Florida
Trump earns big from Florida golf resorts as his other businesses flag
By Tom Bergin, Lawrence Delevingne and Koh Gui Qing
(Reuters) – Donald J. Trump’s golf club in Jupiter, Florida, where multi-million-dollar villas flank the greens of an 18-hole course, reflects the new geography of his family business. Long based in New York, the Trump Organization has gravitated recently to Florida’s southeast coast, where its golf and resort properties now pay the bills.
A decade ago, before Trump ran for president for the first time as a Republican in 2016, his golf courses and resorts were a drain on the company’s cash flow, which mostly came from real estate, according to a Reuters analysis of court and tax records and other financial disclosures.
But today, the golf and resort business is the biggest driver of the company’s cash flow — accounting for about four-fifths of the approximately $80 million in cash after operating expenses that will be generated this year by the hundreds of companies ultimately owned by Donald Trump, known collectively as the Trump Organization. The group’s annual revenues are over $600 million, according to the Reuters estimate.
The analysis is the first detailed estimate of Trump’s projected 2024 income, as he contests November’s presidential election. It is based on financial statements and other information provided as part of court cases, regulatory filings by Trump Organization entities and their partners, U.S. tax records and other documents.
The health of Trump’s golf business is a bright spot at a precarious moment for the Trump Organization: it faces more than $530 million of court judgments and interest against Trump, some family members who hold senior roles, and his companies; a weak commercial real estate market in New York; and the question of what happens if Trump loses a tight race for the presidency.
If enforced, the court judgments would exceed the amount of cash that Trump said he had as of this March, via a social media post: “almost five hundred million dollars.”
Reuters shared its detailed projections with former president Trump’s son Eric who runs the family business, and two other senior Trump Organization executives, and Trump’s campaign representatives.
“The Trump Organization is the strongest it has ever been,” Eric Trump said in a written response. “We have the best and most iconic assets anywhere in the world and I am incredibly proud of not only everything the company has accomplished, but also everything my father has accomplished in the political world.”
He did not comment directly on the financial estimates or other specifics shared by Reuters, and the others did not respond.
The news agency also interviewed more than a dozen business associates, real estate and leisure industry experts, and people familiar with Trump properties.
On paper, much of Trump’s wealth is tied up in his majority stake in Trump Media & Technology Group, owner of social media platform Truth Social. Shares of the media company have been pumped sky-high in large part by retail investors enthusiastic about Trump’s brand and his prospects in November’s election.
After surging early this year, stock has fallen by more than half, but the company – in which Trump holds a stake of more than 50% – still has a market capitalization of about $4.5 billion. As of Monday, that stake was worth about $2.5 billion
The media company, however, adds nothing to Trump’s cash flows – it is a separate company from the Trump Organization and it generated a loss of $58 million last year on revenues of just $4 million. His shares in Trump Media are locked up by a corporate agreement that expires in September. If faced with a large legal bill after that, Trump could unload those shares piecemeal – selling all at once could cause the stock to tank – or sell off assets like buildings.
JEWEL IN THE CROWN
Last week Trump submitted his latest U.S. Office of Government Ethics candidate financial disclosure. This included the revenues from some of his businesses and fees received for endorsements, such as a $300,000 fee for promoting a bible published by a country singer. The disclosure consists mostly of broad ranges of value Trump has ascribed to his businesses and ranges of revenues that these businesses generated across 2023 and part of 2024, rather than estimates of the cash he earns.
The jewel in the crown of Trump’s business is the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, the ornate resort where the former President lives and receives a stream of politicians and influence-seekers: that will generate an estimated $24 million in cash in 2024, according to the Reuters analysis.
Three nearby golf-focused properties are also resurgent, with revenue jumping in the wake of the Covid pandemic. Trump National Doral, the expansive but leveraged Miami-area golf hub, will generate an estimated $10.5 million cash, while smaller clubs in Jupiter and West Palm Beach will yield an estimated $8.4 million and $10.4 million, respectively, according to the Reuters estimates.
The rise in golf-related cashflow underlines Trump’s popularity with a core of affluent Americans, especially in strongholds of his Make America Great Again movement like Florida.
Trump “has galvanized people who are his base to come spend their money at his places because they want a piece of him,” said Christopher Henry, CEO of consultants Majestic Hospitality Group.
Reuters based its analysis on the clubs’ past profitability, as disclosed in court documents, adjusted for the increased revenues predicted by the Trump Organization and checked against Trump’s most recent Office of Government Ethics disclosures.
Reuters’ estimates exclude major capital expenditure on upgrades to the Trump properties, which can be significant, said Doug McCoy, a professor of finance at Indiana University. While the news agency found no public reports of such renovations, that could mean the Reuters cash flow estimate is too high.
Florida-based golf consultant Stephen Eisenberg said major course renovations are required every 10 to 15 years.
In addition to McCoy, Reuters vetted its analysis with three independent experts in the real estate and resort industries – an investment bank analyst, a finance professor and an industry executive. None of them took issue with the overall approach or underlying calculations.
Golf course owner and consultant Kenny Nairn said some in the industry are bracing for a possible cooling in the Florida market after a heady few years. More than a dozen new golf courses are being built in the state, which will increase competition for members and playing fees.
Trump’s Florida courses had margins of over 30% across 2021, 2022 and the first five months of 2023, according to documents released as part of the fraud trial.
“Most clubs here in Florida are in the 8% to 10% NOI (net operating income). If you have a fantastic year, you can be up to 15%, 17%,” Nairn said, adding that he could not see those profit margins being sustained.
LEGAL TROUBLES IN NEW YORK
In 2022, New York’s attorney general brought a fraud case against the Trumps for overstating the valuation of their properties for economic gain. The prosecution was successful: a judge in February fined the former president, his companies, and two eldest sons $363 million. Including interest, the fine stands at more than $450 million.
The ruling temporarily barred Donald, Eric and Donald Jr. from serving as an officer or director of a New York-based company, and mandated an independent monitor and director of compliance, citing the fraud conviction and inadequate internal controls.
Trump has posted a $175 million bond while the case is on appeal and Eric Trump remains in charge of the Trump Organization. There is also an $83.3 million defamation verdict against Trump as a private defendant, which is also being appealed.
Days after the valuation judgment in New York, the Trump Organization said it had shifted a series of legal entities foundational to its business from Manhattan to Florida, including to the address of its Jupiter golf club. The reorganization, though, appears to have been blocked by the judge, who ruled Trump could not evade the terms of its monitorship through “change in corporate form.” Eric Trump and the Trump Organization did not comment on this.
The Manhattan Supreme Court judge, Arthur Engoron, did not respond to an email seeking comment. The New York attorney general’s office declined to comment.
Florida has been friendlier. In March, the state’s Republican attorney general joined a legal brief supporting the former president before the U.S. Supreme Court; it called the New York case against Trump a “shocking” and partisan attempt to bankrupt him. The Florida attorney general’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
NEW EXPANSION, OLD DEBTS
Reinforcing the growing importance of Florida, the Trump Organization is seeking approval from the city of Doral, just outside Miami, to build nearly 1,500 residential units at his golf resort there. It would be the group’s first major new property development since completing a set of condominium-hotel towers in Las Vegas and Chicago in 2008 and 2009, respectively.
In New York, however, a cooling of the commercial property market poses a problem for the Trump Organization.
Coming due in 2025 is Trump’s approximately $120 million loan on 40 Wall Street – an office skyscraper in Manhattan where occupancy and income have declined. The building was one-fifth empty at the end of last year, according to Fitch Ratings.
Falling rents and a sharp rise in interest rates mean that buildings like 40 Wall Street are typically unable to generate the revenues to service the high levels of debt they did during the commercial property boom before the pandemic, according to Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, a professor of real estate and finance at Columbia University.
The Trump Organization for now is building its business from Jupiter, the wealthy beach town known for golf courses and big-name residents nearby, such as Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.
Eric and Donald Jr. both live in town with their families and work a short ride away at Trump National Golf Club Jupiter. It’s there that they applied for permits earlier this year to build a three-story, nearly 46,000 square foot headquarters for what company literature refers to as the “Trump Golf empire.”
In February, Eric Trump went on Fox News from Florida to decry the valuation fraud ruling against the family business as politically motivated.
“The best thing I ever did,” he said, “was get out of New York.”
(Reporting by Tom Bergin in London, Lawrence Delevingne in Boston and Koh Gui Qing in New York. Editing by Tom Lasseter, Benjamin Lesser and Claudia Parsons)
Chandler’s bio from usajaguars.com:
At Georgia Tech: Saw action in one game during his freshman season … used the season as a redshirt year.
High School: Rated as a three-star prospect by Rivals, 247Sports and ESPN … First-team all-district honoree … Versatile athlete played cornerback, wide receiver and quarterback over the course of his prep career … Four-year letterwinner earned one letter apiece at four different high schools … Began high school at Westside H.S. in Jacksonville, Fla. as a freshman (2020), then moving to the Tallahassee area, where he attended Godby H.S. as a (2021) and Munroe H.S. (2022) as a junior before returning to Jacksonville to attend Wakulla H.S. as a senior (2023) … Helped lead Wakulla to an undefeated regular season and berth in the Florida 2S state playoffs as a senior in ‘23 … Coached at Wakulla by Barry Klees … Also played basketball … Honor roll student.
Local voters weighed in. City Councils pushed back. School boards flipped. Yet, in Southwest Florida, 2025 proved that political gravity still pulls hard toward Tallahassee.
From airport governance fights and higher education shakeups to school board drama and rare recall elections, the year was defined by clashes over who holds power.
Florida Politics has curated the top stories that capture the moments that shaped local government and education across Southwest Florida in 2025. Familiar figures returned, institutions were reshaped, and community pushback met an increasingly centralized political reality.
Together, they tell the story of a region grappling with state influence, voter intent and the limits of local control.
New College expansion plans unsettle Sarasota’s higher education landscape
New College of Florida spent much of 2025 at the center of a high-stakes tug-of-war over control of Sarasota’s cultural and academic institutions, with support from DeSantis, who repeatedly floated proposals that would dramatically expand the school’s footprint.
The year opened with a DeSantis proposal to strip Florida State University of control over The Ringling Museum complex and place the internationally recognized cultural assets under New College’s management. Lawmakers ultimately shelved that plan in the Spring, along with a separate concept that would have placed New College in charge of the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus.
But the issue resurfaced late this year in far more concrete form. DeSantis’ December budget proposal revived the push by directing a wholesale transfer of all USF Sarasota-Manatee campus facilities to New College. Around a week later, New College Trustees approved a new comprehensive plan that showcases plans for rapid expansion if certain political hurdles are cleared. And New College continues to hold out hope for a land purchase from the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport.
The renewed proposal underscores the DeSantis administration’s commitment to reshaping New College into a larger, more influential institution in Sarasota and Manatee counties.
Naples Airport Authority overhaul ignites home rule fight
A push by Collier County lawmakers to overhaul governance of the Naples Airport Authority became one of Southwest Florida’s most contentious political storylines of 2025, exposing deep rifts between state legislators, city officials and aviation stakeholders.
The effort, led by Rep. Adam Botana, aims to replace the long-standing structure of the city-appointed Naples Airport Authority with an elected board. Supporters argue the airport serves the broader region and should be accountable to all Collier County voters, while critics warn the move would dilute Naples’ control over its own destiny and undermine home rule.
Tensions escalated after the Airport Authority rejected millions in federal aviation grants and Naples City Council attempted, but later abandoned the effort, to expand its oversight of airport development. Those decisions fueled frustration among pilots, tenants and some lawmakers, who questioned the board’s composition and its dependence on city politics.
The dispute spilled into public view through sharply worded exchanges between city and state leaders, highlighting broader friction over local authority, taxation and the Legislature’s growing role in municipal affairs. Despite vocal opposition from the City of Naples, Botana’s proposal advanced steadily, winning unanimous support from the Collier legislative delegation and clearing its first House committee without debate.
The bill is positioned to place all five Airport Authority seats on the 2026 ballot if approved by the Legislature in the new year.
Karen Rose, Bridget Ziegler and Sarasota education politics come full circle
Sarasota County’s education politics in 2025 were defined by reversals, returns and unresolved controversy, as familiar figures cycled back into power despite voter pushback and lingering scandal.
The year began with fallout from the 2024 election, when voters rejected several conservative Sarasota County School Board candidates aligned with Gov. Ron DeSantis, including incumbent Karen Rose. But DeSantis remedied that months later by appointing Rose back onto the School Board months later to fill a vacancy, effectively restoring her to office despite her recent electoral defeat.
The dance did not stop there. Rose’s return placed her once again alongside Bridget Ziegler, whose influence on the School Board has persisted despite national scrutiny. Ziegler, a co-founder of Moms for Liberty, remained on the board after a 2023 sex scandal involving her husband, former Florida GOP Chair Christian Ziegler, made headlines and fractured political circles. That dispute continued in 2025, when the Ziegler’s sued the City of Sarasota and police detectives alleging constitutional violations stemming from an investigation that ultimately produced no criminal charges.
Although Rose once called for Ziegler’s resignation in the early days of the scandal, the two women reemerged in leadership roles by year’s end. Once re-installed by DeSantis, Rose helped return Ziegler to the School Board Chairmanship. Simultaneously Rose herself advanced through confirmation to a powerful regional post on the State College of Florida Board of Trustees, another DeSantis appointment.
Together, their political resurgence underscores a broader theme that defined Sarasota’s education landscape in 2025. Voter backlash did not translate to lasting change, and controversies that once seemed career-ending have become ammo in court.
Schools of Hope expansion triggers backlash in Sarasota and across the state
Florida’s Schools of Hope program emerged as one of the most volatile education fights of 2025, with Sarasota County becoming an early focal point for the growing backlash against a state mandate that allows charter schools to claim space in public school buildings.
Budget language approved for the 2025–26 fiscal year dramatically broadened the program, allowing “Hope operators” to claim space inside any public school deemed underused, regardless of academic performance or local approval. Because every school district contains an opportunity zone, the change effectively opened thousands of campuses statewide to potential charter incursions.
In Sarasota County, Miami-based charter networks quickly signaled interest in occupying space inside campuses with strong academic track records. The letters of intent stoked fears that successful public schools could be forced to share classrooms, cafeterias and playgrounds with outside operators with no ties to the community, and without compensation for use of space and resources.
DeSantis defended the policy as a targeted intervention aimed at struggling communities, insisting most Floridians would never notice the schools being created. But data shows the program’s reach extends well beyond traditionally underserved areas. By Fall, bipartisan frustration had spilled into the Legislature. A bill filed by Sen. Darryl Rouson aims to repeal the co-location requirement entirely, arguing the policy amounted to an unfunded mandate that forced districts to subsidize private operators.
Sarasota’s experience is one of many similar tales in communities across the state, forcing communities to scramble to either respond or fight to protect classrooms from what many view as forced takeovers. Rouson’s SB 424 will be one to watch during the 2026 Legislative Session.
Fort Myers immigration vote triggers Uthmeier
In Fort Myers, a split City Council vote rejected an agreement with federal immigration authorities triggered a rapid response from state leaders. Attorney General James Uthmeier warned the city risked being labeled a “sanctuary” jurisdiction and suggested Council members could face removal from office. The standoff highlighted how little room local governments had to maneuver on immigration policy once Tallahassee drew a hard line.
Florida land purchase ends in court dispute over contaminated land
In Collier County, pushback took a more personal note. Parker Collier, matriarch of a powerful real estate family, sued a former adviser for defamation after allegations surfaced that contaminated land had been sold to the state as part of a major conservation deal. The case opened a bitter dispute that blends environmental concerns, political influence and the limit of public accountability on high-dollar land deals.
Fort Myers Beach voters force the recall of two Council members
On Fort Myers Beach, voters delivered one of the rarest rebukes in local politics: A successful recall. Residents ousted Town Council members Karen Woodson and John King — although King’s case is tied up in court — over support for a controversial high-rise redevelopment at the site of the Red Coconut RV Park after it was destroyed by Hurricane Ian. The vote marked the county’s first successful recall in decades.
Enos resignation opens door for Karen Rose
Board Chair Tim Enos resigned mid-year to return to his former role as chief of the Sarasota County Schools Police Department. His departure reopened questions about continuity and control, temporarily leaving the board evenly split and handing Gov. DeSantis another appointment to tilt the board’s direction. He used that appointment on Rose.
Sarasota school board debates anti-discrimination policy
Board members also reconsidered the district’s long-standing anti-discrimination policy, weighing whether to replace explicit protections for specific groups with language more in line with federal guidance under President Donald Trump. Critics warned the change could weaken safeguards for vulnerable students and staff, while supporters framed it as compliance amid legal and political uncertainty.
Tension over Tom Edwards support for inclusion
Political tensions sparked again when local Republicans called for openly gay Board member Tom Edwards to resign after he accepted a leadership role with a nonprofit focused on inclusion. Edwards brushed off the demand as partisan noise, but the episode reflected how school governance in Sarasota remains entangled in culture-war politics.
PALM BEACH, Florida >> Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday, hoping to forge a plan to end the war in Ukraine, but the American leader’s call with Russian President Vladimir Putin shortly before the meeting suggests obstacles to peace remain.
Zelenskyy has said he hopes to soften a U.S. proposal for Ukrainian forces to withdraw completely from the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, a Russian demand that would mean ceding some territory held by Ukrainian forces.
Just before Zelenskyy and his delegation arrived at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, the U.S. and Russian presidents spoke in a call described as “productive” by Trump and “friendly” by Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov.
Ushakov, in Moscow, said Putin told Trump a 60-day ceasefire proposed by the European Union and Ukraine would prolong the war. The Kremlin aide also said Ukraine needs to make a quick decision about land in the Donbas.
Meeting follows Russian attacks on Kyiv
Zelenskyy arrived at Mar-a-Lago early on Sunday afternoon, as Russian air raids pile pressure on Kyiv. Russia hit the capital and other parts of Ukraine with hundreds of missiles and drones on Saturday, knocking out power and heat in parts of Kyiv. Zelenskyy has described the weekend attacks as Russia’s response to the U.S.-brokered peace efforts, but Trump on Sunday said he believes Putin and Zelenskyy are serious about peace.
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“I do think we have the makings of a deal,” Trump said. “We have two willing countries. We are in the final stages of talking,” Trump said.
The U.S. president said he will call Putin again after meeting with Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy had previously told journalists he plans to discuss the fate of the contested Donbas region with Trump, as well as the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and other topics.
Russia claims more battlefield advances
Putin said on Saturday Moscow would continue waging its war if Kyiv did not seek a quick peace. Russia has steadily advanced on the battlefield in recent months, claiming control over several more settlements on Sunday.
While Kyiv and Washington have agreed on many issues, the issue of what territory, if any, will be ceded to Russia remains unresolved. While Moscow insists on getting all of the Donbas, Kyiv wants the map frozen at current battle lines.
The U.S., seeking a compromise, has proposed a free economic zone if Ukraine leaves the area, although it remains unclear how that zone would function in practical terms.
U.S. negotiators have also proposed shared control over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Power line repairs have begun there after another local ceasefire brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the agency said on Sunday.
Russia controls all of Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, and since its invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago has taken control of about 12% of its territory, including about 90% of Donbas, 75% of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and slivers of the Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, according to Russian estimates.
Putin said on December 19 that a peace deal should be based on conditions he set out in 2024: Ukraine withdrawing from all of the Donbas, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and Kyiv officially renouncing its aim to join NATO. Zelenskyy’s past encounters with Trump have not always gone smoothly, but Sunday’s meeting follows weeks of diplomatic efforts. European allies, while at times cut out of the loop, have stepped up efforts to sketch out the contours of a post-war security guarantee for Kyiv that the United States would support.
Asked by a reporter if he was prepared to sign a security guarantee on Sunday, Trump called that a dumb question. “No one knows what the security agreement will say,” Trump said.
On Sunday, ahead of the Mar-a-Lago visit, Zelenskyy said he held a detailed phone call with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Trump and Zelenskyy will hold a phone call with European leaders at some point during the Florida meeting, Trump said. The 20-point plan was spun off from a Russian-led 28-point plan, which emerged from talks between U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev, and which became public in November.
Subsequent talks between Ukrainian officials and U.S. negotiators have produced the more Kyiv-friendly 20-point plan.
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