Trump To ‘Leave Business’ To Focus On Presidency

Agency report

To avoid perceived conflict of interest, the US President-elect Donald Trump has announced he is to leave his business empire to focus on the presidency.

But Trump has yet to give much details as he said he would talk more on his plans at a press conference on 15 December.

The US president-elect had initially dismissed concerns over possible conflicts between his businesses and the presidency.

Trump noted on his tweeter handle that there is no legal requirement to liquidate assets but past US presidents have set aside their business dealings.

According to Forbes magazine, the real estate tycoon is said to be currently worth $3.7bn (£3bn), with more than 500 different enterprises in his business empire.

The BBC reported that the US next president, who takes office on 20 January, had previously indicated to the New York Times that he was considering separating his two areas of responsibility but was confident he could run both “perfectly”.

He had also previously suggested he could hand over his sprawling business interests to his three eldest children – Ivanka, Eric and Donald Jr, who already hold roles within his empire.

However, Reince Priebus, Trump’s incoming White House chief of staff, refused to say on MSNBC’s Morning Joe whether he was handing the business to his children or putting it into a blind trust, which would place the management of his assets in the hands of other experts.

“I’m not ready to reveal that really,” he said, adding Trump had “got the best people in America working on it”.