Trump can raise the money for an appeal without liquidating his assets

The following has nothing to do with whether I support or oppose Donald Trump. It is simply one approach to problem-solving.

In a recent civil fraud case in New York, Trump was found liable for deceiving banks about his net worth. Justice Arthur F. Engoron’s ruling imposes a penalty of nearly $355 million plus interest, potentially depleting Trump’s available cash. The judge’s decision also bars Trump from serving in top roles at any New York company for three years, including portions of his own Trump Organization.

The judgment also imposed a two-year ban on the former president’s adult sons, along with more than $4 million each in damages. The lawsuit, brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, accused Trump and his family businesses of overstating his net worth.

Trump has vowed to appeal the decision. He and his co-defendants will likely need to come up with the full judgment amount of $355 million, with potentially more in interest, to move forward with an appeal. As he cannot apply for loans from any financial institution registered in the state for three years, Trump must come up with the scratch.

On top of Engoron’s verdict, he is currently on the line for some $90 million to E. Jean Carroll, well, because.

Image: A Donald Trump coin by AI.

We are at $440 million, not including interest on the NYC fraud case. That can increase the total by another $100 million. So let’s add pocket change and put the number at $550,000,000.

Can he afford it? Politico thinks asset liquidation is the only answer:

Trump’s company isn’t public, and he has famously refused to disclose his tax returns, so his cash flow situation is shrouded in mystery.

Even if he has $440 million in cash on hand — and it’s far from clear that he does — paying the judgments could wipe out his accounts, since Trump himself has placed his cash reserves in the ballpark of that amount.

Trump claimed in a deposition last year that he had “substantially in excess” of $400 million in cash on hand.

“We have, I believe, 400 plus and going up very substantially every month,” he said, adding: “My biggest expense is probably legal fees, unfortunately.”

But it’s unclear whether that number is accurate. That deposition, after all, was part of the very lawsuit in which a judge found that Trump has repeatedly inflated his net worth.

If he doesn’t have enough cash on hand, would he have to sell properties?

Trump would likely have to sell something, although it wouldn’t necessarily have to be property. He could sell investments or other assets.

Not so fast. Maybe not.

To quote Tevye, “If I were a rich man…” and

• I had to come up with $450 million and
• I was a disruptor and
• I was an innovator and
• I could not borrow from some of the biggest lenders in the world located in NYC and
• I did not want to sell my properties outright and
• I wanted to give my supporters a return on their investment in me

I would consider tokenizing some of my assets to allow the public to participate and, potentially, profit. (This is different from crowdsourcing.)

Mar-a-Lago, just one of 45’s properties, is estimated to be worth between $4.375 billion and $17.5 billion.

Though Trump is not a proponent of centralized digital bank currencies, tokenized Real World Assets (“RWAs”) are a different animal. For simplicity, consider them as shares of ownership kept on a blockchain that can be freely traded over centralized and decentralized exchanges.

There are many advantages to this system:

• It lowers costs by removing middlemen like lawyers, brokers, banks, etc.
• It allows fast, efficient, 24/7 trading of items that traditionally could only be done during “working hours.”
• It lowers the barrier to entry and creates more liquidity
• Its transparent process increases trust and accountability for traders

Further, RWAs are bound by certain contractual agreements that are automatically incorporated into the token’s purchase conditions via a “smart contract.” Thus, the Trump Org can mint and sell tokens with certain obligations to the holders that must be fulfilled, e.g., the holder surrenders it after a 30-year lifespan with a guaranteed interest rate plus any appreciation in the coin’s value at the time of surrender. (This is an example and should not be considered what would actually be smart contracted. The point, it is a contract and can include whatever the Trump Org decides.)

There are some risks, of course. But the absence of lawyers, banks, and middlemen, along with minimal to no entry barriers, a worldwide customer base, and more, might be worth a go. Perhaps $DJT45 or $DJT4547 will become the altcoin of the realm.

(IMPORTANT NOTE: There are $DJT and $MAGA altcoins out there. The Trumps do not support them.)

Michael Applebaum, MD, JD, FCLM, is a medical doctor and attorney in Chicago.