Former US president Donald Trump has dropped out of the 2021 Forbes 400 list of America’s richest people for the first time in 25 years after failing to make the cut by $400 million.
With a net worth of about $2.5 billion, Mr Trump’s fortune, which is mostly tied up in real estate through the Trump Organisation, has fallen by $600m since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Forbes.
“Technology stocks, cryptocurrencies and other assets have thrived in the Covid era,” Forbes said on Tuesday. “But big-city properties – which make up the bulk of Trump’s fortune – have languished, knocking the former president out of the nation’s most exclusive club.”
The Forbes 400 list is an annual compilation of the richest Americans who own assets in the US and ranks them by their net worth. The list, which was first published in 1982, now requires a minimum net worth of $2.9bn, up $800m from a year ago.
Mr Trump is currently ranked in 1,299th place on the list, down from 339 last year. This is the first time he has failed to make an appearance in the top 400 of America’s wealthiest people since 1990, when he dropped off the list for five years before returning in 1996.
The Trump Organisation is a real estate conglomerate that owns numerous commercial and residential properties across the world, including its flagship Trump Tower in New York, golf courses in Scotland, the US and Ireland, and the Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, where Mr Trump has been living since leaving the White House in January.
Mr Trump has also earned hundreds of millions of dollars since 2000 after licensing his name for a range of products and real estate development projects across the world, according to Celebrity Net Worth. This includes the 18-hole Trump International Golf Club – Damac Hills in Dubai.
“If Trump is looking for someone to blame, he can start with himself,” Forbes said. “Five years ago, he had a golden opportunity to diversify his fortune. Fresh off the 2016 election, federal ethics officials were pushing Trump to divest his real estate assets. That would have allowed him to reinvest the proceeds into broad-based index funds and assume office free of conflicts of interest.”
Mr Trump, however, refused to divest his assets and passed control of the Trump Organisation to his sons, Donald Jr and Eric, during his one-term presidency.
“I could actually run my business and run government at the same time,” he said just one week before entering the White House in 2016. “I don’t like the way that looks, but I would be able to do that if I wanted to. I would be the only one that would be able to do that.”
Mr Trump is under investigation in New York for tax fraud and other reported wrongdoings relating to the financial activities of his Trump Organisation.
The US Justice Department in August also ordered the Treasury to provide a congressional committee with six years of records that Mr Trump has long refused to make public.
Meanwhile, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos topped the 2021 Forbes 400 list with a net worth of $201bn, followed by Tesla and Space X founder Elon Musk with $190.5bn.
“The 400 wealthiest Americans saw their collective fortune increase 40 per cent over the last year to $4.5 trillion. Nearly all are richer than they were a year ago,” Forbes said.
2021 Forbes 400 top 10 list of America’s richest people
- Jeff Bezos: $201bn
- Elon Musk: $190.5bn
- Mark Zuckerberg: $134.5bn
- Bill Gates: $134bn
- Larry Page: $123bn
- Sergey Brin: $118.5bn
- Larry Ellison: $117.3bn
- Warren Buffett: $102bn
- Steve Ballmer: $96.5bn
- Michael Bloomberg: $70bn
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
New sound technology, named 4D SRL
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt
Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure
Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers
Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 390bhp
Torque: 400Nm
Price: Dh340,000 ($92,579
'Brazen'
Director: Monika Mitchell
Starring: Alyssa Milano, Sam Page, Colleen Wheeler
Rating: 3/5
