Russ Buettner is a reporter on the Investigations desk at The New York Times. Since 2016, his reporting has focused on the personal finances of Donald J. Trump, including articles exploring the vast inheritance Mr. Trump secretly received from his father, the huge business losses and tax avoidance schemes evidenced on several decades of his tax returns, and his record of failure in Atlantic City.
In 2020, Mr. Buettner and two fellow reporters, Susanne Craig and Mike McIntire, produced a series of articles based on two decades of Mr. Trump’s tax return information, revealing his struggling businesses, dubious write-offs, a secret audit battle, and the more than $400 million Mr. Trump received thanks to his star turn on “The Apprentice.”
That report came a year after Mr. Buettner and two colleagues, Ms. Craig and David Barstow, were awarded a Pulitzer Prize for their work shattering Mr. Trump’s myth that he is a self-made billionaire and revealing instances of fraud used to increase his share of his father’s fortune. They received a George Polk Award for the same body of work.
In 2012, he and his colleague Danny Hakim were named finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for public service for a series of articles highlighting abuse, neglect and deadly mistakes in New York’s system of caring for developmentally disabled people. The project also received a Scripps Howard Award for investigative reporting.
Mr. Buettner joined The Times in 2006 after working on investigations teams at The New York Daily News and New York Newsday. His reporting at The Daily News included a series that resulted in New York publishing physicians’ previously secret malpractice histories, and another series that led to the criminal investigation of Bernard B. Kerik, a former New York City police commissioner. Mr. Kerik eventually pleaded guilty to state and federal charges and was sent to prison.
The candidate is blurring the lines between politics and business and turning his tribulations into cash — selling Bibles, clothing he wore in a mug shot and the promise of political salvation.
By Russ Buettner
A previously unknown focus of an I.R.S. audit is a dubious accounting maneuver that effectively meant taking the same write-offs twice on a Chicago skyscraper.
By Russ Buettner and Paul Kiel
The former president will be making a campaign stop in Michigan on Wednesday amid the United Automobile Workers’ strike. He has both appeased unions and sought to circumvent them.
By Russ Buettner
Donald Trump has reunited with a former business partner to sell online trading cards, hoping to recreate a once-profitable mix of hype and celebrity. Initial sales hint at how difficult that will be in 2023.
By Ken Bensinger
Former President Donald J. Trump, who fought for years to keep his returns private, made no charitable donations in 2020, and his own tax law may have cost him. Here’s a running list of insights.
By Jim Tankersley, Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner
The release of former President Donald J. Trump’s private tax documents by the House Ways and Means Committee shows heavy losses from his own ventures as he continued to cash in on inherited assets.
By Jim Tankersley, Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner
The presidency of Donald J. Trump, a congressional report reveals, was marked by some of the same questionable tax maneuvers that had characterized his business career.
By Russ Buettner, Susanne Craig and Mike McIntire
Donald J. Trump paid $1.1 million in federal income taxes in his first three years as president, and paid no taxes in 2020 as his income began to dwindle.
By Charlie Smart
The former president reported a burst of income after entering the Oval Office, but by the end of his term, his tax filings had reverted to large losses, according to data released by a House panel.
By Mike McIntire, Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig
This was featured in live coverage.
By David Barstow, Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner and Megan Twohey
This was featured in live coverage.
By Susanne Craig, Mike McIntire and Russ Buettner
This was featured in live coverage.
By Russ Buettner, Susanne Craig and Mike McIntire
The former president has spent decades inventing facts and figures to suit his needs. Now, dropped by his accountants, he is making new claims.
By Mike McIntire
The first criminal prosecution involving the former president’s business hearkens back to Fred Trump’s $16,135 purchase of boilers in the 1990s.
By Mike McIntire and Russ Buettner
For all that they reveal, tax returns have limitations. Other records from the former president’s accountants may help give a fuller picture of his finances.
By Mike McIntire
Baseless election fraud claims and the Capitol riot have compounded already-looming threats to his bottom line. And the cash lifelines he once relied on are gone.
By Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig
The latest legal front against the outbound president involves a maneuver that earned him and his siblings millions while lowering their taxes.
By Russ Buettner
By David Enrich, Russ Buettner, Mike McIntire and Susanne Craig
When his skyscraper proved a disappointment, Donald Trump defaulted on his loans, sued his bank, got much of the debt forgiven — and largely avoided paying taxes on it.
By David Enrich, Russ Buettner, Mike McIntire and Susanne Craig
Hidden financial records cast doubt on a number of his charitable commitments and show that most of his giving came from land deals that offset his income.
By Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner and Mike McIntire
President Trump’s taxes reveal details about his business dealings in China, including a previously unknown bank account.
By Mike McIntire, Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig
This was featured in live coverage.
By Mike McIntire, Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig
As he raises questions about his opponent’s standing with China, President Trump’s taxes reveal details about his own activities there, including a previously unknown bank account.
By Mike McIntire, Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig
The president on Thursday played down big loans he guaranteed for his struggling businesses. But much of that debt is soon to come due in the midst of declining revenue and an I.R.S. audit that could cost him over $100 million.
By Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig
This was featured in live coverage.
By Maggie Astor, Russ Buettner and Neil Vigdor
By Maggie Astor, Russ Buettner and Neil Vigdor
Over $21 million in highly unusual payments from the Las Vegas hotel Donald Trump owns with Phil Ruffin were routed through other Trump companies, then directed to Mr. Trump.
By Susanne Craig, Mike McIntire and Russ Buettner
Figures drawn from President Trump’s tax-return data show how that number was calculated.
By Russ Buettner, Mike McIntire, Susanne Craig and Keith Collins
The Times obtained Donald Trump’s tax information extending over more than two decades, revealing struggling properties, vast write-offs, an audit battle and hundreds of millions in debt coming due.
By Russ Buettner, Susanne Craig and Mike McIntire
Tax records provide a detailed history of President Trump’s business career, revealing huge losses, looming financial threats and a large, contested refund from the I.R.S.
By Russ Buettner, Gabriel J.X. Dance, Keith Collins, Mike McIntire and Susanne Craig
Since well before setting off a furor by telling four Democratic lawmakers of color to “go back” to their home countries, President Trump has sought to turn racial divisions to his advantage.
By Peter Baker, Michael M. Grynbaum, Maggie Haberman, Annie Karni and Russ Buettner
The Times obtained details from a decade of the president’s tax returns, revealing $1.17 billion in business losses. Here’s what else the numbers show.
By Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner
Newly obtained tax information reveals that from 1985 to 1994, Donald J. Trump’s businesses were in far bleaker condition than was previously known.
By Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig
Maryanne Trump Barry faced complaints of judicial misconduct after a New York Times investigation found she had engaged in fraudulent tax schemes with her siblings.
By Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig
In congressional testimony, the president’s former personal lawyer traced the lifelong myth-making practice that created the brand of Donald J. Trump, self-made billionaire.
By Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig
For people who have done business with the president, the protracted fight over the government shutdown reflects a time-tested playbook.
By Russ Buettner and Maggie Haberman
A phony business the Trumps created to siphon wealth from their empire drove up the rent for thousands living in their buildings.
By Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig
State and city officials announced they were looking into the maneuvers after an investigative report in The New York Times.
By Russ Buettner, Susanne Craig and David Barstow
As a toddler, Donald Trump was earning $200,000 a year in today’s dollars from his father’s empire. He was a millionaire by age 8. Here’s how Fred Trump’s financial maneuvering created a steady stream of income for Donald Trump and his siblings.
By Gabriel J.X. Dance, Russ Buettner, Brad Fisher, Greg Chen and Grant Gold
A Times investigation found that the president's father created scores of revenue streams for his children.
By Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner, David Barstow and Gabriel J.X. Dance
Based on a trove of confidential financial records, the Times report offers the first comprehensive look at the inherited fortune and tax dodges that guaranteed Donald Trump a gilded life.
By Russ Buettner, Susanne Craig and David Barstow
The president has long sold himself as a self-made billionaire, but a Times investigation found that he received at least $413 million in today’s dollars from his father’s real estate empire, much of it through tax dodges in the 1990s.
By David Barstow, Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner
A two-pronged strategy contained in the state budget seeks to minimize the impact of the new federal cap on deductions of state and local taxes.
By Russ Buettner and Jan Ransom
Nine people from two families in New York and Florida were among the 12 people killed in the crash.
By Christine Hauser and Ernesto Londoño
State beaches and parks will reopen for July 4 after a three-day standoff over Gov. Chris Christie’s demand for control over the state’s largest health insurer.
By Nate Schweber and Russ Buettner
The shutdown of New Jersey’s government has its roots in a dispute about taking money held in reserve by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, the state’s largest health insurer.
By Russ Buettner and Nate Schweber
As a young lawyer, Mr. Puzder led the defense for his boss, a famous mob lawyer and casino owner accused of squandering millions from his workers’ pension funds.
By Russ Buettner and Noam Scheiber
Thomas F. Prendergast, who has led the agency since 2013 and is revered by New York leaders, transit advocates and union chiefs, is expected to step down early this year.
By Russ Buettner and Emma G. Fitzsimmons
An examination of the company reveals a distinctly family business fortified with longtime loyalists that operates less on standardized procedures and more on a culture of Trump.
By Megan Twohey, Russ Buettner and Steve Eder
Mr. Friedman, a bankruptcy lawyer, supports expanded settlements in the West Bank and has accused the Obama administration of anti-Semitism.
By Isabel Kershner and Sheryl Gay Stolberg
In 2006, the former New York City mayor made $10 million from 108 speeches he delivered to audiences around the world, and more money from other projects.
By Eric Lipton and Russ Buettner
Would he be into this White House thing for the country’s benefit or his own? His business record reveals a willingness to change course to suit his needs.
By David Barstow
Records of Mr. Trump’s tax appeals and other documents indicate that actual income from some of his businesses may be nowhere near what he has reported on financial disclosures.
By Russ Buettner
Thanks to a maneuver later outlawed by Congress, Mr. Trump potentially escaped paying tens of millions of dollars in federal personal income taxes.
By David Barstow, Mike McIntire, Patricia Cohen, Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner
Tax forms and public records show how debt that Mr. Trump amassed fueled enormous losses.
By Russ Buettner and Charles V. Bagli
The Republican nominee reported nearly $1 billion in losses in 1995, opening the door to tax avoidance in subsequent years.
By David Barstow, Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner and Megan Twohey
In recent years, some friends of Mr. Rahami, the suspect in the Manhattan and New Jersey bombings, noticed a marked change in his personality and religious devotion.
By N. R. Kleinfield
Under Gov. Chris Christie, New Jersey agreed to accept just $5 million in the bankruptcy cases of casinos founded by his friend Donald J. Trump, raising questions of special treatment.
By Russ Buettner
Meredith McIver, a longtime employee of the Trump Organization, said that she had offered her resignation over what she called an innocent mistake, but that Donald J. Trump refused to accept it.
By Jason Horowitz
Mr. Trump boasts of his success at the Jersey Shore resort, but regulatory reviews, court records and security filings indicate otherwise. And others paid the price.
By Russ Buettner and Charles V. Bagli
A review of state inspections shows widespread labor violations but also the difficulties of regulating an industry that operates mostly off the books.
By Kim Barker and Russ Buettner
What seems telling about these killers is not how much they have in common, but how much they look and seem like so many who don’t inflict harm.
By N. R. Kleinfield, Russ Buettner, David W. Chen and Nikita Stewart
If Mr. Johnson becomes a judge, it would bolster Justice Dianne T. Renwick’s chances of being selected by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to head the state appellate court.
By James C. McKinley Jr.
Records filed by the New York State Assembly speaker suggest he has often used political donations to burnish his lifestyle, with money spent on such things as car repairs and karaoke parties.
By Russ Buettner
In a rare post-trial news conference, several jurors explained the course of their deliberations. None hinted at any negative feelings toward the one juror who could not be persuaded to convict.
By Russ Buettner
Two former officials from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey were indicted as David Wildstein, an ally of Gov. Chris Christie, pleaded guilty to his role in the scandal.
By Kate Zernike and Marc Santora
Mr. Heastie was able to hold onto a home that prosecutors said his mother had bought with embezzled money; selling it years later brought what appears to be the only significant financial gain of his life.
By Russ Buettner and David W. Chen
Under the current system, Consolidated Edison is not required to immediately notify the city if its workers find a dangerous gas situation.
By Patrick McGeehan and Matt Flegenheimer
Mayor Bill de Blasio said “a variety of sources” led city officials to believe the explosion might be linked to people “inappropriately” accessing the line that fed gas into one of the buildings.
By Patrick McGeehan, Jiha Ham and Russ Buettner
Several rail cars derailed, and some people were critically injured, when the commuter train hit a vehicle that was stuck on the tracks at a crossing in Oxnard.
By Noah Smith and Jack Healy
Though there are far fewer accidents at grade crossings in New York City than in its suburbs, the five boroughs have their own dark history with the intersections.
By David W. Dunlap
The recent Metro-North Railroad crash cast renewed attention on the mix of trains, cars and humans that make crossings in the region among the most dangerous in the country.
By Russ Buettner and Emma G. Fitzsimmons
There were 28 grade-crossing accidents on the three major commuter rail lines in the New York region in 2013.
By Emma G. Fitzsimmons and Russ Buettner
Carl E. Heastie says he hopes to reform the almost czarlike system in which the Assembly is ruled by its speaker, though his political career would seem to make him better suited to thrive in that environment.
By Thomas Kaplan
A doctor’s obsession with raising money for research on a rare form of cancer helped set off a chain of events that culminated in New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s arrest.
By Dionne Searcey, Anemona Hartocollis, Russ Buettner and David W. Chen
In the past, Sheldon Silver, the New York State Assembly speaker who now faces graft charges, has rarely given quarter to other powerful people in distress.
By Jim Dwyer
Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, said Mr. Silver had produced “a nice profit on being a public official.”
By William K. Rashbaum and Thomas Kaplan
The agency’s executive director, Thomas J. Madison, and its chief operating and financial officer, John M. Bryan, resigned on New Year’s Eve, the latest sign of turmoil at the agency.
By Russ Buettner
Jurors in the trial of Pedro Hernandez, charged in the 1979 murder of Etan Patz, will not hear testimony from Jose A. Ramos, a convicted child molester who had been the main suspect in the case, a judge ruled.
By Russ Buettner
The Rev. Al Sharpton said his tax liens had been paid down and that he was “current on all taxes” he was obligated to pay under settlement agreements.
By Russ Buettner
The Rev. Al Sharpton, who has been honored by Mayor Bill de Blasio and President Obama, has regularly sidestepped taxes, rent and other bills.
By Russ Buettner
Sean Shaynak, a Brooklyn Technical High School teacher who faces 36 charges including sexual abuse and forcible touching, appeared forever stuck in high school to those who knew him.
By Kim Barker and Kate Taylor
Thousands of families remain frustrated by the city’s residence rebuilding program, Build It Back, which has been stalled by design and execution problems largely attributable to the Bloomberg administration.
By Russ Buettner and David W. Chen
William E. Rapfogel, who led the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty for two decades, was sentenced to at least 3 1/3 years in prison.
By Russ Buettner
The Port Authority’s 2010 purchase of land in New Jersey appears to be an early example of how Gov. Chris Christie has used the agency as a financial backstop for his state.
By Russ Buettner
The leader of the New York State Assembly had claimed that a man with a similar name was the one who discouraged low-income housing on the Lower East Side, but documents say otherwise.
By Russ Buettner
Recent surveys by New York City’s health department found that nearly 60 percent of landlords had not complied with existing rules requiring annual inspections.
By Frank G. Runyeon
Sant Singh Chatwal, who owns the Chatwal and the Dream hotels and the Bombay Palace restaurant chain, admitted illegally funneling $180,000 to three candidates.
By Stephanie Clifford and Russ Buettner
Preet Bharara, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, said Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo had disbanded a corruption panel prematurely and that his office would pursue unfinished investigations.
By Thomas Kaplan and William K. Rashbaum
The word “retaliate” was forever linked to David Samson, Gov. Chris Christie’s appointee to head the Port Authority, when a trove of emails was released about lane closings at the George Washington Bridge.
By Russ Buettner