Donald Trump claims NBC paid him more than $213 million for ‘Apprentice’

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com): NBC paid Donald Trump in excess of $213 million for 14 seasons of his reality-competition show, “The Apprentice,” the real-estate mogul and Republican presidential candidate said in an election filing last week.

“During the 14 seasons of ‘The Apprentice,’ Trump was paid $213,606,575,” Trump’s campaign said in a release detailing information he provided to the Federal Election Commission.

NBC was not able to offer immediate comment.

In late June NBC cut ties with Trump after the presidential hopeful made some remarks about Mexicans that many people believe were offensive. In a news conference announcing his bid for the GOP presidential nomination, Trump asserted that many immigrants who travel across the U.S. border are “rapists” and carry drugs.

NBC ran versions of Trump’s “Apprentice” and “Celebrity Apprentice” for nearly a decade and a half. NBCUniversal and Trump were also partners in the longstanding Miss Universe and Miss USA beauty pageants. Spanish-language broadcaster Univision also sundered its connection to the celebrity, saying it would not broadcast the Miss USA pageant to its viewers.

The amount of money NBC is said to have paid Trump likely dwarfs the amount of revenue the network secured from “Apprentice” advertisers in recent seasons. The average cost of a 30-second spot in “The Apprentice” for the 2014-15 season was a paltry $64,900, according to a Variety survey of primetime ad prices.

Trump’s campaign said the candidate took in $362 million in 2014, excluding dividends, interest, capital gains, rents and royalties.

In the statement, Trump said he was “fighting to Make America Great Again. I look forward to the challenge of winning the presidency and doing a fantastic job for our country. I will make the United States rich and strong and respected again, but also a country with a big heart toward the care of our people.”