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US President Donald Trump and NBC each made $2.3 million on the 2013 Miss Universe pageant. A New York Times investigation has indicated that it was a part of big investment from a billionaire Russian family believed to have assisted with interference in the 2016 election. The publication reported the most successful year for Miss Universe both for Trump and its broadcaster, NBC was in 2013. It was the time when the global contest was held in Moscow. That pageant has become a key event for those investigating Trump’s links to Russia as Trump received help from Aras Agalarov (a billionaire who claims to have connections to Vladimir Putin) and his son, Emin. The event took place at Crocus City Hall (a venue owned by Agalarov) with Emin and his wife appearing respectively as a singer and judge at the contest.

The NYT report says the 2013 contest reported gross receipts of $31.6 million and both Trump & NBC split $4.7 million from the event’s success. Both Trump and NBC shared losses of $2 million for the 2012 Miss Universe pageant and a loss of $3.8 million in 2014. Point to be noted that Agalarovs took a massive financial benefit from the pageant, only recouping $2 million after spending $12 million in licensing fees and event expenses. The Agalarovs have been subpoenaed by federal investigators looking into potential foreign interference in the 2016 election. He is believed to have helped arrange a meeting between Trump campaign officials.

It is noteworthy that the alleged meeting took place to Dirt on Hillary Clinton and a Russian lawyer connected to the Kremlin in 2016. The investigation of the publication also found a wide range of information on both Trumps’ personal financial history and about his businesses. The New York Times also reported that President Trump only paid $750 in personal taxes in 2016 and 2017. The former US President George W. Bush and Barack Obama paid more than $100,000 annually throughout their presidencies. President Donald Trump has also written off many luxurious personal purchases as business expenses. Most of his businesses have lost hundreds of millions in the last 20 years.