Trump fell for social experiment where he cashed a | Political News

Donald Trump is one of the richest males in the world, and we could know why, because he watches every penny, according to a fake clearinghouse experiment.

In 1990, Spy Magazine performed an experiment to determine “America’s cheapest zillionaire.” The satirical monthly magazine set up a shell company, called National Refund Clearinghouse, which sent out three sets of checks to unsuspecting recipients to see who cashed them.

The sham organization sent checks for $1.11 to 58 of the richest people in the U.S., and continured to send checks to those who cashed the checks, with Donald Trump being one of only two people who cashed the last check, which was 13 cents.

The checks went out to “well-known, well-heeled Americans” like Cher, Michael Douglas, Shirley MacLaine, Kirt Vonnegut and Harry Helmsley, according to the magazine, but there was a non-American on the listing, Annan Khashoggi, who was a Saudi arms vendor.

It was Trump and Khashoggi who cashed the 13 cents examine.

Here is how the experiment labored:

First Stage ($1.11): Out of 58 recipients, 26 people cashed the initial examine, including celebrities like Cher and Michael Douglas.

Second Stage ($0.64): The 26 people who cashed the first examine had been despatched a second one; 13 people cashed it.

Final Stage ($0.13): The closing 13 recipients had been despatched a examine for just 13 cents. Only Donald Trump and Saudi arms vendor Adnan Khashoggi cashed them.

Notable people who didn’t money the checks included Woody Allen, Dustin Hoffman, Billy Joel, and John McEnroe.

While there may be no definitive assertion from Donald Trump himself about why he cashed the checks, a number of theories have been proposed by the magazine’s founders, biographers, and the public. 

The most direct principle, and the one Spy meant to show, was that Trump was merely extraordinarily frugal or “low cost.” The magazine joked that such “habits of thriftiness” would serve him well if he ever found himself in financial ruin.

A widely held practical theory is that Trump never actually saw the checks. Instead, his office staff or accountants likely followed a standard procedure of depositing every check that came in, regardless of the amount, to keep the books balanced or as a matter of routine.

Spy co-founder Graydon Carter has suggested that Trump views everything through the lens of “profitable.” In this view, cashing a check—even for 13 cents—is a small financial “win” or a successful business transaction.

At the time of the experiment in 1990, Trump was facing significant financial pressure and was reportedly meeting with bankers regarding his inability to meet debt payments. Some have theorized that his focus on every cent was heightened by this precarious financial situation.

Biographers have often famous Trump’s obsessive nature relating to his image and wealth. This trait is famously seen in his decades-long behavior of sending Graydon Carter photographs of his palms circled in gold Sharpie to show his fingers aren’t short. Cashing every examine despatched to him could have been a related compulsive behavior associated to his focus on money.