The Week That Was, june 26, 2016

     A new financial analysis suggests that Donald “the Candidate” Trump’s golf properties aren’t as great as they’ve been cracked up to be.
     Reuters has determined that Trump’s golf operations are at best just “breaking even or making modest gains” and that, despite his supposed business acumen, the presumptive Republican nominee for president “could have lost hundreds of millions of dollars investing in golf.”
     Perish the thought, but if what Reuters says is true, Trump’s golf properties may not be more profitable than his casinos were.
     Here’s how it all boils down: Based on figures gleaned from public records, Reuters has concluded that Trump has spent $330 million on existing golf properties or on land that he’s turned into golf properties, plus $800,000 on improvements to his properties. The total: $1.13 billion. To determine what the portfolio is currently worth, the news service used standard golf-industry valuation practices but increased the value of properties that have development potential or “trophy status.”
     The unfortunate result: It appears that Trump’s golf holdings might only fetch between $500 million and $600 million on the open market.
     Not surprisingly, Trump disputes Reuters’ calculations. “The golf courses are doing very well,” he insists. “Every one of them makes a lot of money.”
     Of course, Trump’s claims can’t be verified. In the absence of reliable information, all anyone can do is speculate.

     Two decades after it was originally proposed, the first of the new-wave international golf ventures in Cuba has been taken off life support. The Associated Press reports that 360 VOX, a development group based in Montreal, Quebec, is “preparing to break ground” on Jibacoa, a ridiculously long-overdue resort community that’s slated to take shape on waterfront property near Santa Cruz del Norte, about 45 miles east of Havana. Promises associated with Jibacoa haven’t often been kept, but 360 VOX says it’s going to break ground late next year on 2,700 villas and apartments, four high-end hotels, and a 27-hole golf complex. “One thing you need to have here is patience,” one of the firm’s principals noted. “Companies shouldn’t come to Cuba if they don’t have a long-term view.” If history is any guide, though, it wouldn’t be wise to put any bets on 360 VOX’s chances. Jibacoa has already put one Canadian company out of business, and it’s arguably the quintessential cautionary tale about golf development in Cuba, where so much has been promised but nothing has so far been delivered. Hopefully, 360 VOX has deep pockets.