The $83 million verdict renews the spotlight on Trump's finances

He didn't go to jail and hasn't lost his grip on the Republican presidential nomination race, but a jury's verdict in a civil defamation lawsuit last week hit Donald J. Trump where it hurts: his wallet.

The jury's decision to award E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million came at an inopportune time for the former president, who may soon face another major fine in a civil fraud case brought by the New York attorney general Letitia James. Mr Trump and his family business are bracing themselves for a judge to impose a sentence in that case in the coming weeks that could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars.

Together, the sentences could deliver a punitive one-two punch to the former president, a financial threat unlike anything he has faced in decades.

The payouts would hardly raise the specter of bankruptcy for a man who estimates his fortune – the subject of much debate – in the billions. And they pose no risk to his freedom, unlike his four criminal charges. But they could erode some of his financial cushion and force him to sell several assets, according to a review of his financial records in the New York Times and interviews with people close to him.

Both sentences will also strike at the core of Trump's identity – and his ego – and test his handling of legal crises. For years he has portrayed himself as a self-made mogul who can bend the legal system in his favor. And as the cases against him have piled up, he has tried to blur his varied legal troubles into what he baselessly describes as a “witch hunt” led by his political opponents.

“The company that is Trump is not going to be brought down by a slew of criminal cases,” said Steven M. Cohen, a former federal prosecutor and top official in the attorney general's office who now teaches business law at New York Law School. . “The enterprise that is Trump will be torn apart by these civil cases, and at some point there is a risk of collapse.”

The verdict against Ms. Carroll, a writer who was vilified by Trump, infuriated the former president, who called it “absolutely ridiculous!” mentioned.

Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Mr. Trump, did not elaborate on the details of how Mr. Trump would finance the Carroll verdict or the potential punishment for a civil fraud case.

He said Mr Trump had built a “highly successful, unparalleled company” before he was elected.

“The unjust rulings will be appealed, and all the hoaxes will be defeated, because President Trump did nothing wrong,” he said.

In a social media post on Sunday, Trump addressed the attorney general's accusation that he had inflated his wealth, writing: “I AM WORTH MUCH MORE THAN THE FIGURES SHOWN IN MY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.”

High legal costs are not a new reality for the notoriously litigious Mr. Trump, but never before has the number been so high.

He has used a political action committee, originally set up with donations from his false claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election, to pay for most of his and some witnesses' legal fees in the criminal cases against him. But while some campaign finance experts think he could use it to help finance the Carroll verdict, it could only cover a fraction of the amount the jury set.

That leaves Mr. Trump with the prospect of having to dig into his own pockets to pay Ms. Carroll and New York State.

People close to Mr Trump, who requested anonymity to discuss his financial situation, claim he has the money to cover the two big payouts. And in an impeachment last year, Mr. Trump declared for Ms. James' case that he had $400 million in cash available.

The Times — which reviewed several years of Mr. Trump's financial statements and court documents that shed light on his finances — was unable to independently verify these claims. Mr. Trump's family business is a private company that is not required to file detailed public reports with regulators.

And his most recent financial disclosure, which he must file as a presidential candidate, contains ranges rather than specific figures.

Still, publicly available data and interviews with people with knowledge of his finances provide a snapshot suggesting that Mr. Trump has more than enough cash, or investments in the financial markets that can be converted into cash, to supply the 83.3 million dollars he now owes. Mrs. Caroll.

The attorney general's possible punishment could be a different story.

Ms. James is seeking $370 million. The judge, Arthur F. Engoron, has been sympathetic to her case throughout the months-long trial.

If Trump suddenly owes hundreds of millions of dollars, he may have to sell much of his investment portfolio or other assets.

As Mr. Trump entered the White House, Allen H. Weisselberg, his longtime chief financial officer, drafted a memo that showed the Trump Organization was running low on cash. It had $60 million, including more than $26 million tied up in a partnership he couldn't get a handle on.

For much of his presidency, annual financial statements that Trump's company submitted to its lenders showed that he had anywhere from $75 million to $93 million in cash and “cash equivalents,” depending on the year. (These statements were released as part of Ms. James' case).

Since then, Mr. Trump's company has sold off some once-prized assets: the operating license of his golf club in the Bronx and a lease he managed for his hotel in Washington. His proceeds from the hotel sale alone, after paying off a mortgage and other investors, amounted to $131.4 million before taxes, according to a document filed in Ms. James' case.

In Mr. Trump's post-presidential life, his company, the Trump Organization, has also struck new deals with foreign partners, including a Saudi-backed golf company and a Saudi-based real estate company, to build a residential and golf complex. in Oman.

It's unclear what his company did with that money — whether it was cash in a bank account, invested in the stock market or used to fund Trump's various businesses, many of which have lost money over the years.

Although he is appealing both cases, Trump is not required to immediately pay Ms. Carroll and the state of New York for now.

He could pay the court, which will hold the money while the appeal is pending. This is what he did last year when a jury ordered him to pay Ms. Carroll $5 million in a related case.

Alternatively, Mr. Trump could try to secure an occupational bond, which would avoid him having to pay the full amount up front. This method would essentially assure Ms. Carroll and Ms. James that Mr. Trump has the money to pay, but prevent them from collecting while his appeal is being heard.

But to secure such a bond, Trump would have to find a company willing to issue the bond at a time when he faces significant legal jeopardy.

And if he does secure the bond, it likely won't be cheap. The bond's value will likely be 110 percent of the judgment, so in the case involving Ms. Carroll, about $92 million, legal experts said. Mr. Trump will also have to pay the bail bond company a significant premium and provide it with a significant amount of collateral, even more than what he owes. He will also owe interest to Ms. Carroll and the State of New York.

Legal experts said Mr. Trump may not be able to pledge his properties as collateral. Instead, experts say, the bond company could require it to pledge liquid assets, such as certificates of deposit or government bonds.

“This is not a walk in the park,” said Stuart Levine, a business attorney in Baltimore who regularly handles various types of bonds for clients, after reading Mr. Trump's latest financial disclosure form.

Trump's net worth has long been a source of pride for the former president, but it can also be a double-edged sword.

On the final day of the recent trial, Ms. Carroll's lawyers tried to convince the jury that Mr. Trump should face a large fine — after all, only a large number would matter to such a wealthy man.

“He has said his brand alone is worth $10 billion,” Ms. Carroll's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, said in her closing arguments — using Trump's own words, delivered during a deposition in the case. attorney general against him.

“He said it's the most popular brand in the world,” Ms. Kaplan continued. She rattled off the estimated value of his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, and his golf resort outside Miami.

Mr. Trump's lawyer, Michael Madaio, objected, saying, “These are not personal assets she's talking about,” implying they belonged to Mr. Trump's company.

He was overruled.

Jonah E. Bromwich And William K. Rashbaum reporting contributed.