How did the Eric Trump Foundation account for donations to St. Jude and what did Forbes report about payments to Trump businesses?
Executive summary
The Eric Trump Foundation publicly presented itself as a vehicle that funneled virtually all tournament proceeds to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, but tax filings and reporting show the charity both paid substantial sums to Trump businesses for event services and redirected hundreds of thousands of donor dollars to other charities, some linked to Trump interests—findings first documented in Forbes and picked up by multiple outlets [1] [2] [3]. Forbes reported that the foundation’s event expenses ballooned and that more than $1.2 million in donations went to the Trump Organization for golf-club services while roughly $500,000 was re-donated to other charities, raising concerns about self-dealing and donor disclosure [4] [5] [6].
1. How the foundation portrayed donations to St. Jude
Eric Trump consistently told media and donors that the Eric Trump Foundation raised millions for St. Jude and that the foundation’s fundraising model—anchored by an annual private golf invitational—meant “every penny possible” went to the hospital because Trump assets were used “100% free of charge,” a claim the foundation repeatedly promoted [1] [5]. St. Jude has acknowledged receiving tens of millions of dollars raised by Eric Trump-affiliated efforts, a figure Eric’s camp highlighted as proof of impact even as public tax returns showed different accounting for direct foundation gifts [4] [7].
2. What Forbes documented about payments to Trump businesses
Forbes’ investigation found that the Eric Trump Foundation’s listed event expenses surged in the mid-2010s and that the foundation paid the Trump Organization more than $1.2 million for services tied to its Westchester golf tournament, contradicting the public claim that the course was provided free and prompting experts to say the billed amounts “defy any reasonable cost justification” for a one-day event [5] [6]. Forbes reported a pattern in which the foundation’s donations flowed back into Trump-owned businesses and associated entities, which critics say looks like self-dealing under federal and state charity rules [1] [8].
3. Re-donations and donor disclosure questions
Beyond payments to Trump properties, Forbes reported that the foundation re-donated more than $500,000 to other charities over the years, and many of those recipient organizations had connections to Trump family members or interests; Forbes and subsequent outlets noted former board members said they believed all funds raised went to St. Jude, suggesting donors may have been misled [6] [7] [2]. The foundation later said that “relevant donors” had been informed when funds were redirected, but Forbes and independent charity experts flagged an absence of clear public disclosure and itemized expense detail [6] [3].
4. The financial record: tax filings versus public claims
Public tax returns filed by the Eric Trump Foundation show direct donations from the charity itself were lower than the larger totals Eric Trump sometimes cited; independent fact-checks noted the foundation’s own filings reported roughly $8.7 million in direct giving to St. Jude between 2007 and 2016, whereas the foundation and affiliated statements have pointed to $16.3 million raised or helped-raise—a discrepancy attributable to how affiliated fundraising and third-party contributions are counted [4] [7]. Forbes’ deeper tax-return review also highlighted increasing listed event expenses—$59,085 in 2012 rising to well over $200,000 in later years—without transparent line-itemization of payments to Trump businesses [9] [10].
5. Legal and reputational fallout, and competing claims
Forbes’ reporting prompted a New York State Attorney General inquiry into the Eric Trump Foundation and intensified scrutiny of the family’s charitable operations; the Trump Organization disputed the findings, saying it “declined to answer detailed questions” to Forbes and maintained the Organization “did not profit” from the foundation’s activities, while the foundation rebranded as Curetivity and Eric Trump has defended the charity’s record [3] [10]. Independent fact-checkers and news outlets have since walked a line between confirming Forbes’ specific accounting claims and cautioning against conflating those allegations with separate legal actions involving the Donald J. Trump Foundation [11] [12].