What To Know About Donald Trump's Businesses

This has surely been an historical election. Not only did America have the opportunity to elect the first female president, the country also had a political novice running for the Republican Party. Donald Trump may be a newbie in the political realm, but he is not new to business. That, in fact, he is quite familiar with that arena. So, can Donald Trump keep his businesses once he’s sworn in as President of the United States? Let’s discuss.

It gets a bit complicated, but the short answer is yes. According to the Boston Globe, Trump can in fact keep all of his business ventures and even promote policies that are in his best interest. The publication reports that this kind of political and business involvement is unprecedented. “Historically, presidents have gone to great lengths to avoid these conflicts of interest, but there’s no law requiring them to do so. And Trump has said little about how he would separate his economic interests from his presidential responsibilities,” the publication states.

So, if he doesn’t reorganize the company structure by appointing a new person to run things and therefore limit his conflicts of interest, there is no law in place that’s going to make him. He currently runs the Trump Organization which houses everything that is Trump-branded: casinos, hotels, golf courses and more, Investopedia reports. Then there's Trump University. According to Politico, Trump will defend himself against charges of fraud in his Trump University real estate seminar program in federal civil court on Nov. 28.

According to TumpUniversityLitigation.com, both Trump and Trump University are denying that they have done anything wrong, and Politico reports that Trump's lawyer, Daniel Petrocelli, may try and delay the trial further. Although, if he has time to step into office before a ruling is made, there will be no issues continuing the investigation.

"Although scheduling problems may arise, there is no reason to assume that the district courts will be either unable to accommodate the President's needs or unfaithful to the tradition-especially in matters involving national security of giving ‘the utmost deference to Presidential responsibilities,’” Justice John Paul Stevens wrote, Politico states. “We have confidence in the ability of our federal judges to deal with both of these concerns.”

While Trump could theoretically continue to manage all his businesses, New York Magazine reports him saying in a January debate, "If I become president, I couldn’t care less about my company. It’s peanuts."