Keep Factually independent
Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.
Which specific Trump businesses declared bankruptcy?
Executive Summary
Donald Trump’s companies underwent multiple Chapter 11 reorganizations over the years, most consistently enumerated as six distinct corporate bankruptcy filings tied to his casino and hotel businesses in 1991, 1992, 2004 and 2009; some accounts expand or compress that count depending on how they treat separate properties and repeat filings. The core factual consensus is that Trump-affiliated casino and hotel firms — notably the Taj Mahal, several Atlantic City properties, Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts, and Trump Entertainment Resorts — sought Chapter 11 protection, not liquidation, to restructure debt [1] [2] [3]. Analysts and outlets differ on whether to count each property separately, to include later corporate iterations, or to lump license ventures that failed but didn’t file Chapter 11, producing the common “six bankruptcies” headline alongside longer lists that name many failed Trump-branded ventures [1] [3] [4].
1. How many corporate bankruptcies actually happened — the six‑filing narrative that stuck
Contemporary fact checks and legal summaries converge on six Chapter 11 filings tied to Trump-controlled companies, a tally that underpins mainstream reporting and legal analysis. The Washington Post fact-check and multiple summaries identify the 1991 filing by the Trump Taj Mahal, multiple Atlantic City property reorganizations and the Plaza Hotel issues around 1992, the 2004 filing of Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts after heavy leverage, and the 2009 Chapter 11 of Trump Entertainment Resorts amid the post‑2008 downturn [1] [2]. These six filings are described consistently as reorganizations under Chapter 11 rather than liquidations, meaning the companies sought to restructure obligations and continue operating rather than being dissolved. That distinction matters for legal and economic context because Chapter 11 preserves company operations while creditors and management renegotiate terms [5] [2].
2. Which named properties and companies appear across sources — the concrete list
Across the analyses, the Trump Taj Mahal [6] and multiple Atlantic City casinos including Trump Castle and Trump Plaza (early 1990s) repeatedly appear; the Plaza Hotel in New York is also cited as involved in early‑1990s restructurings, and later filings center on Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts [7] and Trump Entertainment Resorts [8] [1] [2] [3]. Some sources enumerate each casino and hotel separately while others treat consolidated corporate entities as the single filing, producing slightly different lists. The consistent elements are the Taj Mahal and Atlantic City casino portfolio, the Plaza-related restructuring, and the 2004 and 2009 restructurings of the publicly traded casino holding companies. These are the filings that legal analyses and bankruptcy summaries repeatedly document [5] [9].
3. Why counts differ — license ventures, failed brands, and repeated corporate iterations
Longer compilations that list many failed “Trump” ventures — including Trump Shuttle, Trump University, Trump Vodka, and various branded products — often conflate brand failures and license terminations with formal bankruptcy filings, even though those ventures did not file Chapter 11 under Trump‑controlled corporate structures [3] [4]. This conflation inflates perceived bankruptcy counts and mixes genuine creditor reorganizations with business closures, licensing terminations, and discontinued product lines. The methodological choice—counting each property’s filing separately, tallying corporate entity reorganizations, or including failed licensing deals—explains why casual lists show many more entries than the six‑filings benchmark used by legal fact checks [3] [1].
4. A note on contested or uncertain entries — where sources diverge
Some analyses introduce a 2014 or repeat entry for Trump Entertainment Resorts or otherwise count properties in ways that produce higher totals; these discrepancies reflect differences in corporate structure across time and the occasional relisting of assets under new corporate shells [10] [9]. Reliable fact‑checking organizations emphasize the six‑filing framework as the clearest, verifiable set of Chapter 11 cases directly tied to Trump‑owned casino and hotel businesses, whereas encyclopedic lists and columnists sometimes compile broader failure lists for rhetorical effect or comprehensive biography [1] [4]. Readers should note that including licensed brand failures will materially increase item counts but does not change the legal fact that the core bankruptcy filings were Chapter 11 reorganizations of casino/hotel firms.
5. Big picture and why it matters — debt structure, industry cycles, and political framing
The filings highlight leverage, industry volatility, and corporate restructuring as the principal drivers: casinos in Atlantic City and hotel portfolios are capital‑intensive and sensitive to economic cycles, and Chapter 11 gave operators breathing room to renegotiate lender terms rather than cease operations [5] [2]. Political narratives vary: critics emphasize the number of failed or restructured ventures as evidence of mismanagement, while defenders stress that Chapter 11 is a common tool for saving businesses and that many properties continued operating post‑reorganization. Understanding the difference between formal corporate bankruptcies and failed licensing brands is essential to an accurate picture of Trump’s business record [3] [1].