Donald Trump has again claimed he is worth ‘way more than the numbers show’ as he claimed his cash and assets have been ‘extremely undervalued’.
The renewed interest in his wealth comes after a ruling on Friday in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case where he was ordered to pay $83.8million to the writer.
Trump’s focus has now shifted to his civil fraud trial in which the likely GOP nominee has been found liable on the financial fraud charges brought by Letitia James.
The fraud case accuses him of inflating the value of his properties, including his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida, to get better terms on loans from banks.
Trump has repeatedly attacked James as partisan and ‘racist’ and dismissed her valuations of his estates and businesses.
The trial’s outcome will ultimately determine whether he will face $370million in penalties and whether he will be allowed to do business in New York.
Trump has been railing on social media and at campaign rally’s for months declaring the cases against him to be ‘a witch hunt’
Trumps focus has now shifted to his civil fraud trial in which the likely Republican nominee has already been found liable on the financial fraud charges brought by New York State Attorney General Letitia James, pictured outside Trump’s fraud trial
While Trump may have enough to cover the $83 million Carroll judgment, whether he has enough to cover a possible $360 million may require him to sell some assets. Carroll is seen in the white coat, center
‘Judge Engoron valued Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, at $18 Million when it was worth, according to the Top Brokers, 50 to 100 times that amount,’ Trump has claimed
Trump estimates his net worth to be in the billions but there are mounting claims his camp is feeling the pressure from the multitude of cases against him.
The former president wrote on Truth Social on Sunday that the trials against him are a ‘HOAX’. His posts began just after 10am and continued through the afternoon.
‘My Financial Statements were extremely ‘undervalued,’ as opposed to ‘overvalued,’ which totally disproves and nullifies the New York State Attorney General’s politically biased and motivated (‘I will get Trump!’) Fake Lawsuit against me,’ Trump began.
‘In other words, I am worth Billions of Dollars more than is shown on my very Conservative Financial Statements, THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF THE A.G. WITCH HUNT!!! In addition to that, I have a 100% Disclaimer and Non-reliance Clause, stating CLEARLY that the reader must do their own analysis and due-diligence,’ he went on.
Trump’s latest tirade on Truth Social, much of it in upper case letters, contained a steady stream of his usual complaints about the trial including his declaration that the entire thing was a ‘HOAX’
Trump has clashed with Judge Arthur Engoron during the trial
‘That’s what the banks stated IN Court that they did, and were PAID IN FULL, ON TIME AND ON SCHEDULE. NO VICTIMS, ONLY SUCCESS AND PROFITS. Hopefully, Judge Engoron, who should have never taken this NON JURY Trial, or should have dismissed it long ago, will show that the New York State Judicial System is ALIVE, RESPECTED, AND WELL. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!
Trump had more to say and posted a second message with similar sentiments.
‘I have been unfairly sued by the Trump Hating Democrat Attorney General of New York State, Letitia James, over the false fact that I inflated my Financial Statements in order to borrow money from Banks, etc.
‘The Judge in the case, Arthur F. Engoron, refused to allow this case to go to the ‘Commercial Division,’ where it belongs, because he is a Trump Hater beyond even A.G. James, who campaigned against me spewing horrible inflammatory statements which are False & Defamatory. I am not even allowed a Jury!
‘The facts of this case are simple. 1) I AM WORTH MUCH MORE THAN THE NUMBERS SHOWN ON MY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. 2) I DIDN’T EVEN INCLUDE MY MOST VALUABLE ASSET, MY BRAND/GOODWILL. 3) THE BANKS WERE PAID BACK IN FULL, OFTEN EARLY, THERE WERE NO DEFAULTS, THE BANKS MADE MONEY, WERE REPRESENTED BY THE BEST LAW FIRMS, & WERE VERY ‘HAPPY.’ THERE WERE NO VICTIMS! 4) ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS THERE IS A STRONG ‘DISCLAIMER CLAUSE’ TELLING ALL NOT TO RELY ON THESE….(continued)
‘Page 2: FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. THE DISCLAIMER CLAUSE TELLS ANYONE REVIEWING THE DATA, INCLUDING FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, TO DO THEIR OWN RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS – IT IS A NON RELIANCE CLAUSE, AND COULD NOT BE MORE CLEAR. ADDITIONALLY TO MY BEING WORTH FAR MORE THAN IS SHOWN IN THE ‘FULLY DISCLAIMED’ FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, AGAIN NOT PUTTING DOWN A VALUE FOR MY BIGGEST ASSET, BRAND/GOODWILL, THE COMPANY HAS HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN CASH, AND VERY LITTLE DEBT,’ Trump wrote in upper case letters.
‘It is a great company that has been slandered and maligned by this politically motivated Witch Hunt. It is very unfair, and I call for help from the highest Courts in New York State, or the Federal System, to intercede. THIS IS NOT AMERICA!’ he continued.
Trump was not finished and proceeded to post a final message further detailing his frustration with the civil fraud trial.
The fraud case brought by James accuses Trump of inflating the value of properties, including his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, to get better terms on loans
The Seven Springs estate of President Donald Trump in North Castle, New York
‘Judge Engoron valued Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, at $18 Million when it was worth, according to the Top Brokers, 50 to 100 times that amount. He did this in order to justify the Attorney General’s Lawsuit against me in an attempt to lower my Values, likewise, other Properties.
‘My Financial Statement is very conservative (the exact opposite of what the Attorney General said). Everyone paid, No Victims (except me!), only SUCCESS. This Case should have been dismissed long ago. It is a Political Persecution. The State should get No Damages whatsoever!’
Trump had been using funds raised by a political action committee in order to pay the bulk of some of his legal fees in the cases he is facing, but it is likely only going to cover a mere fraction of what he is required to pay up following the Carroll judgment.
‘The enterprise that is Trump isn’t going to be taken down by a bunch of criminal cases. The enterprise that is Trump is going to be picked apart by these civil cases, and at some point there is a risk of collapse,’ said Steven M. Cohen, a former federal prosecutor to the New York Times.
While Trump may have enough to cover the $83 million Carroll judgment, whether he has enough to cover a possible $360 million may require him to sell some assets. Pictured, the Trump International Hotel and Tower, located at 1 Central Park West in New York City
Since leaving the White House, the Trump organization has sold an operating license at his Bronx golf club and a lease for a hotel he ran in Washington, pictured. It realized about $131 million before tax
People walk by The Trump Building office building at 40 Wall Street in New York City
Annual financial statements during his presidency detailed how the organization had somewhere between $75 million to $93 million in cash and ‘cash equivalents’. Pictured, Trump Tower, on the Fifth avenue
While Trump may have enough to cover the $83 million Carroll judgment, whether he has enough to cover a possible $360 million may require him to sell some assets.
In a deposition last year, Trump stated that he had $400 million in cash available. The true amounts are unable to be verified because Tump’s family business is a privately entity and not required to file detailed public reports with regulators.
Before Trump’s time in the White House, his chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg prepped a memo detailing how the Trump Organization was running low on cash with $60 million on hand including over $26 million tied up in a partnership.
Annual financial statements during his presidency detailed how the organization had somewhere between $75 million to $93 million in cash and ‘cash equivalents’.
Since leaving the White House, the Trump organization has sold an operating license at his Bronx golf club and a lease for a hotel he ran in Washington. It realized about $131 million before tax.
New deals have also been made overseas including with the Saudi’s for a new golf and real estate to be built in Oman.
It is not known at this stage what has become of the money and whether it is in cash or had been invested in stocks to fund Trump’s businesses.
While appealing the Carroll and civil fraud cases, Trump is not immediately required to pay either.
He could opt to deposit the funds with the court during the appeal, a strategy he employed last year in a similar case where he owed $5 million.
Another option could be to seek an appeal bond, allowing him to delay the upfront payment and ensuring the availability of funds for potential payment.
However, obtaining such a bond poses challenges given Trump’s legal situation, and if successful, it would likely be costly—approximately 110 percent of the verdict, around $92 million in the Carroll case, plus a significant premium, collateral, and interest to the parties involved.
On the final day of the Carroll trial, her lawyer convinced the jury Trump should face a steep punitive fine. Afterall, only such a massive figure would hurt such a wealthy man.
‘He has said that his brand alone is worth $10 billion. He said it’s the hottest brand in the world,’ Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan said to the jury.
Trump’s boasting of his wealth may yet come back to haunt him.