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Donald Trump Is Not on Forbes' 400 Richest Americans List for the First Time in 25 Years

Donald Trump
Donald Trump

D Dipasupil/Getty Images President Donald Trump

For the first time in 25 years, Donald Trump's name does not appear among Forbes' annual list of the 400 richest Americans.

The magazine reports that the real estate magnate's net worth — an estimated $2.5 billion — leaves him $400 million short of the cutoff to make this year's list.

While Forbes says that the former president's net worth remains roughly the same as it was when he stood at No. 339 on last year's ranking, he is "down $600 million since the start of the pandemic."

Forbes also notes that, in their analysis, Trump's failure to divest in many of his assets may have cost him. While he would have had to pay a hefty amount in capital gains tax had he sold off his five most-valuable real estate holdings prior to taking office (as had been urged by some due to ethics issues), he could have added to his net worth simply by investing the proceeds into index funds.

"By plowing that $2.4 billion in an index fund tracking the S&P 500, for example, Trump's fortune would have ballooned to $4.5 billion by now, leaving him 80% richer than he is today," Forbes reports. "His refusal to divest, in other words, cost him $2 billion."

Trump's ranking had been steadily decreasing in the five years since he won the presidency, according to Forbes.

A representative for him did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment regarding the list.

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Forbes analysis echoes a March assessment by Bloomberg, which found that the former president's net worth stands at about $2.3 billion, having declined by some $700 million in the years since he became president and went on to lose his re-election bid.

Eric Trump — former President Trump's second-oldest son, who took over operations for the Trump Organization alongside older brother Donald Trump Jr. — shot back at Bloomberg in a statement to PEOPLE at the time.

"Bloomberg's valuation is a joke," Eric, 37, said. "We have the best assets in the world, have extremely low debt relative to our holdings and have [an] incredible strong cash flow."

Bloomberg also reported that the elder Trump's income from the entertainment sector dropped about 99 percent since 2015, as his political turn and incendiary rhetoric left him largely rejected by most of Hollywood.

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The Manhattan District Attorney's office is currently probing whether the Trump Organization misled lenders and insurance companies about the value of its properties and if it paid the appropriate amount in taxes.

In May, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that her office had joined that criminal investigation into the former president's company, and would also continue continue to pursue a civil investigation into the Trump Organization.

Trump released a lengthy statement in response to the May announcement, criticizing investigators, rehashing familiar reactions to any negative news about him by calling the criminal probe "a continuation of the greatest political Witch Hunt in the history of the United States."

He has denied wrongdoing.