Donald Trump has frequently bragged about his enormous net worth, but when it came time to open his pocketbook to make a donation for Hurricane Harvey relief, the numbers show that Trump was comparably stingy.
This week, the White House announced that Trump would be donating $1 million of his personal money to aid relief efforts in hurricane-ravaged Texas. But when Trump’s net worth is compared to the average American, that donation does not look so large.
The U.S. Census Bureau conducts a survey of income to give some details on the financial well-being of Americans and American households, the Motley Fool noted. In August, the Census Bureau released the latest findings showing that the median net worth for U.S. households is $80,039 — about 45,000 times smaller than Donald Trump’s $3.5 billion net worth as determined by Forbes . Trump has an even bigger estimate, claiming in presidential campaign disclosure forms last year that his net worth was actually $10 billion. That would be more than 123,000 times larger than the average household.
That means, by the president’s own estimates, that Trump’s $1 million donation is equivalent to the average American household donating about $8 to the relief efforts.
Donald Trump’s promise to donate $1 million to hurricane relief efforts has already drawn plenty of criticism. Just a day after the White House announced Trump’s donation, his press secretary wavered on whether the money would come directly from Trump’s own pocket or his foundation.
As Think Progress noted, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders “dodged” the question when asked whether the donation would actually come from Donald Trump’s personal wealth.
“I haven’t had a chance to do that,” she said when asked if she had asked where it was actually coming from, Trump’s own money or his foundation.
Despite Trump’s dig, the media did go “into the winds” of Hurricane Harvey https://t.co/2Ai2zDF8h9 pic.twitter.com/P75R5OSBBl
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) September 2, 2017
There are some who believe that Donald Trump may not end up making the donation at all. Raw Story noted that there was no record of Trump ever following through on the pledge to donate to relief efforts after Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and the ghost writer of Trump’s 1987 best-selling book, The Art of the Deal , believes Trump is bluffing again this time.
Trump pledged $1 million to Harvey victims — but Hurricane Sandy survivors are still waiting on 2012 pledge https://t.co/Nj0F894x4r via
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) September 2, 2017
Author Tony Schwartz tweeted Friday morning that he didn’t believe Trump had any intention of donating his personal money to help victims of Hurricane Harvey.
“He only promises to give,” Schwartz wrote. “Never actually does.”
While the White House has not yet offered proof that Donald Trump made the $1 million donation, the president has been busy in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. He made his second trip to Texas over the weekend, meeting with residents displaced by the storm and surveying damage while offering more federal help in the recovery efforts.
[Featured Image by Alex Wong/Getty Images]