Their father might be a billionaire, but how do the Trump children make money, and what do they spend it on? Read on as we take a look into the financial lives of Donald Jr., Ivanka, Eric, Tiffany and Barron Trump. All dollar values in US dollars.
As the eldest child from Donald’s marriage to Ivana Zelníčková, Donald Jr. has a reported net worth of around $300 million (£213m) since his father signed over the family business to him and his younger brother Eric. Prior to making his millions, the 43-year-old graduated with an economics degree from the prestigious Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania before joining his father's real estate empire, The Trump Organization. He's still an integral part of the business and is currently both Executive Vice President and a trustee.
Donald Jr. is also a stakeholder of the Trump International Hotel in Washington DC, along with siblings Eric and Ivanka. However, the biggest boost to his bank balance came when his father formally signed over the Trump empire to him and Eric following his presidential inauguration in 2017.
The outspoken businessman has also recently added another string to his money-making bow: he’s signed up to Cameo, where he’s charging fans $500 (£355) for personalised video messages. Donald Jr. has also written two books, including the 2019 New York Times bestseller Triggered: How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us. This was followed by the self-published Liberal Privilege: Joe Biden and the Democrats' Defense of the Indefensible in 2020, which retailed at $29.99 (£22) a copy.
He heads up the Trump real estate empire but Donald Jr. also boasts his own property portfolio, including a 5,900-square-foot Manhattan apartment and a luxe New York cabin. Alongside brother Eric, he's also the co-owner of a 171-acre hunting reserve in NY. And let’s not forget about the $9.7 million (£6.8m) Florida mansion he bought recently with his partner Kimberly Guilfoyle. The 11,000-square-foot property has six bedrooms and 11 bathrooms.
Donald Jr. has also spent a chunk of his wealth on a series of hit-and-miss investments, including MSMDF Agriculture LLC, a "hydroponic lettuce company". Another notable investment was his involvement in the purchase of an old Navy hospital in North Charleston, South Carolina. A group of investors bought the site for around $5 million (£3.5m) with plans to renovate the 10-storey building and its 24-acre surroundings. However, the project fell apart with the developers ultimately filing for bankruptcy and suing the county. An agreement was eventually reached and the site was bought back by the county for $33 million (£23m).
Donald Jr. has five children of his own with his ex-wife Vanessa Kay Haydon. After 12 years of marriage, Haydon filed for divorce in 2018 with child support and division of property both key parts of the ensuing court case. Having spoken before about his formative years at expensive private schools, it’s safe to assume that Donald Jr.'s own children are also being put through equally prestigious educations.
Thanks to her fashion and jewellery lines, not to mention her marriage to real estate magnate Jared Kushner, eldest daughter Ivanka Trump, 40, is also astonishingly rich. According to reports, the couple is worth more than $1 billion (£708m). Like Donald Jr., Ivanka attended the Wharton School and graduated with a degree in economics in 2004. She then began her career as a real estate manager at the now-defunct Forest City Realty Trust before joining her father’s business in 2005, where she served as an Executive Vice President.
In 2007, Ivanka launched Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry with American diamond heir Moshe Lax. They opened a flagship Madison Avenue boutique but the store eventually closed in 2015. Ivanka has also branched into fashion and beauty. As well as her own fragrance, she launched a clothing line, G-III, which was stocked in Macy's and Bloomingdales and had affordable prices no higher than $200 (£142). According to Forbes, the label had made $100 million (£71m) by 2015. However, once her father began his presidential bid, interest waned. The Washington Post reported that sales had dropped by 55% in 2017.
In 2018, Ivanka announced she had closed her fashion label to focus on her budding career in public policy. She also left her role as Executive VP at The Trump Organization. She worked as a senior adviser to her father’s administration, as did her husband, and was also hired as the Director of the Office of Economic Initiatives & Entrepreneurship. According to Business Insider, Ivanka and Jared made an estimated $83 million (£59m) in 2017, despite not being paid for their political work.
As well as her fashion business and political work, Ivanka has also written two books. The Trump Card: Playing To Win In Work & Life was released in 2009 to questionable reviews, whilst Women Who Work: Rewriting The Rules For Success hit shelves in 2017. The latter title, published by Penguin, made its debut on The New York Times bestseller list and Ivanka received a reported advance of $289,000 (£205k).
Ivanka married real estate heir Jared Kushner in 2009. He brought his own mighty fortune to the table as he’s worth a reported $800 million (£567m). Outside of his family’s property empire, Jared has established himself as a real estate developer and investor. Purchases of note include his acquisition of 50.1% of the Times Square Building in 2015 for $295 million (£209m), as well as The New York Observer, which he snapped up for $10 million (£7.1m) in 2006. He also launched RealCadre LLC, an online real estate platform. His stake in the business is worth an estimated $25-$50 million (£18m-£35m).
With their real estate backgrounds, Ivanka and Jared’s property portfolio is naturally impressive. Their most recent acquisition is a $33 million (£23m) home on Indian Creek, an exclusive island in Florida. Other residents in the tight-knit community include Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady; Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar; and aviation billionaire Rakesh Gangwal. The couple are also big investors in art. Their favoured pieces are predominantly by up-and-coming talent and their collection is believed to be worth over $25 million (£18m).
Ivanka and Jared love jetting off on holidays with their three children and have checked in to everywhere from luxe ski resorts to tropical retreats in the Bahamas. And naturally, as someone who once ran her own fashion line, Ivanka also has a penchant for exquisite style – she’s been spotted in pieces by high-end designers including Roland Mouret, Oscar de la Renta and Monique Lhuillier, among others.
As the middle Trump child, Eric, 37, has also pursued a range of business opportunities. With a reported fortune between $150-$300 million (£106m-£213m), how has he made his money? After finishing his degree in finance and management at Georgetown University, Eric joined The Trump Organization, where he is currently a trustee and Vice Executive President.
In 2006, he launched the Eric Trump Foundation, a charity for patients at St Jude’s Children’s Hospital. The organisation reportedly raised more than $11 million (£7.8m) for the Memphis-based hospital, although the operations of the charity weren’t without controversy, according to Forbes. Eric closed the organisation in 2016 after facing questions about whether donors would have political access to his father.
In 2011, Eric launched Trump Winery in Virginia, purchasing the 1,300-acre estate for $8.5 million (£6m). The winery sells around 40,000 cases annually and has even won several awards. As well as wine, customers can purchase everything from apparel to novelty pet merchandise like a Trump Winery dog bandana with "celebration bundles" and gift vouchers also available. The vineyard also boasts a hotel that hosts everything from weddings to corporate events.
Eric’s other main money-spinners relate to the family business. As well as his stake in the Trump International Hotel in Washington DC, the Trump empire was formally signed over to him, along with brother Donald Jr., when his dad became the US president in 2017. While he’s yet to follow in his older siblings’ footsteps by writing a book, Eric did follow their lead by acting as a judge on his father’s TV show The Apprentice for six seasons.
So what does Eric like to do with his reported nine-figure fortune? Together with his wife Lara and their two children, he has a family home in Westchester and a $2 million (£1.4m) apartment in New York. In May 2021, Eric also purchased a $3.2 million (£2.2m) property in Florida, close to the waterfront mansion that Donald Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle had snapped up earlier in the year. Eric and Lara's new five-bedroom home covers a sprawling 9,982 square feet and is said to be the largest property in the exclusive Trump National Golf Club gated community.
Eric’s past spending hasn’t been without controversy. Eric and Donald Jr. have a shared passion for big game hunting, with one particular trip to Zimbabwe sparking outcry from organisations such as PETA. Such hunting trips can cost tens of thousands of dollars and the brothers’ opinion-dividing hobby is backed by their father.
So what about Tiffany Trump, Donald Trump's youngest daughter through his marriage to Marla Marples? Tiffany, 28, has an estimated net worth of around $10 million (£7m) but still has plenty of time to catch up with her older siblings. Graduating in 2016 from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in sociology, Tiffany chose to continue her studies with a three-year law course at Georgetown, which reportedly costs $60,000 (£43k) a year. Graduating in 2020, she is currently a research assistant there.
In terms of money-making ventures, Tiffany released her debut single in 2011. Despite getting a primetime slot on The Oprah Show, the track, Like A Bird, hardly sold although it enjoyed a brief revival during her father's presidential campaign. In 2016, she hinted she might one day join The Trump Organization, suggesting her legal studies would allow her to bring a different skill set to the business. One of the so-called 'rich kids of Instagram', Tiffany has amassed more than 1.3 million followers on the social platform, though she isn't using it to make money yet.
A quick scroll through her Instagram account reveals Tiffany’s love of fashion and travel. Pre-COVID, she shared snaps of herself enjoying everything from pool parties to yacht trips to getaways around Europe and the Bahamas. It’s worth noting that the Trump children have all been criticised for the expensive taxpayer-funded security teams that have accompanied their jaunts during Donald’s political career.
At just 15, Barron Trump is the youngest of Donald Trump's five children. Technically still a minor by law, he might not have access to the mammoth Trump family bank accounts yet, but his mother Melania has reportedly ensured with a prenup that her son will receive an equal portion of his father’s fortune when he’s older.
Little is known about what Barron spends his money on. What we do know, however, is that he attended Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School before enrolling at St Andrew's Episcopal School in Maryland. Both establishments cost a substantial $40,000 (£28k) a year. Prior to his father’s presidency, Barron occupied an entire floor of his parents’ Trump Tower penthouse. Town & Country wrily observed at the time that his move from the penthouse to the White House was, technically speaking, a downgrade for the lucky teen.
Now see how Donald Trump makes and spends his money