Donald Trump may face a fine of $250 million (£201.3 million) and a five-year ban on owning real estate in New York. This comes after a judge ruled that Trump and his associates significantly inflated their assets by up to $3.6 billion (£2.9 billion). The ruling was made in response to a civil lawsuit brought against Trump by New York’s attorney general, Letitia James. Trump’s lawyers are seeking clarity on the pre-trial ruling and maintain that the banks did not rely on the statements about the value of his assets and never complained about being misled.
The court documents reveal the main assets listed by Trump and the estimated values he claimed for them. These include his golf clubs and related real estate, with a total valuation of $1.7 billion. Trump owns or leases 12 golf and social clubs, including his well-known Mar-a-Lago estate. The district attorney accused Trump of combining the numbers for these clubs to conceal any significant changes in their individual values. The court ruled that Trump had overvalued Mar-a-Lago by as much as 2,300%, with its actual worth estimated at $75 million.
Another notable asset is Trump Tower, with a claimed valuation of $806.7 million. Trump owns the commercial space in the iconic 58-storey building, which has served as the headquarters for the Trump Organization since its opening in 1983. The court found that the Trump Organization used tactics such as inflating income figures and adding favorable projections to reach these high valuations.
Trump’s triplex apartment in Trump Tower is valued at $131 million. However, the court ruled that Trump reached this figure by falsely claiming the property was three times larger than its actual size. The court also examined 40 Wall Street, a 72-storey building bought by the Trump Organization in 1950. Trump claimed the tower was worth around $796.4 million in 2016, but the court found that this valuation could have been inflated by up to $473.9 million.
Trump Park Avenue, a building near Central Park with luxury apartments, has been valued by Trump at $135.8 million. However, the court deemed the valuations of unsold residential units within the building to be false and misleading, as they failed to account for legal restrictions that would decrease their value. Similarly, Trump’s valuation of his Seven Springs estate, consisting of two large homes and undeveloped land, was considered inaccurate by the court.
Trump also has stakes in 1290 Avenue of Americas and 555 California, valued at $645 million. The court found that Trump calculated the value of his shares without considering the nature of the agreement, resulting in false and misleading figures.
Lastly, Trump has utilized an “other assets” category in his declarations, which includes various properties and assets such as aircraft, a management company, loans to family members, and homes in different locations. Trump often groups these assets together to avoid disclosing their individual values.
The court documents did not provide an overall value for Trump’s “other assets” category.