Vince McMahon (left) and Donald Trump attend a press conference about WWE at Austin Strebel International Airport on June 22, 2009 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Mark A Valinfang | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
former world wrestling entertainment His boss Vince McMahon paid $5 million of about $20 million in previously unrecorded expenses to the Donald Trump Foundation in 2007 and 2009, according to the New report from The Wall Street Journal.
The report comes weeks after McMahon retired as the company’s CEO amid investigations into the silent payments he made in connection with alleged sexual misconduct. WWE has since said its board’s independent investigation into the matter is “largely complete”.
While the majority of the $20 million in payments went to women who accused McMahon and another WWE executive of sexual misconduct, Another $5 million was used for unrelated purposesAccording to a recent securities filing.
Citing sources, the magazine reported that the $5 million represents charitable donations to the now-dissolved Donald J. Trump Foundation. The donations were made during the two years Trump appeared at WWE televised events.
WWE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump dissolved the foundation as part of a settlement with the New York State Attorney’s Office in 2018, when a lawsuit alleged Trump abused charity money for his 2016 presidential campaign, to advance legal settlements and to promote his business.
This news comes less than a month after the date The Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Prosecutors have launched investigations into the $14.6 million payments made by McMahon to settle allegations of sexual misconduct.
The WWE attorney told WSJ that the $5 million contribution payments should have been classified as a business expense, because McMahon was a major shareholder and the payments benefited from the company.
The first two appearances resulted in a $1 million fee for Trump and a personal contribution from McMahons of $4 million to his foundation. For his second appearance, Trump received $100,000 and McMahon and his wife Linda donated $1 million to the foundation.
While the $5 million was listed on the corporation’s tax returns as coming directly from WWE, the company said in its security filings this month that the payments came directly from McMahon personally.
Vince McMahon remains WWE’s largest shareholder despite leaving the company. He bought the company from his father about 40 years ago and turned it into a global powerhouse. His daughter, Stephanie McMahon, now serves as co-CEO, alongside CEO Nick Kahn.
Linda McMahon served as the head of the Small Business Administration in the Trump administration. Trump, who hosted two Wrestlemania events in Atlantic City in the 1980s, is in the WWE Hall of Fame.
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