2016 GOP Candidate Donald Trump Net Worth Pegged At $10 Billion In Filing To Federal Election Commission [FULL TEXT]

Republican presidential candidate and real estate mogul Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he has filed his personal financial disclosure forms with the Federal Election Commission, in spite of skepticism that he wouldn't release the information detailing his wealth. Trump's campaign touted his recent surge in opinion polls since he announced his candidacy, and bragged about his financial acumen.

"This report was not designed for a man of Mr. Trump's massive wealth. For instance, they have boxes once a certain number is reached that simply state $50 million or more. Many of these boxes have been checked. As an example, if a building owned by Mr. Trump is worth $1.5 billion, the box checked is “$50,000,000 or more,” a news release read. Personal finance documents filed with the FEC follow that format, with check boxes for ranges of income and assets. For that reason, the filings are more of a generalized statement than a precise indicator of wealth.

As of 3:30 p.m. EDT, the document was not available on the FEC's online document database.

The news release says he made over $213 million for his role on NBC's "The Apprentice" over the 14 years the show has aired, and that his debts are a small portion of his portfolio. His net worth is greater than the $9 billion he claimed to be worth at the time of his presidential announcement. He reportedly earned $362 million in 2014, and is now worth $10 billion.

That net worth is far greater than that of most national-level politicians, even though they tend to be a wealthy group. An investigation by the Center for Responsive Politics earlier this year concluded that the wealthiest member of Congress, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., has an average net worth of $448 million. The median member of Congress is worth just over $1 million, or the equivalent of 18 normal American households.

Another contrast would be the 2012 Republican nominee, former Massachussettes Gov. Mitt Romney, who was painted by opponents as being an out-of-touch millionaire on the campaign trail. His net worth is said to be around $250 million.

The Complete Text Of Trump's News Release:

For Immediate Release: (New York, NY) July 15, 2015 - Today, Donald J. Trump filed his Personal Financial Disclosure (PFD) forms with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

This report was not designed for a man of Mr. Trump‟s massive wealth. For instance, they have boxes once a certain number is reached that simply state $50 million or more. Many of these boxes have been checked. As an example, if a building owned by Mr. Trump is worth $1.5 billion, the box checked is “$50,000,000 or more.”

Mr. Trump stated, “First people said I would never run, and I did. Then, they said, I would never file my statement of candidacy with the FEC, and I did. Next, they said I would never file my personal financial disclosure forms. I filed them early despite the fact that I am allowed two 45 days extensions. Now I have surged in the polls and am fighting to Make America Great Again. I look forward to the challenge of winning the presidency and doing a fantastic job for our country. I will make the United States rich and strong and respected again, but also a country with a „big heart‟ toward the care of our people.”

Mr. Trump's net worth has increased since the more than one year old financial statement produced at his presidential announcement. Real estate values in New York City, San Francisco, Miami and many other places where he owns property have gone up considerably during this period of time. His debt is a very small percentage of value, and at very low interest rates. As of this date, Mr. Trump‟s net worth is in excess of TEN BILLION DOLLARS.

Mr. Trump's income for the year 2014, as reported in the PFD statement, is $362 million dollars (which does not include dividends, interest, capital gains, rents and royalties).

In addition, he was successful in choosing multiple stocks which were sold in January 2014. Even though stock market purchases are not something that Mr. Trump has focused on in the past, and while only a small part of his net worth, 40 of the 45 stocks purchased went up in a relatively short period of time, creating a gain of $27,021,471, not including those stocks still remaining in the portfolio which currently have an unrealized gain of over $22 million (schedule attached).

Mr. Trump showed almost 500 business entities of which 91% are owned 100% by him.

Mr. Trump wrote Trump: The Art of the Deal, one of the bestselling business books of all time, and numerous other bestsellers over the years. NBC/Universal renewed, at the upfronts this year, The Apprentice (for a 15th season), but Mr. Trump decided to turn them down in order to run for President of the United States. NBC was not happy. During the 14 seasons of The Apprentice, Mr. Trump was paid $213,606,575.