That’s how rich the former US president is

Donald Trump was fined $83.3 million for defamation in a second trial. But how big is his net worth?

Does this punishment even affect the ex-US president? How big is his net worth?

Donald Trump’s exact net worth is difficult to determine because he has not made his finances public. Estimates vary widely. Trump’s assets apparently fell by $700 million (around €639 million) in the fall of 2022 and stood at $2.5 billion (around €2.25 billion) at the end of 2022. This comes from an estimate by the business magazine “Forbes”. There are no more current figures.

Accordingly, Trump has slipped 205 places on the magazine’s billionaires list to number 1,217. The reason is the short message service Truth Social: The social media business has so far made Trump a loss of 550 million dollars (around 505 million euros).

Trump inherited some of his fortune from his father. Fred Trump was a real estate entrepreneur in New York who also owned property in Manhattan. He left his son Donald a fortune estimated at $200 million to $300 million. Donald Trump is said to have used the inheritance as a basis for his own business activities and investments.

Debt speculation

Trump built his current fortune through various business ventures. He is active in the real estate industry, owns golf courses, hotels and brand licenses. The television show “The Apprentice” on NBC also brought him additional income from 2004 to 2017 and increased his popularity. Some of his real estate projects proved extremely successful, while others were less profitable.

Before Trump took office as US president in 2016, there was speculation that he was in significant debt, particularly related to some of his real estate projects. But these debts were secured by assets, according to US media reports. However, more detailed information about this is not publicly available.

One thing is certain: According to Forbes, Donald Trump lost around $1 billion of his fortune during his presidency. That loss was largely attributed to a decline in revenue from its real estate and hotel businesses, which were hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Many of its properties had to temporarily close or experienced a significant drop in hotel room and event bookings. The closure of its golf club in Turnberry, Scotland, due to travel restrictions also contributed to this loss.

Is Trump threatened with bankruptcy?

But the verdict in New York is not the last to impose financial burdens on Trump. The Republican also faces a civil fraud lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. In September, Judge Arthur Engoron ruled in a partial summary judgment that Trump and senior executives of the Trump Organization committed fraud. He argued that the former president greatly inflated the value of his assets to obtain more favorable terms from lenders and insurers.

As the trial progresses, it remains to be seen how much damages the Republican will have to pay. In addition, six other charges must be decided, including falsification of business documents, insurance fraud and conspiracy charges.

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, a law professor at Stetson University College of Law, told US magazine Newsweek that a combination of this case and the Carroll case could trigger a bankruptcy. However, it is questionable whether Trump would make this official in the middle of the election campaign. In addition, he would have to disclose his finances in bankruptcy proceedings. However, US Attorney Bradley Moss told the magazine that bankruptcy was unlikely because Trump still had assets.