NEWSWEEK
Former President Donald Trump‘s net worth could significantly decrease because of the impact of his civil fraud trial and other legal costs he has accrued, experts said.
Trump’s net worth is not publicly known, but in a deposition last year, he described his stockpile of cash as being “substantially in excess” of $400 million. Meanwhile, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index placed his liquid assets at about $600 million and said he has a net worth of $3.1 billion. According to Forbes, Trump’s net worth stood at about $2.6 billion as of September. It’s mostly tied up in real estate, including office and residential buildings in Manhattan, golf courses and the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida.
But the billions could soon be battered as he has been hit with a series of legal cases that could culminate in the potential loss of real estate.
Newsweek reached out to a representative for Trump by email for comment.
One such case is Trump’s civil fraud trial, which Judge Arthur Engoron is expected to issue a final ruling on this week.
In September, Engoron issued a partial summary judgment in the case, which was brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling that Trump and top executives at The Trump Organization committed fraud. He held that Trump grossly inflated the value of his assets to obtain more favorable terms from lenders and insurers. Engoron will decide how much the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination will pay in damages, as well as rule on six other accusations, including falsifying business records, insurance fraud and conspiracy claims.
The lawsuit initially sought $250 million in damages, but James increased it to $370 million, plus interest. New York State mandates a 9 percent interest rate on the sum of damages, meaning the potential $370 million payment could be substantially higher, depending on whether…
