A donation accredited to the WWE helped balance the Trump Foundation budget.
In a report for The Washington Post, the author David A. Fahrenthold examines Donald Trump using foundation money for a lawsuit settlement. Within the report, it is revealed Vince and Linda McMahon made a sizable donation in 2007.
"The foundation’s tax records show no donations from Trump since 2009. Its money has come from other donors, most notably pro-wrestling executives Vince and Linda McMahon, who gave a total of $5 million from 2007 to 2009, tax records show. Trump remains the foundation’s president, and he told the IRS in his latest public filings that he works half an hour per week on the charity" wrote Fahrenthold.
The years following the donation, the Trump Foundation would continue to grow. Philip Bump of The Washington Post computed how the donation helped the Trump Foundation continue business as usual.
"Thanks to that contribution, the foundation ended 2007 with $3.2 million in the bank. It had $3 million at the end of 2008.At the end of 2011, it still had $2.1 million left over, having collected $6.8 million between 2007 and 2011 (including that McMahon money) and having given out $4.6 million to charities. It's all one big pot of money, so you can't draw a clear line from one incoming contribution to one going back out, but without that McMahon check, the Trump Foundation would not have been able to make the contributions it made from 2007 through the end of 2012" wrote Bump.
The relationship between WWE and Donald Trump has been known publicly since he was involved with Wrestlemania 23 in 2007. He entered the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013.
Donald Trump last appeared on WWE television in 2009.
