Donald Trump's Net Worth Could Suffer Body Blow

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 the payment is backdated to when James started her investigation in 2018.

Mark Shanahan, who teaches American politics at the University of Surrey in the U.K., said Trump's net worth could be substantially impacted by the civil fraud ruling.

"None of us really know Trump's net worth, but it's realistic to believe it could take a 15-20 percent hit due to the fines set to be imposed by the New York courts," he told Newsweek.

"Even if he appeals the judgments handed down to him, he will have to put a significant amount in escrow, and it won't be his to use."

However, he said Trump will likely bounce back.

"But Trump's wealth has always oscillated," Shanahan said. "He has lost vast amounts of money on everything from casinos to his airline via everything from branded vodka to steak knives. But he has always bounced back. The 45th president turned his time in the White House into a major money-making operation, and even today from Mar-a-Lago, he shows no signs in slowing down in his pursuit of greenbacks.

"None of us will probably ever know how much of his wealth is real and how much is inflated opinion, but there always appears to be someone willing to back him, bail him out or advance a loan. While confidence in Trump the brand may wane, that can't be said for confidence in the individual."

Richard Bensel, a professor of American politics at Cornell University, told Newsweek that if Trump has to sell his New York holdings it will be a "significant loss" but won't "seriously impair" his financial situation.

"Donald Trump's main source of income comes from his real estate holdings and the sale of his name to other companies [usually hotels, golf courses and the like]," Bensel said. "Neither of these sources of wealth are easily quantified because they are often heavily mortgaged in the case of his holdings and subject to public reputation in the case of his name 'brand.'

"We should, for that reason, not focus on his tangible wealth but on his cash flow with respect to income streams from these things. The forced sale of his New York holdings, if it comes to that, will entail a significant loss, but I do not think it will seriously impair Trump's financial situation."

While the New York case's financial penalty has not been decided, one already-established drain on the former president's finances is the damages he was ordered to pay in a defamation case brought by E. Jean Carroll. In January, a New York City jury said Trump should pay $83.3 million in damages to the former journalist for statements made in 2019. He said she was lying about allegations that he sexually assaulted her inside a Manhattan department store dressing room in the 1990s. That amount includes $7.3 million in compensatory damages, $11 million for reputational repair and $65 million in punitive damages.

Trump was previously ordered to pay Carroll $5 million in damages last year in another civil defamation trial stemming from his denial of her claims in 2022. He has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing.

Experts told Newsweek last month that the payments to Carroll could cause Trump to go bankrupt. Others told Newsweek it could create liquidity problems for him. It is expected that Trump will appeal Engoron's ruling, creating even more expenses, as will defending the four criminal indictments he is facing.

On Thursday, former White House Director of Communications Anthony Scaramucci said on X, formerly Twitter: "Trump is out of money which is why he is going hard at Ronna Romney [McDaniel] so he can take over the RNC treasury."

Reports emerged last week that longtime RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, niece of Utah Senator Mitt Romney, would be stepping down following a period of extended criticism from Trump and his loyalists.