It had been reported that Donald Trump lost a billion dollars of his own money.

Judge as of 2018-04-11. True: before that date, credible media reported that Donald Trump lost roughly a billion dollars of his own money or more. Examples would be the 2016 NYT report on his 1995 tax return showing a $916 million loss, or reporting on 1980s–90s losses of over $1 billion. Mostly true: there were reports of losses near $1 billion (e.g. $916 million), or the losses were reported but were not clearly his personal money as opposed to business or creditors' money. Mixed: the reports involved losses of a different scale or nature, such as business losses mostly borne by lenders, so 'his own money' is clearly disputed. Mostly false: there were reports only of much smaller losses. False: no such reporting existed before that date.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 Trump’s tax returns: the facts we know PolitiFact · 3 October 2016

   “In 1995, Trump reported a $916 million loss, according to the three pages of returns obtained and verified by the New York Times in September.”

2. E2 Spinning Trump's Taxes - FactCheck.org FactCheck.org · 3 October 2016

   “The documents show that Trump reported a net operating loss of $916 million in 1995”

3. E3 How Trump's Atlantic City gamble went bust. Mother Jones · 20 January 2016

   “While large institutional lenders suffered the worst hit, minor investors who had bought the bonds and small-business owners who had done business with Trump’s casinos lost big, too, according to the Post.”

4. E4 How Trump's Atlantic City gamble went bust. Mother Jones · 20 January 2016

   “The Post also found that Trump may have exaggerated his personal wealth: The mogul said in 1990 that he was worth $1.4 billion, but Forbes estimated he was worth $500 million.”

Before 2018-04-11, PolitiFact (E1), citing the New York Times, and FactCheck.org (E2) reported that Trump's 1995 tax returns showed a $916 million loss. That is close to, but below, a billion dollars. FactCheck.org (E2) describes it as a net operating loss of $916 million reported on Trump's 1995 tax return. Mother Jones (E3) reports that lenders took the heaviest losses from his casino failures. So reporting on a loss of about a billion dollars existed, but the evidence doesn't clearly show the money was his own, which fits the 'mostly true' criterion.