Trump’s $2bn bonanza heralds the rise of political grifters across the west

With voters embracing leaders who brazenly monetise public office, experts say an ethical code is breaking down Donald Trump came to office in 2017 after decades of bankruptcies and business failures. Yes, he was rich, but his latest financial disclosure, published this week, suggests he will depart billions richer. In the first year of his second term, he made more than $2bn from Trump hotels, Trump golf courses, Trump cryptocurrency, Trump watches, Trump cologne, Trump Bibles and more. That means Trump has accomplished something none of his predecessors achieved, at least not on this scale: transforming the American presidency into a moneymaking enterprise. Politicians have always enriched themselves but the chutzpah with which Trump is doing so raises the possibility that an ethical code is breaking down. And not just in the US. Across the west, from Clacton to Queensland, a new type of leader is emerging: the political grifter. Making public office a ticket to the high life while living standards fall might seem a hard sell to the electorate. Yet many voters seem prepared to put up with grifting, even happy to reward it. Nigel Farage has traded on his fame and influence to beco