Many years ago, in the crowded corridor of a Manhattan hotel, I was surprised to find myself standing face-to-face with Imelda Marcos, then the first lady of the Philippines. At that time, she was said to possess 3,000 pairs of shoes.

I desperately longed to ask the wife of the dictatorial president, Ferdinand Marcos, why anyone could need all those shoes. And more importantly, why would someone spend so much of her country’s wealth on stiletto heels when so many citizens were so desperately poor? But natural reticence, good manners or simply fear prevailed, and I walked away.

I’m fairly certain that Donald Trump’s shoe closet doesn’t come anywhere near the size and grandeur of Imelda Marcos’s, and yet the questions I wanted to ask her are very much like the ones I now would like to ask anyone who will listen.

Since his re-election in 2024, Donald Trump has earned more than $2bn. Much of it comes from his cryptocurrency ventures. Some derives from the sale of a range of Trump-themed memorabilia: hats, watches, Bibles.

Unsurprisingly for a man who used the small fortune he inherited from his real estate mogul father it to finance a real estate empire of his own, he owns golf courses and clubs, national and international luxury properties and leases that provide a significant chunk of his........

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