Washington: Forbes magazine today dropped US President Donald Trump from 2017 Billionaires List as he has dropped 220 points, putting his net worth at $3.5 billion, down $1 billion from rankings issued a year ago.
According media reports, the list published yesterday, his current position leaves him tied with 19 others as the 544th richest person in the world.
Official of Forbes said that much of the decline in Trump’s net worth is due to softness in the midtown Manhattan real estate market.
The magazine said, “Forty per cent of Donald Trump’s fortune is tied up in Trump Tower and eight buildings within one mile of it.”
“What happens in that micromarket does more to affect the net worth of Donald Trump than anything else in the world? Lately, the neighbourhood has been struggling.”
The magazine also noted that he gave $66 million to his presidential campaign and paid $25 million to settle a lawsuit related to Trump University.
Forbes drops Donald Trump from Billionaires List
Ironically the list comes out the same day that Trump met with Bill Gates, who is the world’s richest man for the fourth straight year, according to Forbes.
The Microsoft founder’s net worth is $86 billion, up from $75 billion last year.
American business magnate Warren Buffett reclaimed the second spot on the list for the first time since 2014, with a net worth of $75.6 billion, up from $60.8 billion in 2016.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos rose to third on the list for the first time, due to a jump in Amazon shares, which boosted his net worth to $72.8 billion.
The 2017 list is longer than it has ever been before-Forbes estimates there are now 2,043 billionaires worldwide, up from 1,810 in 2016.
Their average net worth is $3.75 billion, which means Trump is not even worth as much as the “average” billionaire.
