The N.Y. Times has published a mammoth story, based on confidential Fred Trump documents and tax returns, into how Donald Trump built his fortune.

• The Times reports that the president “participated in dubious tax
  schemes during the 1990s, including instances of outright fraud, that
  greatly increased the fortune he received from his parents.”
• Charles Harder, a lawyer for Trump, said in a statement to the paper: “The New York Times’s allegations of fraud and tax evasion are 100 percent false, and highly defamatory ... There was no fraud or tax evasion by anyone.”

Why it matters: The documents suggest Fred Trump provided his son with as much as $60.7 million in loans ($140 million if adjusted for inflation), in contrast to Trump's suggestion he only received $1 million.

Details from the story:

• "All told, The Times documented 295 distinct streams of revenue Fred Trump created over five decades to channel wealth to his son."
• "When Fred Trump died in June 1999 at the age of 93, the vast bulk of his empire was nowhere to be found in his estate — testament to the success of the tax strategies devised by the Trumps in the early 1990s."
• The New York Times found that Trump received the equivalent of $413 million after questionable tax dealings with this father’s real estate empire during the 1990s.
• Helped by a variety of tax dodges, the Trumps paid $52.2 million, or about 5%.
• The IRS reportedly provided little pushback against the Trumps' tactics.
• Trump reportedly tried to change his father's will when he was sick to benefit himself.
• His father was “alarmed and angered, feared could result in his empire’s being used to bail out his son’s failing businesses.”

Among the juiciest lines:

• “By age 3, [Donald Trump] was earning $200,000 a year in today’s dollars from his father’s empire. He was a millionaire by age 8. In his 40s and 50s, he was receiving more than $5 million a year.”
• Fred Trump illegally purchased $3.5 million in casino chips at his son's casino in 1990, ultimately paying a $65,000 fine.

The bottom line: Fred Trump's documents reveal he acted like the stereotype of a rich person, using every possible legal tax loophole (along with some that were less than legal) to pass his fortune to his children.

What's next: "The Tax Department is reviewing the allegations in the NYT article and is vigorously pursuing all appropriate avenues of investigation," a spokesman from New York State Department of Taxation and Finance told CNBC.

Go deeper: Full Times story ... NYT takeaways ... Trump statement

Hillary Clinton speaks at The Atlantic Festival today in D.C.

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• “I was being not just invited, but encouraged—implored—to step forward and be part of this transformational change for women,” Borders told the publication.
• Shonda Rhimes quote: “Lisa has the qualities I wanted most, which is proven experience and commitment to gender and inclusion issues, and an amazing track record moving the needle of change.”