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Donald Trump — who was temporarily banned from being CEO of his namesake company Friday — spent decades growing the family business, in part by slapping his last name on some of New York City’s most iconic buildings.
But the ruling by a Manhattan judge could see the former president lose his grip on the real estate world he’s been synonymous with since the late 1970s, dealing a major blow to the Trump Organization — and representing a significant ego bruising for Trump himself.
In the early 1990s, the real estate market was in freefall and several of Trump’s business ventures — including the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City and the Plaza Hotel in New York — had recently gone belly-up, which put the Queens native deeply in debt.
Licensing the Trump name became a way to boost his global profile, and bank account, without taking on the usual risks of a commercial real estate developer.
By attaching his name to a building project, Trump could collect a hefty payday while avoiding any liability.
The responsibility instead would fall to the project’s developer, who in turn received the benefit of being associated with a famous name.
Such licensing deals have resulted in an extensive portfolio of luxury hotels and golf courses around the world that bear Trump’s moniker — and pay him for the privilege to do so.
But by far the most of these deals were in the US, with 14 Trump-branded properties generating revenue from licensing or management deals, according to the Washington Post.
Licensing is a big moneymaker for the Trump Org, netting them some $59 million in revenue between 2015-2016 alone, the outlet wrote.
Over the decades, the Trump name has been splashed on everything from wine and steaks to board games and golf courses.
But his favorite prize has always been high-end real estate, particularly in Manhattan.
Trump famously plastered his name on buildings all over Gotham, in many cases on buildings he didn’t actually own.
A Washington Post analysis of Trump’s properties conducted soon after he took office for his first term in the White House found that although his name adorned 17 properties in Manhattan at the time, he only actually owned five of them.
Following his ascent to the presidency, Trump’s name appearing on buildings in some cases became politically fraught.
In November 2016, days after defeating Hillary Clinton for the presidency, work crews removed the golden “TRUMP PLACE” lettering from a trio of luxury high-rises on the Upper West Side after a condo board vote.
The next year would see his name scrubbed from the Trump SoHo Hotel, which was rebranded as The Dominick.
By February 2019, Trump’s name had vanished from all six Trump Place condo buildings, according to the Washington Post.
But on Friday, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron may have delivered the 2024 GOP frontrunner’s real estate empire its worst news yet.
Trump has been barred from doing business in New York for three years and slapped with more than $355 million in fines following an 11-week trial over state Attorney General Leticia James’ fraud lawsuit against him, his two eldest sons, the Trump Org and others.
With the mogul’s future in New York uncertain, some of the iconic buildings around Manhattan that he either owns or has a financial stake in include:
Trump Tower
725 Fifth Avenue
Built in 1983, the 58-story Trump Tower is the headquarters of the Trump Org, and the site where the former commander-in-chief kicked off his 2016 presidential campaign with a famous descent down the building’s golden escalator.
The 257,000 square-foot mixed-use building also includes a 60-foot waterfall.
The Trump Building
40 Wall Street
Briefly the tallest building in the world, 40 Wall Street, also known as The Trump Building, was built in 1930 and has been owned by a wealthy German family, the Hinnebergs, since 1982.
Trump technically doesn’t own the 72-story structure itself, his company owns the ground lease, which it purchased in 1995.
So although his organization rents out space in the Depression-era skyscraper, he is technically only the landlord.
Trump International Hotel and Tower
One Central Park West
Trump owns key portions of this glitzy part-hotel, part-condo complex in Columbus Circle, but not the whole building, according to the New York Times.
His ownership stake includes the parking garage, room-service kitchens, valet booth, lobby bathrooms, a restaurant space and a single unit.
The rest is actually owned by GE and Ohio-based The Galbreath Company, who collaborated with Trump in the 1990s to develop the tower.
1290 Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue)
The stunning 43-story office tower at 1290 Sixth Avenue, which straddles 51st and 52nd Streets in Manhattan, was built in 1964 and underwent a significant restoration project in 2013.
Trump owns a 30% profit share in the building, which will last through 2044, which he obtained in a settlement agreement after a lengthy court battle with a consortium of wealthy Hong Kong businessmen.
The consortium had bailed him out of a failed attempt to develop a lot near Lincoln Center after the bottom fell out of the real estate market in 1994.
Trump Park Avenue
502 Park Avenue
Trump Park Avenue on the Upper East Side is a luxury condo complex with 120 units.
The 32-story building was built in 1929, and has been called home by a who’s who of both Hollywood royalty (Lucille Ball, Ed Sullivan) and Trump associates (Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, Michael Cohen).
It was previously a string of hotels, and is said to be the location where Bob Dylan introduced The Beatles to cannabis in 1964.
Trump purchased the hotel in 2001 for $115 million.