New Delhi: US President Donald Trump’s net value has seemingly hit the rut at USD 3.1 billion as he skids down in ranking of billionaires prepared by Forbes. Trump who was previously on spot number 248 in the 2017 list of Forbes’ wealthiest 400 billionaires, has now dropped to rank 259 on the list.

The magazine believes that his Presidency is in a way proving detrimental for his Trump brand.

At the time when Trump had announced his run for the presidency, his net worth on the Forbes list was USD 4.5 billion, which over the years of his presidency has witnessed a steep decline.

As per the magazine Trump’s falling wealth can be attributed to factors like deeper reporting about his assets, a decline in brick-and-mortar retail, a slowdown in real estate and how being president affects the brand.

As per the magazine’s investigation, Trump had built much of his fortune by lending his name to projects he does not own; the strategy is backfiring and is driving away partners and potential apartment buyers as his name is now synonymous to divisiveness.

However, the magazine said that the value of property that Trump actually owns including his Trump Tower penthouse, his personal private jet and Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, dubbed the Winter White House, has gained in value.

As per the magazines’ calculations Trump would now be USD 500 million richer if he had liquidated, paid capital gains tax on his fortune and created a blind trust to invest everything in the booming stock market.

This year Amazon’s Jeff Bezos tops the Forbes list with a net worth of USD 160 billion, surpassing Bill Gates who held the rank one for 24 consecutive years. Gates’ net worth was totalled to USD 97 billion.