This Billionaire Paid Trump Rent As Tax-Evasion Case Heated Up

Forbes

Robert Smith committed historic tax crimes. Facing federal scrutiny, he moved next door to the president.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2025/08/09/billionaire-rented-trump-mansion-as-federal-tax-evasion-case-heated-up/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

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00:00Today on Forbes, billionaire rented Trump mansion as federal tax evasion case heated up.

00:07In September 2020, a month before the Department of Justice revealed one of the biggest tax evasion cases in U.S. history,

00:15the phone rang at the Palm Beach Police Department.

00:18The caller was Hope Smith, the wife of private equity billionaire Robert Smith.

00:23Mrs. Smith had taken inventory of her jewelry collection ahead of a planned move

00:27and found that a 3.63-carat diamond ring, worth $1.1 million, was missing from a safe.

00:35In early August, Forbes obtained the police report through a public records request.

00:40The report stated, quote,

00:42Smith advised she does not recall where or when it was lost.

00:46However, it was last seen in her Palm Beach residence in January or February of 2020.

00:52The police report identified the residence as 1125 South Ocean Boulevard,

00:58directly next door to President Trump's Winter White House, Mar-a-Lago.

01:02The Smiths did not own 1125 South Ocean Boulevard, but rented it, starting around the fall of 2019.

01:10Their landlord, who purchased the 10,500-square-foot property a year earlier, was Donald Trump.

01:17Smith, worth about $5 billion at the time, could well afford the estimated $65,000-per-month tab.

01:24The question is why the private equity tycoon, who had spent millions buying and renovating homes in locales,

01:31including Colorado, California, and France, rented that particular property from that particular person.

01:37According to Smith's representative, the investor was eager to get to Palm Beach before his kids had their first day of school,

01:45and a previous rental had fallen through because of black mold, leading an agent to move quickly to secure Trump's home.

01:51The situation, however, led to an unusual dynamic,

01:55with the president renting to a man who had hidden more than $200 million from the government

01:59and was embroiled in a historic tax evasion investigation.

02:05In a statement, Smith's spokesperson said,

02:08The Smiths quickly rented a short-term property that Robert did not visit in advance,

02:12and no one knew it was an investment property of Eric Trump.

02:16The property, however, belongs to Donald Trump, not Eric, who manages his dad's business.

02:22The Smiths' spokesperson added,

02:24The family occupied the property for about six months until March 11, 2020, when the COVID pandemic began.

02:31They then went to Colorado and homeschooled their children for two years.

02:36The Smiths may have only, quote,

02:38occupied the property for six months,

02:41but it seems likely they rented for closer to 12 months,

02:44given that the police report, filed in September 2020,

02:47said Hope Smith realized she was missing her ring, quote,

02:50prior to moving.

02:53With a possible indictment looming over his head,

02:56Smith had vowed during a May 2019 commencement speech

02:59that he would wipe out the student debt of the entire graduating class at Morehouse College.

03:04That donation caught the eye of Ivanka Trump,

03:07who forged a relationship with Smith that continued into the pandemic,

03:11when they spoke weekly, according to The Washington Post.

03:13Smith also chatted with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin,

03:18at times daily,

03:19as they worked to ensure COVID relief funds went to underserved communities.

03:24Smith also cooperated with investigators

03:26as they turned their sights to his billionaire business partner,

03:29a software entrepreneur named Robert Brockman,

03:32who allegedly hid about $2 billion from tax authorities.

03:37A month after his wife contacted the police,

03:39Smith signed a non-prosecution agreement with the Justice Department,

03:42admitting to tax evasion

03:44and agreeing to pay $139 million,

03:47but avoiding criminal charges.

03:49In an October 15, 2020 press release,

03:53U.S. Attorney David Anderson noted,

03:55Smith committed serious crimes,

03:57but he also agreed to cooperate.

03:59Smith's agreement to cooperate

04:01has put him on a path away from indictment.

04:04Smith still had plenty of money left over.

04:07He purchased two homes in North Palm Beach

04:09that exact same day for $48 million.

04:14If prosecutors planned to use Smith to convict his partner,

04:17they never got what they wanted.

04:19Brockman pleaded not guilty to 39 counts

04:21that included tax evasion,

04:23wire fraud,

04:24money laundering,

04:25conspiracy,

04:26and destruction of evidence.

04:28About six months before his trial,

04:30he died at the age of 81.

04:31In the end,

04:34neither billionaire went to jail

04:35for one of the biggest tax evasion schemes

04:37in American history.

04:40For full coverage,

04:41check out Dan Alexander's piece

04:42on Forbes.com.

04:45This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

04:48Thanks for tuning in.

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