This Wednesday, Donald Trump – tweets aside, America’s most reclusive President-elect – is scheduled to give what will be his first press conference in six months.

It’s also his best and probably last chance to explain how he plans to resolve the huge potential conflicts of interest between his job as chief executive of the United States and chief executive of an opaque global conglomerate with revenues of $10bn, whose main – and currently appreciating – asset is his name. If he doesn’t, the issue will bedevil, undermine and conceivably bring down his presidency.

It won’t be easy. Trump of course is in large part author of his own misfortunes. His umbrella company, the Trump Organisation, is private, meaning it is required to produce few figures. He’s also defied the example set by every previous White House candidate since Richard Nixon by refusing to publish the documents that might have provided real insight: his federal tax returns.

Donald Trump 'will violate US Constitution on first day of presidency' due to business interests

The ideal solution, obviously, would be full divestiture of his businesses. But that’s easier said than done. A sale of the Trump Organisation, with its 515 subsidiaries (roughly half of them bearing his name), would be exceedingly complicated. Done on a shotgun basis, it could cause its chief shareholder considerable tax losses. There’s been no sign Donald Trump plans such a step.

An alternative, pursued by presidents before him (though none with assets approaching the size of his), would be to place his interests in a blind trust, run by a completely independent third party who has no contact with him.

Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Show all 14 1 /14 Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Isis: "Some of the candidates, they went in and didn’t know the air conditioner didn’t work and sweated like dogs, and they didn’t know the room was too big because they didn’t have anybody there. How are they going to beat ISIS?" Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On immigration: "I will build a great wall — and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me —and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Free Trade: "Free trade is terrible. Free trade can be wonderful if you have smart people. But we have stupid people." PAUL J. RICHARDS | AFP | Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Mexicans: "When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people that have lots of problems. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists." Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On China: "I just sold an apartment for $15 million to somebody from China. Am I supposed to dislike them?... I love China. The biggest bank in the world is from China. You know where their United States headquarters is located? In this building, in Trump Tower." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On work: "If you're interested in 'balancing' work and pleasure, stop trying to balance them. Instead make your work more pleasurable." AP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On success: "What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate." Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On life: "Everything in life is luck." AFP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On ambition: "You have to think anyway, so why not think big?" Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On his opponents: "Bush is totally in favour of Common Core. I don't see how he can possibly get the nomination. He's weak on immigration. He's in favour of Common Core. How the hell can you vote for this guy? You just can't do it." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Obamacare: "You have to be hit by a tractor, literally, a tractor, to use it, because the deductibles are so high. It's virtually useless. And remember the $5 billion web site?... I have so many web sites, I have them all over the place. I hire people, they do a web site. It costs me $3." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Barack Obama: "Obama is going to be out playing golf. He might be on one of my courses. I would invite him. I have the best courses in the world. I have one right next to the White House." PA Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On himself: "Love him or hate him, Trump is a man who is certain about what he wants and sets out to get it, no holds barred. Women find his power almost as much of a turn-on as his money." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On America: "The American Dream is dead. But if I get elected president I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before and we will make America great again." GETTY

But Trump hasn’t sounded very keen on that option either. His idea of a blind trust is to turn over management of the Trump Organisation to his children. But that would create no real barrier between him and his business, and even less of one now that he has named his son-in-law Jared Kushner as a senior White House adviser.

Others talk of an independent “monitor”, who would represent Trump and, supposedly, nip any possible conflict of interest in the bud. But would a monitor really be made privy to the entirety of the dealings of the Trump empire?

To be fair, the next president (or rather the army of legal advisers that have been working on the problem since his upset victory in November) has tied up some loose ends. Business ventures in certain, particularly sensitive countries will be ended, and lawsuits against the now defunct Trump University have been settled. He has also announced plans to dissolve the controversy-shrouded Trump Foundation.

Complicating matters further, a president (and vice-president) is exempt from the more stringent financial disclosure and divestiture requirements faced by cabinet and other top administration appointees.

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One thing Donald Trump is not exempt from, however, is the “Emoluments Clause” of the US Constitution, banning a president from receiving gifts from foreign countries or leaders. So what about foreign governments and individuals who invest in Trump ventures or spend big money at his hotels and resorts?