Return to Transcripts main page

Hala Gorani Tonight

Forbes: Trump's Net Worth Drops To $3.7 Billion; Gary Johnson Blanks On World Leaders; Pakistani-Indian Tensions Flare In Kashmir; Heavy Security For Shimon Peres Funeral; Student Activists Fight Human Trafficking; "Deepwater Horizon" Charts 2010 Gulf Of Mexico Disaster. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired September 30, 2016 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(SIMULCAST OF CNN INSPIRATIONS)

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, Donald Trump as we were mentioning is holding a campaign rally right now in Bedford, New Hampshire.

It's one of the battleground states that could go either way in November. This is Trump's fifth visit to that state since winning the nomination back

in July.

Voters there may be very interested to know whether Donald Trump actually pays federal taxes because Hillary Clinton suggested he didn't during the

debate, and Trump famously responded with "that makes me smart." Here is what he said later to Fox News about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I never said I didn't pay taxes. She said maybe you didn't pay taxes -- and I said that would make

me smart because tax is a big payment. But I think a lot of people say that's the kind of thinking that I want running this nation. But I think

that's the kind of thinking we need in our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, Trump has long claimed he has a net worth of about $10 billion. No one knows for sure and it's a claim that goes largely

unchallenged. But "Forbes" magazine believes Trump is not worth even half of that amount.

According to its latest investigation, Trump's net worth is about $3.7 billion, down according to "Forbes" $800 million from a year ago. "Forbes"

wealth editor, Dan Alexander joins me now from New York with more on this reporting. How did you come to this number, Dan?

DAN ALEXANDER, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, WEALTH, "FORBES": Well, every year we go through and count all of his assets. What's happened this year is that New

York real estate has decreased pretty significantly, and at the same time like every year we dug our heels in and we found out new stuff. Some of

that revealed that his assets were not worth as much what we thought he was and certainly not anywhere near what he says they are.

GORANI: And because why, because you basically compiled a net value of real estate and business holdings and come to this figure?

ALEXANDER: That's right. Yes, we go through all of the world, and we count up all of the buildings that he owns. We figure out what those are

worth. We see how much debt they have on them, and we see how much of it he owns. If you add all of them up all over the world, you get to $3.7

billion.

GORANI: But we don't -- he has not released his tax returns so we don't know any of the details, right? It's difficult to know how much taxes he

pays, how much he contributes to charity, what his business relationships might be outside of the United States, in terms of holdings, and things

like that, right?

ALEXANDER: Well, we're talking about two sort of separate things. What we do is we go through and we count assets and liabilities. How much he is

actually declaring his income on his income on his tax return actually doesn't have that much of an impact on how much his buildings are worth.

Real estate guys are known for declaring low incomes even as the value of their assets are appreciating.

GORANI: And they do that to avoid paying taxes?

ALEXANDER: Indeed.

GORANI: So, I mean, how much leverage -- because you're saying the reporting a low yearly income, but being highly leveraged in real estate is

something that is typically done in this type of industry, and in a way you're just taking advantage of tax laws. He is saying $10 billion but

we're nowhere near there?

ALEXANDER: No, he is very rich, and for most people $3.7 billion would be quite enough, but he's nowhere near as rich as he says he is.

GORANI: All right, so because you talked about the value of real estate specifically going out, what about foreign holdings, any impact on his

overall wealth calculation there?

ALEXANDER: So overseas, you know, he has a lot of licensed deals and we've gotten into arguments with him in the past about the value of his brand and

we see it as, hey, great businessman, take brands and they turn them into profits.

He has done that overseas in many cases and we count that. We count the revenues and the value of his licensing deals. However, what we realized

this year was that in past years we have also been including properties that he was counting with his licensing companying and separately.

And we parsed that out and that decreased the value of that holding even though this year he struck more licensing deals than he has in the past.

GORANI: Well, because now the Donald Trump brand, if you think about it, the Donald Trump name, is probably the most -- the best known it has ever

been all over the world. You cannot come across anyone that has not heard the name "Donald Trump." What impact on the value of the brand itself?

ALEXANDER: It is certainly impossible to avoid and we've been hearing different things from different corners of the world. Some of his Middle

Eastern partners as you might imagine have had issues during the campaign about some of his comments.

Some folks over in Asia have told us that now everyone knows him. Before lots of people knew him, but as you pointed out, now everyone does, and

this is actually a good thing for our business.

[15:35:04]But the bottom line is that these licensing deals for Donald Trump, although, he talks about them a lot, whereas real assets are and the

hard buildings that he owns and so how his licensing deals are performing year to year will not affect his fortune all that much.

GORANI: Now what would releasing his tax returns, how much would that add -- how many pieces of the puzzle would that add to your reporting, for

instance, on his holdings? Would it just tell you what his income is, but not really shine more of a spotlight on his actual net worth?

ALEXANDER: Yes, but believe it or not, it would not tell us all that much for counting his net worth. It tells us a lot of other information. For

instance, you mentioned how charitable he is, how much he has taken advantage of the tax system, but the value of say Trump Tower in New York

City will not move significantly based on anything that we see in those forms.

We know how much that building brings in in net operating income and we can value it based on that after talking with dozens of real estate experts

around the world.

GORANI: Any response from the Trump camp to your reporting?

ALEXANDER: I have not heard anything yet. Of course, we're always in touch with all of the people who we cover beforehand and they certainly

always weigh in, but I have not heard anything since it came out.

GORANI: And how did they weigh in while you were compiling this or putting together this list of properties and estimating the net worth of Donald

Trump.

ALEXANDER: Well, as you might guess, like in past years, they're generally trying to push us up and what we do is we say, all right, show us the

numbers, the facts, and we're willing to talk about things if indeed they should increase, but in this case, we came to a number that we felt

comfortable with and the end result was significantly lower than the $10 billion that he claims.

GORANI: Dan Alexander, thanks very much, the wealth editor of "Forbes" magazine joining us from New York. We appreciate it.

Well, the Libertarian presidential candidate has blanked again. MSNBC anchor, Chris Matthews asked Gary Johnson to name one world leader that he

respected, just one. Johnson responded this way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS MATTHEWS, MSNBC ANCHOR: Can you name a foreign leader that you respect?

GARY JOHNSON, LIBERTARIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I guess I'm having an Aleppo moment in the former president --

MATTHEWS: Anyone in the world you like, anyone, pick any leader?

JOHNSON: The former president of Mexico.

MATTHEWS: Which one?

JOHNSON: I'm having a brain --

MATTHEWS: Get him off -- any foreign leader.

JOHNSON: Merkel.

MATTHEWS: OK, Merkel, can't argue with that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, that, quote, "Aleppo" moment he referred to was a similar blunder when he appeared to not know what Aleppo, Syria was. Meanwhile,

recent polls for Johnson support at about 8 percent nationally.

The season premiere of "Saturday Night Live" this weekend is going to be huge.

(VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: It just would not be election season without relentless mockery of the candidates on "Saturday Night Live." The show has recruited Alec

Baldwin to play Donald Trump. The actor has hosted a record 16 times.

Don't forget you can get all of our news and analysis on our Facebook page, facebook.com/halagoranicnn.

Moving on to another part of the world now, India and Pakistan are trading accusations over a new spike in violence in Kashmir. The two nuclear armed

neighbors have long fought over the territory. CNN's Alexandra Field looks at both sides of the latest flare up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tensions spill over between two nuclear powers. India says it acted in its own defense

carrying out surgical strikes in long disputed Kashmir.

LT. GENERAL RANBIR SINGH, DIRECTOR GENERAL OF MILITARY OPERATIONS: The operations were basically focused to ensure that these terrorists do not

succeed in their design of infiltration and carrying out destruction, and endangering the lives of citizens of our country.

FIELD: Indian officials say they targeted terrorist launch pads from the other side of the line of control. Pakistan rejects that saying it was an

exchange of fire triggered by the Indian Army and that two Pakistani soldiers were killed.

(on camera): After years of relative quiet, there's been mounting unrest in Kashmir controlled on one side by India, controlled on the other side by

Pakistan and that is threatening the peace between two nuclear powers. The area has been in dispute since the partition of India and Pakistan back in

1947.

[15:40:00](voice-over): Pakistan's prime minister (inaudible) unprovoked in a naked aggression. India says the strikes at the line of control were

based on specific credible information that terrorists were planning to carry out attacks in Indian cities. Pakistan's defense minister issued

this warning.

KHAWAJA ASIL, PAKISTAN DEFENSE MINISTER: If they try to violate the line of control or the ceasefire then we will respond strongly and with great

force, God willing.

ASAD ALI, IMS GLOBAL INSIGHT: Their actions are dictated by a domestic postures as much as they are about external affects.

FIELD: Earlier this month, the #makepakpay started trending after a deadly attack on an army base in Indian administered Kashmir. Eighteen Indian

soldiers were killed in an attack by armed militants in (inaudible). The Indian Army said the terrorist carried gear which had Pakistani markings,

but Pakistan denied any involvement. It isn't clear if the latest strikes targeted anyone connected with that attack. Alexandra Field, CNN, Hong

Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Well, right there on the ground, CNN News 18's Punjab bureau chief, Jyoti Kamal, it is right there at the India-Pakistan border and he

filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JYOTI KAMAL, PUNJAB BUREAU CHIEF, CNN NEWS 18: Very clearly the strike launched by India, it has led to heightened tensions between India and

Pakistan. (Inaudible) currently located the border is just about 10 kilometers from here and every day a ceremony takes place where the flags

are lowered. That did not happy today.

They're saying they're not clear about when if they restart, but for now it's very indicative of the heightened tension that is there between the

two countries because this is a ceremony that normally is not kind of canceled like it was today.

But nonetheless, this (inaudible) state of Punjab, the government here had an emergency cabinet meeting in the evening and they decided a ten

kilometer stretch of the border across this entire western state of Punjab which borders Pakistan has to be evacuated.

That is going to be a huge logistical challenge in terms of getting people out from 935 villages and that is almost 100,000 people that need to be

moved out. That will be a challenge, and school holidays have been declared so children will not be going to schools tomorrow.

And also doctors have been called back who are on leave, and the emergency ward seven hospitals are going to a heightened state of readiness. On the

ground, very clear indications that the Indian government and this western Punjab state government are taking things very seriously.

Because it is definitely a heightened state of alert between the two countries, but people here on the ground asking questions as to what to go

and where will they be staying so those are the challenges in front of the administration.

But nonetheless, the police, the paramilitary organizations, the security agencies are being moved forward and across the state in heightened state

of alert. Definitely it's a heightened state of tension between the two countries even as the administration to say that this is just anticipatory

action that is being done.

It is not something untoward is likely to happen. It is something the administration is saying, but nonetheless people here at the border are

concerned. Jyoti Kamal, CNN New 18.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Amnesty International is accusing the Sudanese government of using chemical weapons against its own people in Darfur. We want to share an

image with you that shows a child's arm covered in lesions consistent with a chemical attack, but a warning that it is graphic.

Now witnesses quoted in a report from Amnesty say their skin turned white and fell off in chunks after they were exposed to the smoke. Amnesty

estimates up to 250 people were killed by chemical weapons there since January.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Amnesty International has documented at least 29 villages where we believe the suspected chemical attacks took place. On

top of that, we have documented 174 villages in Jebel Marra, which were affected by intentional attacks by the Sudanese authorities and irregular

groups working in concept with them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, Sudan says allegations that it used chemical weapons against civilians are just, quote, "rumors."

Let's return to Israel now, thousands of police officers deployed to protect all these dignitaries that are expected at the funeral of Shimon

Peres on Friday. Nic Robertson has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Under the watchful gaze of Israel's security services, a steady stream of mourners

file by to pay their respects to the loss of the nation's founding fathers. It looks low key, but behind the scenes not so much.

MICKY ROSENFELD, FOREIGN PRESS SPOKESMAN, ISRAEL POLICE: It's one of the largest security operations involving special patrol units, undercover

units, border police that will secure the different areas and of course make sure that everything goes according to the assessments and plans.

ROBERTSON: A plan that will need to keep dozens of former and current world leaders safe, Bill Clinton one of the first to arrive. Barack Obama,

John Kerry, French President Francois Hollande, Britain's Prince Charles also all on the way.

Outside a nearby hotel hosting some of the dignitaries, police relax ahead of their arrival. No specific threat yet, but the city, Jerusalem, is

never far from trouble.

ROSENFELD: We saw in the last two weeks we saw six attacks taking place where our police units responded to.

ROBERTSON: One of those authorities say a lone attacker trying to stab a policewoman. The response is swift and decisive. He was shot dead.

(on camera): Amidst all the security, there is one positive unintended consequence playing out during these sorrowful events. The world's most

powerful men and women will be able to meet face to face, a rarity in itself.

(voice-over): Obama and Kerry in the twilight of the current U.S. administration will get to greater satisfaction than trying to rekindle a

Mideast peace process both they and Shimon Peres struggled to ignite.

Aside from that perennial pursuit, conflict in Syria will be one of the most pressing international issues. As relations with Russia deteriorates,

Israel's allies will be looking for assurances, President Putin's unruly Mideast machinations can safely be managed. Nic Robertson, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: This is THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. Still ahead, class action, meet the students taking a stand against modern day slavery.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: It's a crisis that predominantly targets young people around the world, sex trafficking, but now a growing number of young people are

fighting back to try and bring an end to this global atrocity. Boris Sanchez has more on the high school students trying to take action.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Audrey Daugherty is a 16- year-old senior in Coral Reef High School in Miami. She is a good student. She wants to be a doctor when she grows up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just the ten jobs, that should be good.

SANCHEZ: She is a typical American teenager in so many ways, but one of her biggest passions sets her apart. Audrey hopes to be part of a new

generation of activists in the fight against modern day slavery.

[15:50:06]AUDREY DAUGHERTY, U.S. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: I think it's important to engage students because a lot of the people that are in sex

trafficking are our age, girls 14 to 16, children, and it is people that we could be going to school with.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First name?

DAUGHERTY: Audrey.

SANCHEZ: Engaging students in the anti-slavery movement is a big goal for the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. That's why they hosting

this workshop for college students and high school seniors teaching them how to plan, strategize, and ignite an activism movement against human

trafficking.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Young people now have the intelligence, the tools, the commitment and strategies and I believe we'll get there.

SANCHEZ: Richardson is quick to draw parallels to the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s when a majority of activists were students.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Those young people brought about a seminal social change in America 60 years ago. So what are the lessons in and how can we

apply them to modern day human rights?

SANCHEZ: The first step is awareness. Audrey says she first learned about the issue when she read a book about child sex trafficking in India. She

was moved but she just assumed it was a third world issue. She found out that sex trafficking is also happening to children her age right here in

Miami and she knew she had to get involved.

DAUGHERTY: It was like, wow, I'm stressed about school and they're stressed about where they will sleep tonight, or be abused tonight. It

could be anyone around me, it was eye opening. I never thought about it like that before.

SANCHEZ: Daniel Alvarez had a similar experience. He's a graduate student at Florida International University working on his masters in social work.

He recently attended a course at the center for Civil and Human Rights where he heard a quote and it stuck with him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are bad people out there working hard to exploit human beings. The good people need to try twice as hard, need to work

twice as hard to do something about it. It resonated with me and made me ask myself what am I doing to help address this issue, to help bring an end

to this issue?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel that the human trafficking awareness campaign has done an amazing job in building awareness, but we have not done as much

due diligence in giving people tools that they can interrupt it.

SANCHEZ: Tools like boycotting businesses that have not taken steps to ensure their supply chain is free of slave labor. Audrey says she's

learning as much as she can and she is determined to make a difference.

DAUGHERTY: You just have to be passionate and if you're passionate, I think people really see that and they are like, wow, they are working with

that issue. Maybe I should work with that and I think that if I try to talk more about it and get out there, people will see what I'm doing and it

will inspire them to make a difference, too.

SANCHEZ: Boris Sanchez, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Still ahead, remember the deep water horizon explosion and that massive oil spill from 2010? It is now the focus of a big block buster

movie. We'll hear from the cast and crew on what it was like to make this coming up next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Maybe it's back in the spotlight over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the 2010 deep water horizon disaster has been made into a movie now.

CNN Money's Nina Dos Santos spoke to the cast and crew.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was the biggest disaster in U.S. history with long lasting consequences for the Gulf of

Mexico.

[15:55:10]But Peter Berg's film "Deepwater Horizon" focuses on a side of the story less well known, the human cost.

PETER BERG, DIRECTOR, "DEEPWATER HORIZON": We all know about the environmental disaster. How much trouble they were having stopping the oil

flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, and then I thought about how did this happen. Who did this happen to?

DOS SANTOS: The movie is inspired by the testimony of Mark Wahlberg's character, Mike Williams, the last person to jump from the burning rig.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have seen the film several times now and it puts me back on that night, the exact moments, the emotions, they pour over me

instantly. I can't control it.

DOS SANTOS: The plot focuses heavily on the friction between Transocean, the owner of the rig, and BP which leased it portraying the British oil

giant is putting profits before safety. Something the company has denied.

BERG: I never wanted to attack BP specifically. These were decisions that were made by BP executives. That certainly was a huge part of why that rig

blew out and we tell that story.

DOS SANTOS: But taking on big oil was a big ask.

BERG: BP was not thrilled that we were making the film and BP and the other oil companies throw a lot of weight down in the U.S. We had a lot of

difficulty getting on a real rig. We decided to build our own.

DOS SANTOS: And for Wahlberg, getting into character meant mastering both the terminology and the dangers posed by offshore drilling.

MARK WAHLBERG, ACTOR, "DEEPWATER HORIZON": The writers did an extremely good job, and anything inaccurate Mike was basically able to kind of walk

me through and teach me.

DOS SANTOS: "Deepwater Horizon" hits theaters six years after an incident, which drew fresh attention to safety in the oil industry. And in this era

of cheap oil, the tale of cost cutting and cavalier attitudes may offer a poignant message to energy firms today. Nina Dos Santos, CNN Money,

London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: This has been THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. Thanks for watching. I'm Hala Gorani. Do stay with CNN. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is coming up next.

END