The myth of Trump's business acumen. He's a fraud.

I'm surprised the rest of the media hasn't picked up on this story.

It seems that most everything Donald Trump touches, including his business dealings, turns to shit. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth and worth $200M in 1982, Trump would be four to five times richer today is he had just let his money sit in an account instead of getting personally involved.

This, even taking into account that he has been exaggerating his net worth by 100% since he began his presidential campaign. His self-described net worth jumped from that $200M in 1982 to the $8.7 billion he estimated his net worth to be today. Even if you use the lower Forbes 400 estimate of $4.1 billion, it's still pretty impressive. Right?

Wrong...Eric Carter writes in Forbes:

If Trump had merely invested that $200 million in the S&P 500 (500 of the largest companies in the US), he would have averaged an 11.86% annual return and ended up with $20 billion. That’s without starting or managing any companies or employing his famed “Art of the Deal.” He wouldn’t even have had to pick the stocks. What this means is that anyone can beat Trump when it comes to making money.

A blight on the Chicago River.

His gigantic business failures and multiple bankruptcies have not only lessened his potential personal wealth but have hurt the overall economy and cost thousands of workers their jobs and livelihood. For example, he's among the high rollers who promised that his casinos would revitalize Atlantic City. Instead, Trump Atlantic City entities have filed four times for corporate bankruptcy, costing hundreds of layoffs and huge losses for his investors. Today, Atlantic City stands as a monument to corporate greed, concentrated poverty and human misery.

In a separate piece, Forbes contributor Tim Worstall adds that Trump doesn't understand the economics of currency markets.

Then again, I’m not all that sure that Donald Trump understands the economics of anything much other than real estate development. Which isn’t, when you come to think of it, all that much of a recommendation for someone who would become the chief executive of the nation.

To top it off, Trump brags about how little taxes he pays. Too bad for schools, roads, libraries, and social services. If you haven't read, "The America We Deserve" (I'm not recommending it), here's what Trump thinks of schools

"Schools are crime-ridden and they don’t teach."

You can see why he pays as little taxes as possible.

Joshua Engel posts on Quora:

Now he wants an opportunity to do for the country what he's done to many of his various properties and business partners.