Here's How Much Ivanka Trump Is Really Worth
Ivanka Trump has never shied away from the spotlight and, just like her father, she's no stranger to stirring up controversy. Whether it's been the talk about Ivanka's stunning transformation, her business deals, or the former first daughter's potential political aspirations, the celebrity scion has made plenty of news and amassed plenty of celebrity enemies along the way.
Ivanka's shady side has, indeed, provided loads of tabloid fodder through the years as she's tried everything to build an empire for herself. Case in point: Ivanka was ready to go against her dad's wishes in January 2021 and supposedly planned to attend Joe Biden's inauguration, although she ultimately did not.
Through it all, Ivanka has had her husband, Jared Kushner, by her side and it seems the pair is a perfect match when it comes to drive and ambition. It's no surprise then that they've both been incredibly successful in their careers and have amassed an impressive fortune to date. But their net worth (and its source) may surprise you. Here's how much Ivanka Trump is really worth.
Ivanka Trump had an admittedly privileged upbringing
Ivanka Trump's unfaltering ambition has been the subject of much scrutiny (in 2016, Vanity Fair even published a feature on the subject titled "The Trouble With Ivanka Trump's Ambition"), but as she told GQ in 2007, she's always been driven. "I've known since I was born what I wanted to do," she proclaimed, saying, "I feel like somehow I'm genetically programmed." Her father agreed she's a hard worker and "always had in mind that she wanted to prove she could really do something very special in life, as opposed to just sitting back and relaxing" — but he also put a more realistic spin on her sentiment. "She was born into a very good situation," he admitted, adding, "She was fortunate to be very pretty."
Ivanka was also fortunate to have her successful father's support. While Donald Trump admitted initially having trouble handing responsibility to his kids, he said, "I found myself, about a year ago, all of a sudden, as deals come in that are very important, I'm saying, 'Let Don and Ivanka handle it.' I never did that before," he explained, adding, "I'm watching, but I'm letting them do things. I mean, I knew my children were competent. I just never knew that they were this competent."
Ivanka later addressed her privileged position in her 2017 book, Women Who Work, writing, "My grandfather always told me, 'To whom much is given, much is expected.' I consider the position I'm in to be a great responsibility and one I intend to use wisely."
The Trump Organization was good for Ivanka Trump's bottom line
While Donald Trump may not normally share any of his Trump Organization holdings with his children — in fact, the siblings "own virtually none" of his assets, per Forbes — Ivanka, Eric, and Don Jr. do own a portion of the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. As Forbes reported, the three eldest Trump kids each hold "a 7.5% stake" in the property, valued at around $6 million each.
That being said, even though they don't share ownership in most of their father's portfolio and they don't have trust funds, they have been paid "hefty salaries" by the Trump Organization for their work as execs. According to Forbes, they each earned $35 million in "pretax salary, commissions and bonuses" over the span of 20 years. When it comes to Ivanka, she was named executive vice president and pocketed around $25 million as she "scouted deals around the globe and headed up interior design for Trump hotels."
Leaving the Trump Organization also turned out to be lucrative for the first daughter. Disclosure forms filed in July 2017 showed that she earned $2.5 million in salary and severance pay when she resigned that January in order to take on her advisor role in the White House, per CNN Money. What's more, working for her dad on "The Apprentice" also paid off, as she now earns residual payments and holds a pension from the Screen Actors Guild, per Fortune.
Ivanka Trump built a lucrative fashion empire
Because working for her father simply wasn't enough, Ivanka Trump began building a lucrative fashion empire in 2007 when she signed a licensing deal with a New York diamond wholesaler and launched Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry, per The New York Times. Jump to 2011 and she pushed things further with the launch of a full clothing line that was to be sold at Lord & Taylor, Macy's, Dillard's, Bloomingdale's, and Nordstrom. "I wanted to build a strong and sustainable collection that is not overly trend-conscious," she told InStyle, adding that all prices were under $200, because "I wanted the price points to be accessible, but ultimately we're in the business of luxury." Ivanka initially partnered with HMX to launch her namesake label, but she left them in 2012 and relaunched in 2014 by licensing her name to G-iii.
As The New York Times learned, Ivanka's move into apparel was truly lucrative. In 2013, she sold $75 million-worth of handbags, shoes, and other products at wholesale (earning her company between $4 and $6 million). And her sales continued to grow from there. According to Forbes, G-iii estimated that the clothing line had brought in a whopping $100 million in 2015. That figure grew by another $29.4 million in 2016, per Forbes.
Ivanka Trump shuttered her apparel brand, but the revenue kept flowing
Ivanka Trump's fashion empire was on a roll when her father's presidential run and eventual win wreaked havoc on its future. Per Elle, after #GrabYourWallet went viral on Twitter, calling for shoppers to boycott stores selling Trump goods, Ivanka's products began disappearing from retailers. Even Nordstrom eventually stopped carrying the brand altogether in February 2017. While a Nordstrom spokesperson told Refinery29 that the decision "was absolutely not political — it was exclusively based on the performance of the brand," it's easy to imagine that politics did play a role in performance. In fact, The Washington Post learned that sales of Ivanka's line on Amazon, Bloomingdale's, Macy's, and Zappos dropped by more than 55% in 2017. Growing ethical concerns also engulfed the brand and, after initially "hand[ing] over day-to-day operations" but holding onto ownership, Ivanka decided to shut it down.
But even as the brand ceased operations on July 31, 2018, it continued to make money for a while. As CREW reported, Ivanka earned anywhere from $100,000 to $1,000,000 in 2019 from the Ivanka M. Trump Business Trust, which owns her trademarks and branded product lines. How is that possible? CREW stipulated it may have been that she was earning "passive income" from Ivanka-branded products made and sold by third parties, or it could have been remaining merchandising being sold. Considering that in 2020 Ivanka's earnings from trademarks and licensing contracts dropped to between $0 and $200, per Fortune, the latter appears to be the case.
Does Ivanka Trump own any real estate?
Ivanka Trump may be the daughter of a real estate mogul, but her own real estate holdings aren't as impressive as you'd think. In 2004, she purchased a $1.5 million condo in Trump Park Avenue from her dad, telling GQ "I have a mortgage!" and underscoring that it wasn't a gift. "My father's a businessman ... he's not gifting me anything," she said, explaining, "He'd have to pay a gift tax, which would be a third of the property's value." But despite its swanky address, it hasn't been a hot money-maker. According to Curbed, the condo was listed for rent at $15,000/month in December 2016, but the price was slashed following the election, first to $13,000 in February 2017, then to $10,450 that September.
In February 2017, as Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner moved to Washington, D.C., their other Trump Park Avenue property, the penthouse they lived in, sold for a cool $15.9 million, but the couple didn't make any money. That's because, as Forbes confirmed, they never actually owned it. Rather, it was owned by Trump Park Avenue LLC (aka Donald Trump). During their stint in the capital, the couple rented a $15,000-a-month house, per Page Six, and didn't add a coup to their property portfolio until December 2020 when they splurged on a 1.84-acre waterfront lot on Miami's Indian Creek Island, which was listed for $31.8 million. Yearly taxes will set them back $472,764.
Ivanka Trump's White House salary was zero
In March 2017, following heavy scrutiny of her role as an informal adviser to the president, Ivanka Trump decided to make her job at the White House official. The first daughter revealed that she would work "as an assistant to the president," "have an office in the West Wing," and "take no pay," per NBC News. In an apparent effort to squash controversy over the role, The White House released a statement declaring, "Ivanka's service as an unpaid employee furthers our commitment to ethics, transparency, and compliance."
Ivanka herself also tried to reassure the public that she was moving from an informal role to a formal (unpaid) one in an effort to eliminate any possible conflicts of interest. "I have heard the concerns some have with my advising the president in my personal capacity while voluntarily complying with all ethics rules and I will instead serve as an unpaid employee in the White House Office, subject to all of the same rules as other federal employees," she said, adding, "Throughout this process I have been working closely and in good faith with the White House Counsel and my personal counsel to address the unprecedented nature of my role."
Meanwhile, other advisers raked in the money. According to an official White House staff salary document seen by the Associated Press, Trump aides were paid really well, with 22 of them, including Omarosa Manigault, earning $179,700 a year.
But Ivanka Trump did still make bank while in the White House
Ivanka Trump may not have been paid for her White House role, but she and husband Jared Kushner still managed to earn at least $147 million (and as much as $514 million) during their first three years in the White House thanks to their other ventures. According to financial statements analyzed by The Washington Post, Ivanka and her hubby earned "at least $82 million" (and as much as $222 million) in income in 2017, with Ivanka bringing in "at least $12 million," including a $3.9 million haul from the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. She also cashed in on over $2 million in severance pay from the Trump Organization and an additional $5 million plus from the Ivanka M. Trump Business Trust.
Their earnings dipped down to between $29 million and $135 million in 2018, per The New York Times, with Ivanka's income for that year listed as being between $6.7 million and $10.7 million, including "just under $4 million from the Trump International Hotel." The downward trend stopped in 2019, however, when the couple reported earnings of between $36 million and $157 million, per The New York Times, with Ivanka once again getting $3.95 million from the Trump International Hotel.
Ivanka Trump shares in Jared Kushner's impressive net worth
In addition to making millions herself, Ivanka Trump also shares in husband Jared Kushner's impressive yearly earnings. In 2018, for example, Kushner disclosed having assets in the range of $181 million (up from at least $140 million the year before), per Associated Press, with most of his wealth coming from Cadre. The real estate startup, a joint venture with brother Joshua Kushner, showed incredible growth, jumping from a valuation of at least $5 million in 2017 to being worth at least $25 million in 2018. And although The Guardian reported he did reduce his ownership stake to under 25% and "resigned from Cadre's board" once he was named a senior (unpaid) adviser to Donald Trump in January 2017, Jared continued to make big bucks off his share. In fact, by 2019, his portion was "valued at up to $50 million."
Jared also stepped down as CEO of Kushner Companies when he joined the White House staff, but that too didn't stop him from making a killing. According to the Associated Press, while he and fellow Kushner Companies investors did take on debt of between $5 million and $25 million in 2018 to snap up a 1,032-unit apartment community in Plainsboro, New Jersey, it immediately began paying off, earning him at least $5 million in income that year. Oh, and his wife was also involved in the investment.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner's salaries dropped in 2020
In February 2021, Fortune revealed that, according to financial disclosure forms filed for their final year in Washington, D.C., Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner experienced a 20% reduction in earnings. They listed their income as being between $23.8 million and $120 million during 2020 and the first 20 days of 2021, which was down from between $36.2 million and $157 million for the same period in 2019.
As Citizens for Ethics notes, the considerable decline in the couple's income was likely caused in large part by the pandemic. Ivanka, for one, earned just $1.5 million from her stake in the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC — a considerable drop from the nearly $4 million she had earned each year between 2017 and 2019. In fact, by the time she left the White House, the value of her stake in the hotel had dropped from between $5 and $25 million, as reported in previous disclosures, to just between $100,001 to $250,000. According to Fortune, she also brought in nearly nothing (between $0 and $200) from her "many trademarks and licensing contracts."
Did Ivanka Trump break the law touting her own products?
Donald Trump hadn't yet set foot in the White House when Ivanka Trump began using her newfound spotlight to tout her various products. In July 2016, for example, while attending the Republican National Convention, her Twitter account unabashedly shared a link to shop the dress she had worn for the occasion (one from her namesake collection, of course). Then, during a November 2016 appearance on "60 Minutes" alongside her father, she wore an Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry bracelet, which was later sent out to reporters in an email, stating it was "her favorite bangle from the Metropolis Collection" and urging them to "please share" the bracelet, costing between $8,800 and $10,800, "with your clients." Perhaps most bizarre, however, was her July 2020 endorsement of Goya on Twitter after Goya CEO Robert Unanue came under fire for supporting President Trump.
Such placements immediately raised ethics concerns — and arguably went against the law. As NBC reported, Abigail Klem, president of Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry, quickly issued a statement saying the brand was "still making adjustments post-election" and "proactively discussing new policies and procedures with all of our partners going forward." But as Law & Crime alleged, Ivanka's actions "violat[ed] federal law" 5 CFR 2635.702, which states that "an employee shall not use his public office for his own private gain, for the endorsement of any product, service or enterprise, or for the private gain of friends, relatives, or persons with whom the employee is affiliated in a nongovernmental capacity."
Did Ivanka Trump's controversial book deals make her any money?
In 2017, Ivanka Trump once again raised ethical concerns when it was announced that she would be publishing a self-help book, "Women Who Work: Rewriting the Rules of Success," that May. As The Washington Post reported, she received half of her advance, worth around $425,000, before the election and was set to receive the other half (also valued at around $425,000) after her father took office.
Criticism was swift and Ivanka took to Facebook to explain that "the manuscript was completed before the election last November" and to announce that "out of an abundance of caution and to avoid the appearance of using my official role to promote the book, I will not publicize the book." She continued that "in order to extend the reach of those who will benefit from this book, I have established the Ivanka M. Trump Charitable Fund to receive the unpaid portion of my advance and future royalties ... and to make grants to charitable organizations that support the economic empowerment for women and girls."
She did however keep the first half of her advance: a great deal considering the book sold just 31,000 copies in its first five months on shelves, losing its publisher "at least $220,000," per Forbes. Ivanka's first book, "The Trump Card," actually performed even worse, selling only 26,000 copies.
Here's how much Ivanka Trump is really worth
Despite all of the ups and downs in Ivanka Trump's earning portfolio, she's managed to consistently bring in millions, and so has her husband. Looking at Ivanka's combined net worth with husband Jared Kushner, Forbes concluded in 2019 that the couple had a whopping net worth of $375 million — and that number may actually be even higher. In July 2017, CNN Money reported that Kushner had "inadvertently omitted" 77 items from his initial disclosure forms and when everything was taken into account, his and Ivanka's combined assets were worth as much as $762 million (or as little as $207 million). Jump to May 2021 and their net worth was valued even higher at $800 million.
Whatever the final number is, it's important to note that the couple isn't sitting on readily accessible cash. Rather, per Forbes, most of their valuation "remains tied up in Kushner Cos.' commercial buildings and rental apartments, plus cash accounts and a portfolio of index and mutual funds." What's more, Ivanka's contribution to their fortune is a limited one. In 2018, The New York Times obtained documents that Kushner had privately submitted to a potential lender, which showed his net worth at $324 million at the start of 2017, which means that most of the couple's wealth is directly tied to Kushner and his business dealings.