Although he didn't go to prison and has not lost momentum in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, the jury's verdict in last week's civil libel trial still hits Donald J. Trump where it hurts: in his wallet. dealt a blow.
A jury's decision to award $83.3 million to E. Jean Carroll is an inconvenience for the former president, who could soon face another hefty penalty in a civil fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. It was decided at a perfect time. Trump and his family business are bracing for the judge in the case to impose penalties that could reach hundreds of millions of dollars in the coming weeks.
Together, these rulings could deliver a punitive one-two punch to the former president, representing a financial threat unlike anything he has experienced in decades.
For a man who estimates his net worth (which is the subject of much debate) to be in the billions of dollars, the payout is hardly enough to raise fears of bankruptcy. And unlike his four criminal charges, they do not threaten his freedom. But they could erode some of his financial cushion and force him to sell various assets, according to a review of his financial records by the New York Times and interviews with people close to him. It shows that there is a gender.
Both penalties would also strike at the core of Mr. Trump's identity and ego, testing his approach to dealing with legal crises. For years, he has portrayed himself as an upstart tycoon who can bend the justice system in his favor. And as the cases against him mount, he has sought to obscure his various legal issues into what he baselessly describes as a “witch hunt” by his political opponents.
“The Trump company is not going to be destroyed by a series of criminal cases,” said Stephen M. Cohen, a former federal prosecutor and executive in the attorney general's office who now teaches corporate law at New York Law School. he says. . “The Trump company will be torn apart by civil litigation and is at risk of collapsing at some point.”
The former president was furious, calling the sentence against Carroll, the author Trump defamed, “absolutely ridiculous!”
Mr. Trump's press secretary, Stephen Chan, did not go into details about how Mr. Trump would fund the Carroll decision or any possible penalties in the civil fraud trial.
He said Trump had built a “hugely successful and unparalleled business” even before he was elected.
“President Trump did nothing wrong, so the unjust verdict will be appealed and all the rumors will be overturned,” he said.
Trump took aim at the attorney general's accusations of inflating his net worth in a social media post on Sunday, saying, “I'm worth far more than what's on my financial statements.” I wrote it.
High legal costs are not a new reality for the notoriously litigious Trump, but they have never been this high.
He has led a political action committee, originally created with donations raised from false claims of massive fraud in the 2020 election, to be used by him and some others in the criminal case against him. It has been used to pay most of the witnesses' legal costs. But some campaign finance experts believe he could use it to finance the Carroll verdict, but it would only cover a portion of the amount set by the jury.
That leaves the prospect that Mr. Trump will have to come out of his own pocket to pay Mr. Carroll and the state of New York.
People close to Mr. Trump, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Mr. Trump's finances, insist that Mr. Trump has the funds to cover two major payments. And in a deposition last year regarding James' case, Trump said he had $400 million in cash available.
The Times reviewed several years of Trump's financial statements and court documents revealing his finances, but could not independently verify these claims. Mr. Trump's family company is privately held and is not required to file detailed public reports with regulators.
And the latest financial disclosures presidential candidates are required to submit include ranges rather than specific numbers.
Still, public records and interviews with people familiar with the finances show that Trump has enough cash, or financial market investments that can be converted into cash, to cover the $83.3 million he currently owes. provides a snapshot that suggests that Mr. Carol.
The attorney general's potential punishment could be a different story.
James is seeking $370 million. Judge Arthur F. Engoron was sympathetic to her claims throughout the months-long trial.
If Mr. Trump suddenly finds himself hundreds of millions of dollars in debt, he may have to sell much of his investment portfolio and other assets.
As Mr. Trump was about to enter the White House, Mr. Trump's longtime chief financial officer, Allen H. Weisselberg, prepared a memo indicating that the Trump Organization was running out of money. The amount was $60 million, including more than $26 million in partnerships that he could not touch.
During his time in office, Mr. Trump held between $75 million and $93 million in cash and “cash equivalents,” depending on the year, according to annual financial statements filed by his companies with lenders. (These statements were released as part of Ms. James' case.)
Since then, Mr. Trump's company has sold off some once-valuable assets, including the license to operate his golf club in the Bronx and the lease for a hotel in Washington that Mr. Trump controlled. Proceeds from the sale of the hotel alone totaled $131.4 million before taxes, after paying off the mortgage and other investors, according to documents filed in James' case.
In Trump's post-presidential life, his business, the Trump Organization, has entered into new partnerships with foreign partners, including a Saudi-backed golf venture and a Saudi-based real estate company, to build a housing and golf complex. Signed a contract. In Oman.
It's unclear what his company did with the money. It's unclear whether that money is in bank accounts, invested in the stock market or used to fund Mr. Trump's various businesses, many of which have been losing money for years.
For now, Mr. Trump is appealing both cases, but he does not have to pay Mr. Carroll or the state of New York immediately.
He could pay into the court system, which would hold the funds while the appeal is pending. That's what he did last year when a jury ordered Carroll to pay $5 million in a related case.
Alternatively, Trump could try to secure an appeal bond that would eliminate the need to pay the entire amount upfront. This method essentially assures Carroll and James that Mr. Trump has the money to pay them, but that they cannot collect the money while Mr. Trump's appeal is heard. It turns out.
But securing such bonds would require finding a company willing to issue them at a time when Mr. Trump faces a major legal crisis.
And even if he does secure guaranteed money, it probably won't be cheap. Legal experts say bail will likely be 110 percent of the sentence, or about $92 million in Carroll's case. Mr. Trump would also have to pay a large premium to the bond companies and provide substantial collateral above what he owes. He will also owe interest to Mr. Carroll and the state of New York.
Legal experts said Mr. Trump may not be able to pledge his real estate as collateral. Instead, bond companies may require pledges of liquid assets such as certificates of deposit or government bonds, experts said.
“This is no walk in the park,” said Stuart Levine, a Baltimore business lawyer who regularly handles various types of bonds for clients, after reviewing Trump's latest financial disclosure forms. he said.
Trump's net worth has long been a source of pride for the former president, but it's also a double-edged sword.
In the final days of his recent trial, Carroll's lawyers tried to convince jurors that Trump should receive a hefty fine, but after all, it matters for someone so wealthy. There are only numerous fines.
“He says his brand alone is worth $10 billion,” Carroll's attorney, Roberta Kaplan, said in closing arguments. This is a quote from Trump himself in a deposition in the attorney general's lawsuit against him.
“He said it was the most popular brand in the world,” Kaplan continued. She rattled off the estimated value of his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida and golf resort outside Miami.
Mr. Trump's lawyer, Michael Madaio, countered that “she is not referring to personal assets,” implying that they belonged to Mr. Trump's company.
he was rejected.
Jonah E. Bromwich and William K. Rushbaum Contributed to the report.
