Will Donald Trump end up broke? The question now arises, as the financial concerns of the former president and new candidate accumulate. Cornered by the courts, he must find more than half a billion dollars by March 25. Last month, he was ordered to pay more than 450 million – an amount which increases with daily interest – for illegally inflating the value of his assets for years. A few weeks earlier, he lost another trial, this time for defamation, against former journalist E. Jean Carroll and had to pay $92 million in damages. Last year, he had already been found guilty of sexual assault and defamatory remarks against her, and had to pay her $5 million. These colossal sums risk dealing a blow to his fortune and his reputation as a business genius. Donald Trump brags about owning $10 billion. But his finances have always been opaque, and in reality his assets would be closer to 2 billion.
The Republican leader appealed in both cases and hopes to reduce the amount of the penalties. In the meantime, as required by law, he must provide the entire amount. However, he seems to have difficulty raising funds, due to lack of liquidity, because his investments are mainly concentrated in real estate. He had to call on Chubb, a major insurance company, which provided a payment guarantee for the $92 million in E’s lawsuit. Jean Carroll, in exchange for a percentage. And must now look for a guarantor for the 450 million he received for financial fraud. The case promises to be more complicated: the amount is considerable, Donald Trump must provide part of the bail himself, and he has a reputation as a bad payer… His lawyers asked the judge for additional time. That the latter refused.
The ex-president could, of course, sell some of his buildings. However, the timing is hardly propitious, with the office real estate crisis. He could also go bankrupt. He did this four times for his businesses, but never on a personal level. Another solution, one of his billionaire friends could bail him out in exchange for favors once he is re-elected. In 2018, Trump named Evan Greenberg, the boss of insurer Chubb, a long-time partner, to the White House trade advisory committee. Elon Musk, who recently visited the Republican candidate, assured that he did not intend to finance his campaign. However, there are other ways to help. “Elon Musk said he didn’t give him money, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t sign the guarantee” (of payment from Chubb), slipped Andrew Weissmann, professor of law at the New York University, on MSNBC. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonpartisan group, said the damages “are an unprecedented chance to buy influence with a leading presidential candidate.”
Sale of sneakers in his name
To raise funds, Donald Trump no longer knows what to invent. Recently, he promoted a gold sneaker model with his name on it. But, even at $399 each, he’s going to have to sell a lot of them to pay off his debts. In recent months alone, after losing his cases, he has had to pay nearly $400,000 to New York Times and almost a million dollars to Hillary Clinton. And he faces many more legal actions. Not to mention his astronomical lawyer bills. So far, the Republican candidate has used donations collected for his campaign by his political action committees to finance his legal costs. He could have recourse to pay his damages. It is also not impossible that he draws on the coffers of the Republican Party, of which he has just taken control by appointing his daughter-in-law as leader. His supporters also created a page on the fundraising platform GoFundMe, which raised just under a million and a half.
Once again, he must not find a way to escape justice. In the meantime, journalist E. Jean Carroll, whom he continues to attack, has threatened to sue him a third time for defamation. At this rate, she will end up being responsible for her own ruin!
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