he was running out of cash. If a $500mn civil penalty was not reduced to around $100mn, the former president argued in a court filing, he would have no choice but to hold a fire sale of his remaining real estate assets.
Fast forward mere months, and the re-elected US president has enjoyed a stark reversal in political and financial fortune. While previous occupants of the White House made modest financial sacrifices to hold the position, Trump has become substantially wealthier since the inauguration, his family businesses striking deals at home and abroad without concern over conflicts of interest.
After making millions of dollars selling branded bibles, cologne, sneakers and autographed guitars, the president has extracted tens of millions of dollars more from social media and news companies who settled lawsuits brought by Trump that few legal experts believed had any merit. His wife Melania has landed a $40mn documentary deal with Amazon, far eclipsing industry rates.