On Monday, the ex-president’s attorneys told an appellate court that he can’t find a company willing to give him a bond to cover the $464 million judgment rendered against him (and the Trump Organization and his adult sons) in a civil fraud case that, ironically, found him liable for inflating his net worth.
In their filing, Trump’s legal team said that “ongoing diligent efforts have proven that a bond in the judgment’s full amount is a ‘practical impossibility’,” adding that Team Trump has approached “about 30 surety companies through 4 separate brokers.” According to the lawyers, the only bond companies that will even entertain the possibility of covering a judgment of more than $464 million will not accept real estate as collateral and “will only accept cash or cash equivalents.” Making matters worse, Trump’s lawyers said, these companies typically “require collateral of approximately 120% of the amount of the judgment,” which “‘would require Defendants to hand over collateral in the form of cash or cash equivalents of approximately’ $557 million.” But wait, one might say: If Trump is as rich as he says he is, and his business is as successful as he has long claimed, coming up with $557 million should be no problem. But, of course, Trump isn’t as rich as he claims to be. As of last year, he was reportedly worth $