Two civil lawsuits involving former President Trump have been decided in quick succession, dealing a stunning blow to the real estate mogul’s fortune.
In Trump’s civil fraud case, a New York judge found the former president falsely altered his net worth in key financial statements to collect tax and insurance benefits, and awarded him approximately $355 million in penalties and interest. ordered to pay.
Trump also defamed Trump after a New York City jury last month found him defamed in 2019 by denying accusations by a longtime advice columnist that he sexually assaulted her decades earlier. , owes him more than $83 million.
Meanwhile, Trump remains committed to the 2024 presidential race as the undisputed front-runner in the Republican primary.
Here’s what we know about how much Trump owes to return to the White House and how he’ll pay it.
How much does Trump owe?
Trump was ordered Friday to pay $354.8 million for conspiring to alter his net worth to obtain tax and insurance benefits.
This amount is further amplified by pre-judgment interest on the proceeds of his alleged fraud, which, according to New York law, is 9% per year.
Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that about half of the interest associated with loan savings can be calculated starting in 2019, when the New York attorney general’s investigation began. The remainder relates to two of President Trump’s real estate sales and will be calculated starting in May 2022 and June 2023.
On the day Engoron was sentenced, Trump owed an additional $98.6 million in interest, for a total of $453.5 million.
But that number will continue to grow until President Trump pays the fine. Each day, the total amount owed by President Trump increases by more than $87,000 in interest.
As of Monday, an additional $262,506 has been added to the original amount since Friday, when the verdict was handed down.
In addition, the former president owes Carroll an additional $83.3 million, plus interest required by New York law when appealing the verdict.
When is the deadline?
Trump and his co-defendants have 30 days from the date of Engoron’s decision to appeal. Before that, he must file an undertaking that he will pay the judgment if he loses on appeal, said Will Thomas, a business law professor at the University of Michigan.
“A contract may be a full money judgment sent to the court to be held in escrow, or it may be a bond.” [or] I am surety for the total court ordered amount,” Thomas said in an email.
Will he be able to file for bankruptcy?
President Trump could file for bankruptcy himself and suspend enforcement of the judgment, but such a step is unlikely.
For a former president to file for bankruptcy, he must prove that the damages exceed his total net worth.Just Monday, he repeated claims His financial statements – documents detailing his net worth, which the attorney general has accused him of inflating – are “understated and not overstated.”
But even if the Trump Organization files for bankruptcy, Mr. Trump would still be obligated to pay under the judge’s ruling.
How much is he worth anyway?
It is well known that Trump’s net worth is unclear, but there are several estimates: forbes and bloomberg His wealth is believed to be between $2.6 billion and $3.1 billion.
How much cash President Trump has on hand is another matter. The former president himself told lawyers at the New York attorney general’s office that he had “effectively over $400 million in cash.”
President Trump: “We have a lot of cash” stated in the affidavit Last year, it claimed the numbers were “increasing very significantly every month.”
President Trump’s liquid assets, or cash and personal assets, are estimated at about $600 million.
Will he have to sell the property?
If Trump can’t find the cash to pay the heavy judgment, he may have to sell some of his valuable assets, Thomas said.
“Not only will he lose a lot of money, but he will also be in a situation where he will have to sell some of his real estate properties, which will cause quite a bit of turmoil. We might even have to sell for less than that,” Thomas said. “It’s kind of a double whammy.”
A previous ruling in which Engoron ordered Trump’s business certificates revoked for companies that profited from the fraud put at risk a number of high-profile properties owned or partially controlled by Trump and his businesses. was thought to be exposed to. But a judge reversed that decision on Friday, saying revoking Trump’s license “may indicate serious financial concerns.”
Still, Engoron said the previous order could be renewed if an independent watchdog overseeing Trump’s operations determines the company will not comply with Trump’s ruling.
Can Trump use campaign funds?
Federal election law prohibits Mr. Trump from using his campaign funds for personal purposes, meaning he cannot use them to pay off Mr. Engoron’s judgment, but Mr. Trump and his Allies say the incident is politically motivated.
It is unclear whether President Trump’s political action committee will be able to help pay the fine, given that it has already paid millions of dollars in legal fees.
“The chances of the Federal Election Commission pursuing these violations in its current configuration are not great,” Daniel Weiner, director of the Brennan Center’s elections and government program, told The Associated Press.
But even if President Trump relied on the PAC to pay the fine, it would only cover a portion of the amount he would have to pay. The Trump-aligned MAGA super PAC reported $23 million in cash on hand, according to filings released in January.
Will the RNC support his legal claims?
Trump’s campaign will likely gain even more momentum if he is officially nominated as the Republican presidential candidate and is able to jointly raise funds with the Republican National Committee (RNC).
But the big question is whether he will get help from the RNC with his legal claims.
The RNC had previously paid nearly $2 million to two companies working on Trump’s lawsuits in 2021 and 2022, but once Trump officially begins his campaign for the White House, the RNC has paid more than $2 million to the bill. Contributions have been suspended.
Earlier this month, President Trump nominated Michael Whatley to become RNC chairman and his daughter-in-law Lara Trump to become co-chairman. Both are expected to be approved by committee members in the coming months. President Trump also said his senior adviser, Chris Lacivita, will move to the RNC to oversee operations.
In a recent interview, Lara Trump vowed that if she secured the co-chair position, “every penny” from the RNC would go toward electing Trump.
Are RNC members worried?
The RNC has struggled to raise money over the past year and has been heavily criticized by the Democratic National Committee. Critics have also expressed concern that having the party pay for Mr. Trump’s legal costs will further strain the resources it can use to win on the ups and downs.
“My biggest problem is that I don’t want the RNC to become his legal defense fund,” Nikki Haley, President Trump’s only major rival, told CNN on Friday. “I don’t want the RNC to become his personal lawsuit piggy bank.”
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