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- President Donald Trump has had more than $280 million in debt forgiven since 2010, the New York Times first reported.
- Most of it was linked to money he owed lenders for the construction of a massive skyscraper in Chicago, according to tax return records and loan documents viewed by the paper.
- Trump borrowed money for the Trump International Hotel & Tower from Germany’s Deutsche Bank and Fortress Investment Group, a private equity firm, the report said.
- When Trump failed to pay the money bank, the lenders initially gave him more time, before eventually forgiving the debt, the Times reported.
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President Donald Trump had $270 million worth of debt forgiven by lenders that he failed to pay back for a 92-floor skyscraper in Chicago, according to The New York Times.
An analysis of his tax returns by the newspaper revealed that when construction of Trump International Hotel & Tower hit financial trouble, a big bank and a hedge fund granted years of extra time to pay back his debts.
And much of this debt was forgiven, the Times reported.
Records reviewed by the paper also suggested that Trump paid minimal federal income tax on the forgiven debts because of large losses in his other businesses. Alan Garten, The Trump Organization’s chief legal officer, told the Times that both the company and Trump had paid all their taxes due on the forgiven debts.
In total, since 2010, Trump has had $287 million of debt forgiven, most stemming from the construction of the Chicago tower, which was finished in 2008, the paper reported.
According to the documents viewed by the Times, Trump arranged for two of his companies to borrow more than $700 million for the building project.
Trump got the majority of the money — $640 million — from Germany's Deutsche Bank, the report said, while the rest came from Fortress Investment Group, a private equity firm.
When the loans were due in 2008, the Trump International Hotel & Tower was still unfinished. Deutsche Bank initially granted Trump a six-week extension to repay the money, according to the report.
At this point, Trump's company owed Deutsche Bank around $334 million in principal and interest, and Fortress $130 million, not including interest and fees, the Times report said.
When the bank declined his second request for extension, Trump sued Deutsche Bank for "predatory lending practices" and sought $3 billion in damages, according to the report.
The bank then filed its own lawsuit demanding immediate repayment of the loan, the report said.
In July 2010, lawyers for Trump, Deutsche Bank, and Fortress reached a private settlement, but didn't disclose the terms.
But tax return records and loan documents viewed by the Times show that the lenders forgave Trump for $270 million worth of debt.
Previous Times reports about Trump's taxes have found he avoided paying federal income taxes for 10 of the last 15 years, and paid a total of $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017.