Trump Received Surprisingly Little For Hosting Saudi-Backed Golf Events

ByDan Alexander,

Forbes Staff.

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audi Arabia upended the golf world a few years ago with a simple strategy: Throw barrels of money at the biggest stars in the sport. Aging greats Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson hauled in an estimated $125 million and $200 million, respectively. Still-spry Jon Rahm got a reported $300 million. One big name LIV didn’t have to pay much to get on its side? Donald Trump.

The president of the United States, who is expected to offer a warm welcome to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House Tuesday, received about $800,000 for hosting a LIV Golf tournament in 2022, according to an income statement included in court filings. Another statement suggests a 2023 LIV event brought in $950,000. Trump has hosted seven LIV tournaments by now. If each of them generated similar amounts, his total take would add up to roughly $6 million over four years. That might sound like a lot, but it’s virtually nothing in the LIV Golf world, where no-name golfers can easily earn that much in prize money.