As Donald Trump decides to run for president, he may announce something bigger than his candidacy: the size of his fortune.
Donald Trump is set to announce a total $9 billion in net worth on Tuesday as part of his likely entry into the Republican presidential contest, a source familiar with Trump’s plans told TIME. That total is much larger than the $4.1 billion estimate of his net worth by Forbes.
The Washington Post first reported that Trump will release his net worth.
Releasing his financial statement would show Trump’s success as a businessman as well as his seriousness about running for president: as part of campaign finance rules, a candidate for president must file a personal income financial disclosure with the FEC within 30 days after announcing their candidacy.
But Trump could release financial documents purporting to show a $9 billion net worth and then still decide not to run. The FEC requirements would likely require a more detailed accounting of his recent financial activities. And it’s not the first time that sky-high estimates of his finances have emerged while Trump is supposedly pondering a presidential bid; in April 2011, Politico reported the property magnate was worth $7 billion.
That same year, Trump told TIME’s Michael Scherer he was eager to show off the financial disclosures that he would ultimately not end up releasing:
The flamboyant billionaire has often pegged his viability as a potential candidate to his entrepreneurial success, as well as his self-professed savvy as a negotiator. “I wrote the book the Art of the Deal, which is the number one business seller of all time,” Trump told TIME in an interview earlier this year, plugging his 1987 bestseller. “This is not the ‘art of the deal’ that they’re doing,” Trump said of the Obama administration’s handling of Iran. “This is the art of people that are not very smart,” he continued. “They don’t have a clue.”
Whatever Trump announces on Tuesday, the Washington press corps is unlikely to be waiting with bated breath. He has flirted with the idea of a presidential run since 1988 and never taken the leap. This could end up being the year he surprises everyone, of course — but it’s worth noting that, as well as revealing his true net worth to the world, Trump would also likely have to give up his job as host of The Apprentice to apply for the job of leading the free world.
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