Trump will stop managing his business empire when he takes office

Donald Trump will not manage his personal businesses and assets after taking office as US President next week, to avoid conflicts of interest.

The Trump Organization announced last weekend that Donald Trump would hand over control of his business to his children when he takes office as US President on January 20. His business empire is now worth billions of dollars, operating in real estate, hotels, golf courses, and media. He made a similar move during his first term.

The Trump Organization said all of Trump's assets, investments and business interests will be placed in a trust, managed by his children. He will also not serve on any board of directors, nor will he run the company.

Mr. Donald Trump and his family on stage at the West Palm Beach Convention Center, Florida on November 6. Photo: AFP

William A. Burck, co-chairman of the law firm Quinn Emanuel, is the Trump Organization's ethics counsel. His job is to develop and help the corporation comply with ethics regulations and policies, as well as review transactions to avoid conflicts of interest after Mr. Trump takes office.

The Trump Organization said it has “no new transactions or contracts with foreign governments.” Mr Trump will have limited access to the company’s financial information.

Profits from foreign government clients, through hotel stays or similar services, go to the US Treasury. Mr. Trump’s investments are independently managed by an outside organization.

During his first term, Trump transferred control of his companies to his sons Don Jr. and Eric Trump. However, many experts believe this still poses a conflict of interest. They urged him to divest completely from the businesses, but he refused.

Regarding this plan, Danielle Brian - Director of POGO - an independent organization that monitors the activities of the US government, commented that "most of the arrangements are not new and not radical enough". He said that the most significant new point is that Mr. Trump proposed to give discounts to the US Secret Service and other government agencies if they stay at Trump Organization properties. During his first term, US Secret Service agents often stayed here to protect Mr. Trump.

“But unless they slash prices so drastically that they are unprofitable, the President-elect is still making a profit by requiring Secret Service agents to stay at his resort. That makes no sense ethically,” Brian concluded.