Trump has to pay $355 million in the New York civil fraud case: Does he have enough money?

The civil trial for corporate fraud against Donald Trump has come to an end. After just over a month after final arguments were presented, Judge Arthur Engoron has issued his decision on the case and has ordered the former president to pay $370 million in damages.

The fine is in addition to the $83.3 million that Trump must pay in the defamation case against writer E. Jean Carroll. The former president faces four other major legal problems as his campaign for the 2024 presidency continues.

Regarding the civil fraud trial, Trump maintained on several occasions that his financial statements were conservative and described the accusations as “politically motivated.”

Can Donald Trump pay $450 million?

According to Forbes, Trump has a net worth of $2.6 billion. However, Trump only has an estimated $426 million in cash and liquid assets that would presumably be used for his legal payments. The fine of $370 million plus the $83 million that must be paid to Carroll exceeds this amount, which would represent a significant blow to the billionaire’s finances.

“Something is going to have to be sold or realised in order to get the money to pay for that kind of cost,” said William Thomas, a professor at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

The leading Republican presidential candidate has claimed to have enough money. In a statement in the civil fraud case he said he had “substantially more than $400 million in cash” and that that amount was increasing “very substantially each month”. No media outlet has been able to confirm this number.