Former President Donald Trump was mocked online for calling Forbes "a China propaganda machine" after he fell off their Top 400 Richest Americans list.
Responding to his exclusion, Trump took to Truth Social on Monday to lambaste the magazine, labeling it as "very badly failing" and claiming it had "lost most of its relevance long ago." He accused the publication of dropping him from their "Fake Forbes 400 list" by a mere "whisker."
Trump said that he deserved a higher position on the list, which he dismissed as "now very dated and discredited," and erroneously declared that the magazine is working with the "highly incompetent" New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office filed a lawsuit against him charging he'd inflated the value of his companies and properties and defrauded business partners.
He claimed that Forbes had subjected him to years of attacks by "really dumb writers" assigned to criticize him. He proudly claimed that he had increased his approval ratings among Republicans by 60 points and was significantly outperforming President Joe Biden.
You can see Trump's rant below.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
In response to Trump's comments, Forbes defended its actions, stating that the former President had been "removed from The Forbes 400."
Forbes accused Trump of repeating his habit of misrepresenting his net worth and demanding a higher position on the list, noting:
“Removed from The Forbes 400, Trump responds as he always has—by lying about his net worth and saying he should be higher on the list. We take extraordinary care in valuing his fortune, and our ownership—which does not include China’s wealth fund—plays no role in that effort."
"Twice a year, we publish a detailed breakdown of our work, offering a far more accurate portrayal of Trump’s personal balance sheet than the fictitious documents the Trump Organization has created over the years.”
Despite Forbes' rebuttal, Trump continued to attack the magazine on Truth Social, this time accusing Forbes of being a "China Propaganda machine, EXPOSED."
Trump has been highly criticized for his remarks.
Trump's net worth saw a decline, dropping from $3.2 billion to $2.6 billion, as reported between September 2022 and September 2023. This dip was primarily attributed to the diminishing value of his real estate holdings and his stake in Truth Social. Notably, this year's Forbes 400 list required a minimum net worth of $2.9 billion for inclusion.
Forbes noted in its response that "Trump, with the help of associates such as Michael Cohen and Allen Weisselberg, has lied repeatedly to Forbes about the value of his assets in efforts to improve his placement on the publication’s deeply reported list of the wealthiest individuals in the world."
Trump's estimated wealth reached its zenith in 2015, peaking at $4.5 billion. It is worth noting that during this period, Trump publicly asserted his net worth to be in excess of $10 billion. His initial appearance on The Forbes 400 can be traced back to 1982 when he shared a $200 million fortune with his father.
