Trump likely to 'liquidate' significant real estate assets to pay massive civil judgments

30 January 2024

The week after being ordered to pay writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in damages in her second defamation lawsuit against him, former President Donald Trump is facing a different civil judgement that could possibly cost him even more.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James has asked for $370 million in her civil fraud case against Trump. It remains to be seen what amount Justice Arthur Engoron will decide on, but he has indicated that a decision is possible by Wednesday, January 31.

The $83.3 million Trump owes Carroll is in addition to the $5 million a jury awarded Carroll in 2023 in her first civil defamation case against Trump.

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In an article published on January 29, Washington Post reporters Shayna Jacobs, Devlin Barrett, Josh Dawsey and Isaac Stanley-Becker examine Trump's financial state in light of the Carroll judgements and the decision Trump awaits in James' civil fraud lawsuit.

"Any estimate of Trump's worth is difficult to corroborate, but recent civil judgments are unlikely to bankrupt him," the journalists explain. "As a privately held company, the Trump Organization is not required to report its earnings. And many of the assets included in Trump's personal financial disclosure — required of him because he's once again a presidential candidate — are reported in ranges."

Jacobs, Barrett, Dawsey and Stanley-Becker continue, "In the years after he left the White House, Trump's company has developed new revenue streams. It has sold off some valuable holdings, including the lease to the Washington hotel it once controlled, and secured lucrative deals, including for the construction of a golf resort overlooking the Gulf of Oman."

Interviewed on condition of anonymity, a source close to Trump told the Post that he will probably need to liquidate some of his assets in order to afford the $83.3 million Carroll judgement.

Different sources have offered different estimates of Trump's net worth.

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index, in November 2023, estimated Trump's net worth to be roughly $3.1 billion, with around $600 million in cash assets — although Forbes gave a $2.6 billion estimate two months earlier.

"The Trump-aligned Save America PAC, which footed many of Trump's legal bills, is unlikely to be able to afford $83 million," Jacobs, Barrett, Dawsey and Stanley-Becker note. "It had just a few million in a recent disclosure…. Trump's present finances are likely to be questioned and debated further when New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, who oversaw the civil fraud trial, publishes his verdict."

Read the Washington Post's full report at this link (subscription required).

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