Brad Parscale made a fortune through his companies that get cut of Trump’s campaign contributions

Working for Donald Trump has made Trump 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale a very rich man in a very short time.

Parscale and his family went from losing one company to bankruptcy in the mid-2000s to multi-million-dollar real estate- and car-shopping sprees, DailyMail.com has learned exclusively.

And Parscale’s swift trip from business loser to one percenter has raised eyebrows among his peers as well as ethical questions — especially when campaign records show Parscale has been making just $15,000 a month as Trump’s electioneering guru.

‘A campaign manager is supposed to run a campaign for the express benefit of the candidate,’ Fred Wertheimer, a leading proponent of campaign reform and the founder of the bipartisan non-profit Democracy 21, told DailyMail.com.

‘If a campaign manager provides himself unusual benefits, he is not fulfilling his proper role and not serving his candidate’s best interests nor those of his donors.’ 

Parscale’s lavish spending on himself, it seems, sped up this year – just months after he was promoted from digital media director, the job he held during the 2016 campaign when he ran Trump’s social media campaign, to Trump’s 2020 campaign manager. 

Parscale, whom Trump now introduces to supporters during political rallies and calls ‘an amazing talent,’ told DailyMail.com in an exclusive chat that he will not apologize for becoming wealthy.

‘I make no secret about the fact that working for the Trump family made me a wealthy man well before I ever became President Trump’s campaign manager,’ he said. ‘The President is an excellent businessman and being associated with him for years has been extremely beneficial to my family.’ 

Working for Donald Trump has made Trump 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale a very rich man in a very short time. Parscale and his family went from losing one company to bankruptcy in the mid-2000s to multi-million-dollar real estate- and car-shopping sprees

Parscale's lavish spending on himself, it seems, sped up this year – just months after he was promoted from digital media director, the job he held during the 2016 campaign when he ran Trump's social media campaign, to Trump's 2020 campaign manager. Pictured: Parscale and his wife Candice who have splashed out millions on real estate

Parscale’s lavish spending on himself, it seems, sped up this year – just months after he was promoted from digital media director, the job he held during the 2016 campaign when he ran Trump’s social media campaign, to Trump’s 2020 campaign manager. Pictured: Parscale and his wife Candice who have splashed out millions on real estate 

The lavish spending comes years after Parscale lost his company with his parents, Electric Image Inc, to bankruptcy in the mid-2000s. Pictured: Parscale with his wife Candice on their wedding day with her parents (left) and his parents (right) 

On January 3, the day of his 43rd birthday, Parscale bought a $2.4 million canal-front mansion in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Broward County real estate records show.

The newly remodeled four-bedroom house came with steam and rain showers, enough solar panels to power the house off-the-grid and 95 feet of direct waterfront with a boat lift-outfitted dock that allows immediate access to the ocean through a nearby inlet.

The house also has a hefty property-tax bill expected to be around $42,000 a year.

According to Broward County records, Parscale obtained a $2.3 million-mortgage from Iberia Bank to pay for it.

The purchase, however, came just months after the campaign consultant, who is the father of a teenage daughter, and his wife Candice spent nearly $2 million on two condos, also in Fort Lauderdale.

And this time, it was all cash.

Parscale bought one of the condos in August 2018 under the corporate name Parscale Properties LLC., a company he owns with his San Antonio-based parents.

Parscale and his wife spent another $900,000 three months earlier for a three-bedroom condo.

That’s not all.

To fill the driveways of the $4.4 million worth of Florida real estate, The Parscales bought $300,000 worth of cars in just a few months.

On January 3, the day of his 43rd birthday, Parscale bought this $2.4 million canal-front mansion in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Broward County real estate records show

On January 3, the day of his 43rd birthday, Parscale bought this $2.4 million canal-front mansion in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Broward County real estate records show

enough solar panels to power the house off-the-grid and 95 feet of direct waterfront with a boat lift-outfitted dock that allows immediate access to the ocean through a nearby inlet.

 The house also has a hefty property-tax bill expected to be around $42,000 a year

According to Broward County records, Parscale obtained a $2.3 million-mortgage from Iberia Bank to pay for it

According to Broward County records, Parscale obtained a $2.3 million-mortgage from Iberia Bank to pay for it

The newly remodeled four-bedroom house came with steam and rain showers

The newly remodeled four-bedroom house came with steam and rain showers

The home also has enough solar panels to power the house off-the-grid and 95 feet of direct waterfront with a boat lift-outfitted dock that allows immediate access to the ocean through a nearby inlet

The home also has enough solar panels to power the house off-the-grid and 95 feet of direct waterfront with a boat lift-outfitted dock that allows immediate access to the ocean through a nearby inlet

In April, a pre-owned $146,000-Range Rover Autobiography (left) appeared in the driveway

On January 4, the day after his birthday, Parscale bought himself a BMW X6 crossover worth $78,300, according to motor vehicle records

On January 4, the day after his birthday, Parscale bought himself a BMW X6 (right) crossover worth $78,300, according to motor vehicle records. Then in April, a pre-owned $146,000-Range Rover Autobiography (left) appeared in the driveway 

On January 4, the day after his birthday, Parscale bought himself a BMW X6 crossover worth $78,300, according to motor vehicle records.

Then in April, a pre-owned $146,000-Range Rover Autobiography appeared in the driveway to go with his Jeep Cherokee SRT8, which was bought last year.

Parscale also has a 2017 Ferrari – at $200,000 car – registered to his San Antonio address.

Parscale’s newfound riches go well beyond Florida.

In San Antonio, where his family resettled after Parscale was raised in Kansas and California, he and his folks have become quite the real estate moguls.

Through corporations owned by Parscale and parents Dwight and Rita Parscale, the family owns as many as nine properties for a total $3.2 million. 

Most of the purchases were single family homes, but one of Parscale’s companies bought a $1 million-office building in March 2018, according to Bexar County real estate records.

Parscale’s recent good fortune, federal records show, came after some financial hardship and even accusations of hiding assets from creditors. 

Parscale's recent good fortune, federal records show, came after some financial hardship and even accusations of hiding assets from creditors

Parscale’s recent good fortune, federal records show, came after some financial hardship and even accusations of hiding assets from creditors

Parscale's new home purchase came just months after the campaign consultant, spent nearly $2 million on two condos, also in Fort Lauderdale. And this time, it was all cash

Parscale’s new home purchase came just months after the campaign consultant, spent nearly $2 million on two condos, also in Fort Lauderdale. And this time, it was all cash

Parscale bought one of the condos in August 2018 under the corporate name Parscale Properties LLC., a company he owns with his San Antonio-based parents

Parscale bought one of the condos in August 2018 under the corporate name Parscale Properties LLC., a company he owns with his San Antonio-based parents

Parscale and his wife spent another $900,000 three months earlier for a three-bedroom condo

Parscale and his wife spent another $900,000 three months earlier for a three-bedroom condo

Pictured: The waterfront condo building where Parscale has purchased a condo recently after working for Trump

Pictured: The waterfront condo building where Parscale has purchased a condo recently after working for Trump

In 2002, according to federal court records, Electric Image Inc., a company owned by Parscale and his parents, filed bankruptcy in the central district of California.

Parscale was then in his mid-20s, and paperwork shows his dad Dwight, an attorney, was listed as the president of the now-defunct company. 

The IRS was among Electric Images’ largest creditors, according to court papers, despite the fact employment taxes owed to the federal agency had been withheld from employees by the company.

According to records obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com, bankruptcy trustees discovered Parscale’s dad used $46,500 left in the company’s accounts, money that was to be used to settle the debts, to pay the salaries of family members and move to San Antonio.

The records show Parscale, a computer nerd who handled Electric Image’s online presence, received $6,200. His mother got $4,800 and more than $33,000 ended up in Dwight’s bank account.

For good measure, federal bankruptcy officials wrote, Dwight allegedly destroyed ‘the books and records’ of the company ‘by taking them to a garbage dump’ before leaving for Texas.

The case was eventually settled in 2006. Details of the settlement were not made public. 

Trump 2020’s financial disclosure forms filed with the Federal Election Commission shows line after line of payments made to Parscale’s company. This year alone, Donald Trump’s campaign paid Parscale Strategy close to $1.3 million

Trump 2020’s financial disclosure forms filed with the Federal Election Commission shows line after line of payments made to Parscale’s company. This year alone, Donald Trump’s campaign paid Parscale Strategy close to $1.3 million

According to published reports, Parscale was a web designer with no interest in politics trying to make a living in San Antonio when he received an email from the Trump Organization asking him to pitch a design for a website hawking a Trump real estate scheme

According to published reports, Parscale was a web designer with no interest in politics trying to make a living in San Antonio when he received an email from the Trump Organization asking him to pitch a design for a website hawking a Trump real estate scheme

By the end of the election season, Parscale had seen more than $94 million in campaign contributions flow through one of his companies that engineered Trump's controversial online election marketing. Pictured: One of the rooms inside the luxury condo Parscale bought

By the end of the election season, Parscale had seen more than $94 million in campaign contributions flow through one of his companies that engineered Trump’s controversial online election marketing. Pictured: One of the rooms inside the luxury condo Parscale bought

In a highly unusual arrangement, Washington insiders tell DailyMail.com that Parscale, through a slew of companies and subsidiaries, is now getting a percentage of most of the contributions to the Trump 2020 campaign, about $56.8 million so far this year, federal elections filings show

In a highly unusual arrangement, Washington insiders tell DailyMail.com that Parscale, through a slew of companies and subsidiaries, is now getting a percentage of most of the contributions to the Trump 2020 campaign, about $56.8 million so far this year, federal elections filings show

Through a company named Parscale Strategy LLC, for example, the campaign manager is complementing his salary, an estimated $180,000 a year, with another $100,000 a month for 'consulting,' video production, photography and web designing, campaign finance filings show

Through a company named Parscale Strategy LLC, for example, the campaign manager is complementing his salary, an estimated $180,000 a year, with another $100,000 a month for ‘consulting,’ video production, photography and web designing, campaign finance filings show

In 2017, the RNC spent more than $5.4 million with Parscale Strategy, according to federal elections filings. The filings, however, do not show how Parscale Strategy spent the money and how much Parscale keeps for himself

In 2017, the RNC spent more than $5.4 million with Parscale Strategy, according to federal elections filings. The filings, however, do not show how Parscale Strategy spent the money and how much Parscale keeps for himself

It then took another five years for Parscale to start working for Trump.

According to published reports, Parscale was a web designer with no interest in politics trying to make a living in San Antonio when he received an email from the Trump Organization asking him to pitch a design for a website hawking a Trump real estate scheme.

More projects followed and in 2015, the 6-foot-8 Parscale received another email telling him Trump was thinking about running for president and needed a campaign website in two days.

‘So I wrote back and said, ”Yeah, I’ll do it for $1,500,” Parscale told 60 Minutes in 2017.

By the end of the election season, Parscale had seen more than $94 million in campaign contributions flow through one of his companies that engineered Trump’s controversial online election marketing. 

By then, Parscale was one of a handful of people allowed to tweet on Trump’s behalf.

So, how did a low-level techie with a billy goat beard go from allegedly hiding $6,200 from creditors to living alongside Miami Dolphins players and captains of industry on a Fort Lauderdale canal in just a few years?

Some might see Parscale’s wealth as the embodiment of the American dream.

After all, in the wake of the 2016 election, Parscale sold Giles-Parscale, his original digital web company, to CloudCommerce for $10 million, including $9 million in stocks.

CloudCommerce was described by the Associated Press as a ‘penny stock firm with a questionable history’ once led by a top executive caught in an FBI sting and convicted of securities fraud.

In 2015, the 6-foot-8 Parscale received an email telling him Trump was thinking about running for president and needed a campaign website in two days. 'So I wrote back and said, ''Yeah, I'll do it for $1,500,'' Parscale said

In 2015, the 6-foot-8 Parscale received an email telling him Trump was thinking about running for president and needed a campaign website in two days. ‘So I wrote back and said, ”Yeah, I’ll do it for $1,500,” Parscale said 

Some might see in Parscale's (pictured with Eric Trump) wealth as the embodiment of the American dream

Some might see in Parscale’s (pictured with Eric Trump) wealth as the embodiment of the American dream

But others view Parscale’s rise as no more than his willingness to live on the edge of acceptable political ethics – this, at a time when the Trump campaign is planning to rely heavily on contributions of less than $200 made by often low-income voters.

In a highly unusual arrangement, according to ethicist Wertheimer, Washington insiders tell DailyMail.com that Parscale’s slew of companies and their subsidiaries are now getting a percentage of most of the contributions to the Trump 2020 campaign, about $56.8 million so far this year, federal elections filings show.

Through a company named Parscale Strategy LLC, for example, the campaign manager is complementing his salary, an estimated $180,000 a year, with another $100,000 a month for ‘consulting,’ video production, photography and web designing, campaign finance filings show.

Pictures and video from the campaign are said to be owned by one of Parscale’s companies and they are sold to the campaign and other political interests at a premium, 

In all, according to the Associated Press, Parscale is on the payroll of five companies with ties to the campaign.

There’s also money coming from the Republican National Committee, which made Parscale Strategy one of its biggest vendors. The RNC spent more than $1.3 million with Parscale Strategy in the first quarter of this year.

And the RNC paid Parscale Digital $7.3 million so far this year for its services. 

And as if that weren't enough, Parscale (pictured last Thursday) has hit the speakers' circuit with a vengeance, another highly unusual move for an active campaign boss gearing up for a historic election. Parscale commands between $25,000 and $40,000 to speak to groups in the United States and abroad about digital marketing in politics

And as if that weren’t enough, Parscale (pictured last Thursday) has hit the speakers’ circuit with a vengeance, another highly unusual move for an active campaign boss gearing up for a historic election. Parscale commands between $25,000 and $40,000 to speak to groups in the United States and abroad about digital marketing in politics

'All this money is flowing through the campaign and Brad has never itemized anything,' said the DC insider. 'So far this year, the campaign has spent $20 million. What has he kept? Where is it all going?'

‘All this money is flowing through the campaign and Brad has never itemized anything,’ said the DC insider. ‘So far this year, the campaign has spent $20 million. What has he kept? Where is it all going?’

Last May, Pascale was the featured speaker at the Trump Day Dinner fundraiser before the Seminole County Republicans in Florida. A payment of $13,500 through the Speakers Group but the county was made to sign an NDA on the recipient of the money

Last May, Pascale was the featured speaker at the Trump Day Dinner fundraiser before the Seminole County Republicans in Florida. A payment of $13,500 through the Speakers Group but the county was made to sign an NDA on the recipient of the money

In 2017, the RNC spent more than $5.4 million with Parscale Strategy, according to federal elections filings.

The filings, however, do not show how Parscale Strategy spent the money and how much Parscale keeps for himself.

In 2017 and 2018, America First, the president’s superpac, paid Parscale Digital $1.1 million. Once he became campaign chairman, Pacscale Digital was replaced by Red State Digital. 

‘All this money is flowing through the campaign and Brad has never itemized anything,’ said the DC insider. ‘So far this year, the campaign has spent $20 million. What has he kept? Where is it all going?’

 Though I could be earning much more pursuing other endeavors, I am doing this job because of my love for this country and the Trump family.’

And as if that weren’t enough, Parscale has hit the speakers’ circuit with a vengeance, another highly unusual move for an active campaign boss gearing up for a historic election and cashing in even on his own party’s local clubs and fundraising efforts.

A member of the stable of speakers at Worldwide Speakers Group, Parscale commands between $25,000 and $40,000 to speak to groups in the United States and abroad about digital marketing in politics.

Earlier this year, Parscale had critics howling when he imparted some of his wisdom to the political elite of Romania at a time when the relationships between Trump and some of his associates with foreign business entities were being questioned. 

In May, Parscale was the featured speaker at a ‘Trump Day Dinner’ fundraiser organized by the Republican Party of Seminole County in Florida.

The party made a payment of $13,500 to Worldwide Speakers Group by the local GOP, according to county election records. The group couldn’t confirm it had paid a discounted rate for Parscale’s appearance because it signed a non-disclosure agreement with Worldwide Speakers.

Campaign ethics specialist Wertheimer said sighing: ‘Trump’s campaign manager should not be charging fees to appear at such events. Showing up at party functions is a part of his job.’

Parscale, meanwhile, says he works hard.

‘After starting out with less than $1,000, I managed to be successful in business for many years, having built and sold a series of companies, and investing well in real estate and the stock market – all before running the President’s re-election effort,’ he said. 

‘Though I could be earning much more pursuing other endeavors, I am doing this job because of my love for this country and the Trump family.’  

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk