Trump’s deadline to stump up cash

Donald Trump’s reputation as a billionaire businessman is at stake as he races to raise a bond of $US454m ($694m) to stop the New York courts seizing some of his prized assets.

Donald Trump at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday. Picture: AFP

Donald Trump’s reputation as a billionaire businessman is at stake as he races to raise a bond of $US454m ($694m) to stop the New York courts seizing some of his prized assets in his most ­costly legal battle to date.

The bond is a requirement to appeal against the penalty ­imposed on him for lying about the values of his assets over several years.

Mr Trump’s wealth has long been the subject of speculation. Forbes estimated that he was worth $US2.6bn in September, although this does not take into account the $US3bn or so he is expected to earn from the flotation this week of Truth Social, his social media platform. He is likely to be barred from selling or borrowing against the shares for six months.

New York Attorney-General Letitia James and other legal ­experts have consistently claimed Mr Trump is able to raise the money. However, in a court filing last week, his lawyers ­argued it was “not possible under the circumstances” to pay the ­appeal bond. Mr Trump has insisted he has the money “in cash”.

Tuesday morning AEDT is the end of the 30-day grace ­period to lodge a bond or cash to put the New York civil judgment on hold while Mr Trump appeals against it. He has been scrambling to find a way of meeting the bond conditions, which his lawyers said involved putting up 120 per cent of the penalty, ­including nearly $US10m in fines given to his two eldest sons, as collateral for a bond underwriter. Unless the bond is paid, Mr Trump will become liable for $US355m in fines and almost $US100m in interest, and Ms James is thought to be preparing to take property to cover it.

Former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann said that one potential problem facing the former president was that much of his real estate assets may be heavily mortgaged. “He says he’s worth so much, but all of these properties are used to back loans from other institutions,” he told MSNBC.

“He may not actually have all that much money, either cash on hand or property, that isn’t ­already pledged for other loans.”

Mr Trump continues to ­appeal to the court of public opinion with social media posts attacking Ms James, as well as judge Arthur Engoron, who brought him, his company and his two adult sons to book.

The former president owns 11 golf resorts in six US states, as well as two in Scotland and one in Ireland. The Scottish and Irish courses have declared total ­losses of $US100m, more than their combined value of $US94m, even if they are mortgage-free.

An estimated $US62m of debt is held against his 11 US golf courses. They are valued at $US323m but made combined losses of $US315m up to 2018, ­according to Forbes.

Also in play is his New York property portfolio, worth $US690m. It includes Trump Tower near Central Park. He also has a 30 per cent stake in 1290 Avenue of the Americas, which is worth $US1.9bn but against which Mr Trump is estimated to hold $US950m of debt.

Ms James has also filed the judgment in Westchester County, the location of Trump Seven Springs and Trump National Golf Club Westchester.

There is Trump property in Florida too, including his Palm Beach estate and primary residence, Mar-a-Lago.

Its value was one of the central elements of the case, with Mr Trump claiming it was worth up to $US1bn. Property agents in Florida say the estate could fetch $US600m on the open market.

There are other smaller properties, an $US11m home in the Caribbean and three aircraft.

The Times