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Originally Posted by The Dad Fisherman
So are you saying that Bezos and Zuckerberg didn't claim those losses on their taxes?
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Only if they sold their shares. You don't pay taxes on assets, you pay taxes on income, and capital gains after you sell the asset. I can have a trillion dollars in assets, but possibly have no income, and then pay no taxes.
In the case of commercial real estate, investors owned office parks, shopping malls, etc. In most case you don't pay cash, you take out a mortgage and assume that the rent you collect from tenants will cover your mortgage and provide you income on which you'll pay taxes. In the 1980s there was a major recession, so offices and malls lost paying tenants, but still had mortgage payments to make. In that case, if you paid out more than you took in, you had no income, you had a loss, and therefore would owe no taxes.
Doesn't make you a loser.
Now, it's reported that no one in the nation posted a bigger loss than Trump. Somebody has to lose the most, and it stands to reason it would be someone who leveraged himself to a great degree in commercial real estate. Same thing as when Amazon stock tanked, whoever owns the most shares, lost the most money. Again, doesn't make you a loser by ANY stretch, in fact, when the economy rebounds you can be very wealthy, as happened to Bezos and presumably, Trump.
If a multibillionaire who clobbered a heavily favored presidential candidate is a huge loser, then I ask again, what does that make Hilary? I wish I was that kind of loser.