Before politics: Trump University, the Trump Foundation and a string of failed ventures

In 2018 a federal court approved a $25 million settlement with former Trump University students who said they were defrauded. The same year, the Donald J. Trump Foundation agreed to dissolve under supervision after New York's attorney general alleged it had been used for Trump's political and business interests; a judge later ordered Trump to pay $2 million in damages.

Trump's casino companies went through repeated bankruptcies, and ventures such as Trump Steaks, Trump Vodka, Trump Shuttle, Trump Mortgage, GoTrump and Trump Magazine closed. Trump Media reported $770,000 in revenue and a $327.6 million loss for the first quarter of 2024. USA Today documented hundreds of contractors and workers who said Trump's businesses did not pay them.

In office, Trump ordered a pause in enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the law against bribing foreign officials, in February 2025, and in March 2025 the Treasury said it would not enforce new beneficial-ownership reporting rules on U.S. companies, a key anti-money-laundering tool.