 "Is Donald Trump rich enough to pay $454 million bond in New York civil fraud case?")
Former United States president Donald Trump has until Monday to arrange a $454 million (about Rs 3,758 crore) bond to appeal his civil fraud case in New York. Last week, his attorneys said the Republican is unable to find a company that would post the bond.
Trump needs to come up with the amount to pause a judge’s February ruling in the New York civil fraud case. Trump said on his social media platform Tuesday (19 March) that he could be forced to sell his properties at “fire sale prices” to generate the money.
How rich is Donald Trump? What is the case and how can the former president raise the money? Let’s take a closer look.
Donald Trump’s wealth
According to Forbes’ February estimates, Trump’s real net worth is $2.6 billion, a fall from the $3 billion wealth pegged in 2022.
In 2016, the Republican leader’s worth was evaluated at $4.6 billion, CBS News reported citing Forbes.
Most of Trump’s wealth stems from his real estate, extending from residential and office buildings in New York City to golf courses and hotels all over the world.
His non-cash assets are worth $3 billion, as per Forbes estimates.
Bloomberg reports that 1290 Avenue of the Americas, an office building in New York City’s borough of Manhattan, is one of Trump’s largest assets with a $500 million stake. His Trump National Doral Miami Golf Resort is reportedly worth about $300 million.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsDuring a deposition for the civil fraud case last year, the former US president claimed he had “substantially in excess” of $400 million in cash on hand. However, this is unverified, according to Associated Press (AP).
As per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimates, Trump has liquid assets worth about $400 million.
The value of Trump Park Avenue in Manhattan is $101 million, according to a Forbes evaluation last September. Trump’s private club in Florida, Mar-a-Lago, is worth $292 million, as per the magazine. He has two homes in Virginia whose net value is $2 million.
According to Forbes’ September estimates, Trump has real estate worth $190 million outside New York City, including a luxury hotel in Las Vegas.
He also has a stake in his social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group, valued at $100 million by Forbes at the end of 2023, reported CBS News.
Trump’s New York civil fraud case
In February, New York judge Arthur Engoron ruled Trump misreported the value of his properties to obtain advantageous loan and insurance rates. He found the former president and his adult sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, liable for financial fraud .
While the judge ordered Trump to cough up $354 million in penalties plus $100m in pre-judgement interest, his sons were asked to pay $4 million each.
Trump’s lawyers have urged an appeals court to stay the February verdict, however, he has to secure a bond of $454 million by 25 March. If he fails to do so, New York’s attorney general can start collecting the amount that Trump owes to the state, reported AP.
On Monday, Trump’s lawyers told a New York court that they had approached 30 companies to back the bond but it was a “practical impossibility” due to the large sum.
Trump’s lawyers said potential underwriters were demanding cash to back the bond, not properties, CNN reported.
“[A] bond requirement of this enormous magnitude, effectively requiring cash reserves approaching $1 billion … is unprecedented,” the attorneys said, as per CBS News.
“Very few bonding companies will consider a bond of anything approaching that magnitude,” they added.
Earlier this month, the former president secured a $91.6 million bond to appeal the judgement against him in the defamation case brought by writer E Jean Carroll after she accused him of sexual abuse.
On Tuesday, the probable Republican nominee for the upcoming US presidential elections hit out at the judge who announced his civil fraud case verdict.
“Judge Engoron actually wants me to put up Hundreds of Millions of Dollars for the Right to Appeal his ridiculous decision. In other words, he is trying to take my Appellate Rights away from me,” Trump posted on his social media platform.
“I would be forced to mortgage or sell Great Assets, perhaps at Fire Sale prices, and if and when I win the Appeal, they would be gone. Does that make sense?” he was quoted as saying by ABC News.
When asked if he is confident he can fork out the sum, Trump said, “We have a lot of cash and we have a great company, but they want to take it away or at least take the cash element away. Billions of dollars in value, billions of dollars in properties. But they’d like to take the cash away so I can’t use it on the campaign.”
“We’ll see how the courts rule on it,” he said, as per AP.
What next for Donald Trump?
As per CNN, Trump and his lawyers will wait and watch if an appeals court will pause the February ruling, or allow him to pay a smaller bond of $100 million.
The former president could come into money following a likely merger between his Truth Social’s parent, Trump Media & Technology Group, and its funding partner. Trump would own at least 58 per cent of the shares in the new company, reported AP. His stake could be worth $4 billion, according to CBS News. However, he might not be able to convert the stock into cash immediately.
If he cannot secure the bond, Trump could declare bankruptcy which would stop the enforcement of the judgement.
“If he can’t post a bond or meet the appellate division’s bonding requirements, then I would expect him to file bankruptcy to take advantage of the automatic stay on collection,” Syracuse University Law Professor Gregory Germain told AP.
“But that’s a couple of chess moves away, so we will just have to see what happens.”
But this is unlikely to happen. As per CNN, Trump has privately objected to any option related to filing for bankruptcy.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has previously warned that she would seize Trump’s assets if he fails to pay the fine. “If he does not have funds to pay off the judgement, then we will seek judgement enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets,” she told ABC News in an interview last month.
The clock is ticking for Trump. He will have to find the money if he wants to save his assets.
With inputs from agencies
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