American President, Donald Trump’s, businesses overseas may be losing huge sums of money as he gets enmeshed in countless controversies, ranging from politics to the environment.
Reports indicate that some of his suffering business outlets include two golf resorts, near Aberdeen and Turnberry in Scotland.
According to accounts filed in the U.K. the combined losses of the golf courses nearly doubled to £19 million ($25 million) in 2016,
Trump resigned as director of the Scottish companies before his inauguration in January 2017, but remains the owner through a trust set up when he became president. His son Eric is a director of both resorts.
Trump valued each of the resorts at “over $50 million” in a disclosure form published in June by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
The 2016 deficit means the projects have lost a combined £40.5 million ($53 million) since Trump acquired them, even as the president continues to provide financial support.
According to reports, he has supplied both businesses with huge loans amounting to £152.5 million ($200 million).
Officials at the Trump Organization did not immediately volunteer comment but research showed that the Trump Turnberry resort in southwest Scotland lost £17.6 million ($23.1 million) in 2016, a sharp increase from losses of £8.4 million ($11.3 million) in 2015.
The resort was closed for six months of renovations in 2016. In June, Eric Trump unveiled a new layout for the resort’s “King Robert the Bruce” course.
His father purchased the resort in 2014 — that year it lost £3.6 million ($4.8 million).
Asked about the losses, Turnberry general manager Ralph Porciani said that business has been “fantastic” over the past two years.
“I’ve been here for 13 years and I’ve never been this busy,” he said, adding that business had not slowed since Trump became president.
Trump’s second resort in Scotland — Trump International Golf Links — reported a loss of £1.4 million ($1.8 million) in 2016.
Trump built the resort near Aberdeen from scratch after purchasing the land in 2006. Financial statements show that it lost nearly £11 million ($14.4 million) between 2006 and 2016.
The resort has also been the subject of environmental and political controversies.
Almost 95,000 people have signed a petition opposing plans to expand the course, which would include the addition of a second 18-hole course.
Trump refused to sell his business holdings as president, in spite of nudging by experts in government ethics to do so. Instead, he transferred them into a trust in his name. Any business profits will ultimately accrue to him when he leaves office.
Trump businesses have become subject of protests since he became world’s most powerful president.
