title:  Warren Buffett Knows Exactly Why Trump’s Campaign Is Broke
text: Warren Buffet, one of the richest men in the world and someone who actually does know a lot about money, has known this whole time what drove Trump s campaign finances into the ground. He didn t say as much, because at the time Buffett revealed this, it was 1991 and he was talking about Trump s bankrupt Taj Mahal. What he said then can apply now, though, and the state of Trump s campaign finances backs it up.Back when Trump filed for bankruptcy on the Taj Mahal, Buffett was giving speeches to undergrad students at Notre Dame when someone asked him where Trump went wrong. Buffett said: He simply got infatuated with how much money he could borrow, and he did not give enough thought to how much money he could pay back. That s so Trump, especially when faced with the possibility that he can t do what he wants because of consequences. So is this: The big problem with Donald Trump was he never went right. He basically overpaid for properties, but he got people to lend him the money. He was terrific at borrowing money. If you look at his assets, and what he paid for them, and what he borrowed to get them, there was never any real equity there. No, he never did go right. Trump has six bankruptcies total in his history, which is a lot, even over 25 years. He owes at least $100 million to Deutsche Bank. One has to wonder whether he got over his infatuation with borrowing, or whether he learned anything from his bankruptcies. He certainly hasn t learned to think about the consequences of anything he does.His campaign is more than $40 million in the hole with just over $1 million in the bank, and he just sent out his first desperate email begging his constituents for money. He ll need those donations to keep his campaign running, not pay off debt. Perhaps he thinks the debt will walk quietly away?This is significant because, if he s as in love with debt as he is with himself, he very well could make our national debt skyrocket despite his more than impossible promise to have it paid off within eight years. He s far more likely to actually bankrupt the U.S. than any other candidate if he s mired in this notion that he can borrow money indiscriminately.Buffett and Trump are polar opposites in the way they do business, and even in the way they see government. For instance, Trump has bragged about the low tax rate he pays, as if that s something to be proud of when the government is talking about cutting needed services because there isn t enough money. Buffett, on the other hand, has called for higher taxes on the wealthy repeatedly.That makes Buffett the smart one of these two, but then, we already knew that.Trump keeps saying he can change his tune anytime he wants, but the few paltry efforts he s made have failed spectacularly within just a few days. It s a good bet that he ll remain addicted to borrowing money, even as president. He has his eye on the prize, and the prize is a destroyed U.S., and a fat wallet for himself.Featured image by Paul Morigi/Getty Images