The President's Wealth
Trump Atlantic City Casinos (Taj Mahal, Plaza, Castle, Marina)
+ Discontinued
Trump Atlantic City Casinos (Taj Mahal, Plaza, Castle, Marina)
Six bankruptcies between them. The house always wins. Except these houses.
Trump's Atlantic City casino empire once seemed like the ultimate expression of his brand -- giant, gold, and unavoidable. The Trump Plaza opened in 1984, Trump's Castle in 1985, and the Trump Taj Mahal -- billed as the eighth wonder of the world at the time of its 1990 opening -- was funded with $675 million in junk bonds carrying 14 percent interest rates. This was, financial analysts noted at the time, an extraordinary amount of debt for a casino to carry.
The casinos filed for bankruptcy protection six times across various entities between 1991 and 2014. Trump personally lost his airline and his yacht in the first round of restructuring. He retained a reduced stake through successive filings. The Taj Mahal, the most famous, filed in 1991, 2004, 2009, and finally closed permanently in October 2016. Trump was no longer meaningfully involved by the final closure, which his spokespeople noted each time a filing occurred.
The broader lesson offered by Trump's casino years -- that building luxury properties on maximum debt in a notoriously volatile industry requires either extraordinary luck or conservative financing -- was articulated by many analysts. The casinos themselves articulated it via bankruptcy court.
The casinos filed for bankruptcy protection six times across various entities between 1991 and 2014. Trump personally lost his airline and his yacht in the first round of restructuring. He retained a reduced stake through successive filings. The Taj Mahal, the most famous, filed in 1991, 2004, 2009, and finally closed permanently in October 2016. Trump was no longer meaningfully involved by the final closure, which his spokespeople noted each time a filing occurred.
The broader lesson offered by Trump's casino years -- that building luxury properties on maximum debt in a notoriously volatile industry requires either extraordinary luck or conservative financing -- was articulated by many analysts. The casinos themselves articulated it via bankruptcy court.
""Atlantic City fuelled a lot of growth for me. The money I took out of there was incredible.""
-- Trump, 2016 -- after the final casino closed
★ For the record
Trump once said the Taj Mahal would be "the eighth wonder of the world." It filed for bankruptcy protection four times and closed in 2016. Atlantic City has been waiting for the ninth wonder ever since.
Refund Policy
N/A -- the casino chips are worthless.
Price: history
This product no longer exists.
This one didn't make it. Many didn't.
Status
All Closed -- Last Closed 2016
Launched
Trump Plaza 1984 . Trump Castle 1985 . Trump Taj Mahal 1990
Made In
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Sold By
Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts (various entities)
Revenue
Six Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings across the casino portfolio. Taj Mahal alone financed with $675M in junk bonds at 14% interest. Last property closed October 2016.
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