Keeping track of former President Donald Trump's legal troubles is much harder than tracking his net worth. Though his social media business wiped hundreds of millions of dollars from his vast fortune earlier this year, Trump never had to worry too much about money. With an estimated net worth in the billions, there's no question about his personal wealth.
As CNN reports, the former president has been charged with dozens of felony charges in four cases, including two federal, one in New York state and one in Georgia related to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Both federal charges of taking and mishandling classified documents after leaving office and a New York City indictment alleging he concealed hush money he paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels are scheduled to go to trial in 2024.
But it's a separate civil fraud trial that opened in New York on October 2 that has been making headlines recently. The lawsuit, filed by state Attorney General Letitia James, accuses Trump, his two adult sons, his companies, and top executives of fraudulently inflating asset values to obtain tax benefits and favorable loan terms.
According to CNBC, Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron today threatened President Trump with possible prison time for “blatantly violating” a partial gag order in his $250 million fraud trial in New York.
The indictments come as Trump seeks reelection in 2024. Trump and most Republicans have decried the various charges as politically motivated.
As legal costs continue to pile up, it's unclear how much (if any) Trump is paying out of his own pocket. As GOBankingRates previously reported, much of the money donated to Trump's Save America political action committee is being used to pay legal costs, as backed up by interim filings with the FEC, which show the PAC has spent roughly $25 million in the first half of 2023, with $21.6 million of that going to legal costs.
Newsweek reported that Trump's campaign funds could be frozen if federal prosecutors find he misused funds, but for now there's nothing to stop Trump from using his PAC's money to pay for his own and his allies' legal costs, meaning his legal troubles probably won't have a significant impact on his net worth, although other factors are at play.
Donald Trump is worth $2.6 billion
A year ago, Forbes estimated Trump's net worth at $3 billion, but that figure dropped to $2.5 billion in the magazine's April 2023 list of the world's richest people. Trump is worth $2.6 billion, according to Forbes' Real-Time Billionaires List.
Trump's social media businesses, which include Truth Social, were once estimated to be worth $730 million but are now valued at less than $100 million, according to Forbes. Trump announced the creation of the platform in October 2021 and it launched in February 2022. Truth Social has about 2 million active users, according to Search Logistics.
Trump will fall off the Forbes 400 list in 2023 and is the 1,182nd richest person in the world as of October 23, 2023.
Before the latest drop, Trump's fortunes had rebounded after he lost roughly half his net worth during his presidency when organizations cut ties with him and his real estate holdings. Forbes magazine put his net worth at $4.5 billion in 2016 and $2.1 billion in 2020.
According to Forbes, much of his current wealth is invested in New York real estate, but property prices have struggled to recover since the coronavirus pandemic forced people to work from home.
Donald Trump's business beginnings
Donald J. Trump was the oldest person to be sworn in as President of the United States at the time of his inauguration. He was 70 years and 220 days old on January 20, 2017 (the title is currently held by President Joe Biden, who was 78 years old at the time of his inauguration). Trump defeated many contenders as the Republican candidate in the 2016 presidential election, defeating Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. His term ended on January 20, 2021, when Biden began his term as the 46th President of the United States.
Trump was born into a wealthy family and inherited approximately $40 million from his late father, Fred Trump, a real estate developer. In 1971, Donald Trump became head of what would become known as the Trump Organization.
Trump has used his income and legacy to develop more than 500 companies. The business tycoon has investments in luxury golf courses, skyscrapers, television shows, casinos, books, merchandise and now social media.
Donald Trump's business success
In 1980, Trump inked a deal with Hyatt, New York City and the Commodore Hotel, an unprofitable hotel near Grand Central Terminal, to win the rights to renovate the struggling hotel and rename it the Grand Hyatt. The property was an instant success, and Trump became one of the region's best-known real estate developers.
In 1984, Trump completed construction on the 68-story Trump Tower, which still serves as the headquarters for the Trump Organization today. The building features a 60-foot waterfall and originally housed five floors of retail and restaurants.
Trump owns a number of successful businesses and properties, including Trump Place, a 92-acre luxury residential community. Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago includes a hotel, condominiums, and numerous restaurants and shops. The success of Wollman Rink, a Central Park staple, can be credited to Trump, who renovated it in the 1980s. The Trump Organization operated it for several years under a contract with the City of New York.
However, following the attack on the U.S. Capitol, New York City announced that it would cut off its business ties with Trump. On January 13, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city would terminate three contracts with the Trump Organization and cease operations of the carousel in Manhattan's Central Park, two skating rinks, and a golf course in the Bronx.
And in January 2021, the PGA of America stripped Trump's golf course in Bedminister, New Jersey, of the honor of hosting the 2022 PGA Championship. In Europe, golf organizers announced that Trump's golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, was not in the running to host the British Open “for the time being.”
Donald Trump's failed businesses
Donald Trump has had some big business wins, but he's also had some big losses.
In 1988, Trump spent $365 million to buy a fleet of Boeing 727s and build landing pads in Boston, New York City and Washington, D.C. He also bought the rights to put his name on the planes, but his attempt to offer a luxury flying experience under the name Trump Shuttle failed and the company was dissolved.
The banks that had backed Trump's investments provided a $65 million bailout in new loans and credit in 1990. Trump's famed Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, went bankrupt in 1991, and Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts filed for bankruptcy in 2004. In 2009, the company now called Trump Entertainment Resorts filed for bankruptcy again.
One of Trump's most famous business failures is Trump University, an unaccredited online institution that opened in 2005 and closed in 2010. Three lawsuits over Trump University dogged his 2016 presidential campaign, alleging that the institution defrauded students out of tens of thousands of dollars. Trump settled the lawsuits for $25 million, though he did not admit to wrongdoing.
Donald Trump's wife and family
Donald Trump has been married three times. He was with his first wife, Ivana, from 1977 to 1992. The couple have three children together: Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric. The three oldest Trump children, along with Ivanka's husband, real estate investor and developer Jared Kushner, were heavily involved in their father's presidency.
Trump married Marla Maples in December 1993, two months after she gave birth to their daughter, Tiffany, and the couple divorced in 1999.
Trump has been married to his current wife, former First Lady Melania Trump, since 2005. Melania has an estimated net worth of $50 million. She is the mother of Trump's youngest child, Barron, who was born in March 2006.
Donald Trump's Lifestyle
Before moving into the White House, Donald, Melania and Barron Trump lived in a three-story penthouse in Manhattan's Trump Tower, where they enjoyed an indoor fountain and doors adorned with diamonds and gold, Business Insider reported.
In October 2019, he filed the paperwork to officially move his permanent residence to Florida, which Forbes speculates may be due to the state's more favorable tax and financial laws.
Among Trump's estates is Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, where Trump spent 25 of his first 100 days in office and where he currently lives with his wives Melania and Barron. The exclusive club is valued at $300 million, according to Forbes magazine, and sits on 17 acres of prized South Florida land. Trump purchased the mansion, which boasts 58 bedrooms, 33 bathrooms, 12 fireplaces and three bunkers, for the bargain price of $10 million in 1985.
Before he had access to Air Force One, Trump shuttled between campaign headquarters in a $100 million Boeing 757 with gold seatbelts. Trump's luxury car collection includes a Rolls Royce, a 1997 electric blue Lamborghini Diablo and a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.
It's unclear what's currently in his Mar-a-Lago garage, but Trump barely needs anything other than a golf cart to get around the property. Former presidents are only allowed to drive on private property, not on public roads, according to Reader's Digest. Instead, the paper reports, they are driven by Secret Service agents who are “trained in evasive driving.”
Trump's 2024 presidential election
On November 15, 2022, the former president announced from his Mar-a-Lago home that he would seek reelection in 2024 following disappointing midterm election results for the Republican Party. According to Time magazine, being indicted and potentially convicted would not prevent him from becoming president again, because the Constitution does not bar felons from holding public office.
David Nadel, Jamie Farkas and Vance Cariaga contributed reporting to this story.
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