On Monday, Donald Trump's business faced a significant challenge when a New York fraud lawsuit demanded a bond of over $500 million. However, a state appeals court reduced this amount to $175 million, a sum Trump expressed his intent to cover. Concurrently, Trump's social media enterprise, Trump Media & Technology Group, concluded a lengthy 29-month merger process, resulting in shares worth billions of dollars becoming officially Trump's.
In total, Trump's net worth surged by more than $4 billion. This financial windfall propelled him into the ranks of the world's wealthiest 500 individuals on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with a fortune now estimated at $6.5 billion.
"We have a great company and are incredibly honored," remarked Eric Trump, acknowledging the achievement.
While Trump has always been wealthy, his fortune previously peaked at $3.1 billion, primarily derived from real estate holdings. However, an investigation found that he and his company had inflated the value of these properties over several years to secure favorable loan terms.
Ahead of the Monday deadline to pay a $454 million verdict or post a bond for 120% of the judgment, Trump faced a potential financial crisis. New York Attorney General Letitia James signaled her readiness to seize assets if Trump failed to comply.
However, Trump pledged to swiftly cover the reduced amount. Despite this newfound wealth, he cannot immediately access the proceeds from Trump Media's merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp. due to a six-month lock-up period.
DWAC shares surged to $49.95 on Monday, marking a 185% increase since the year began and valuing Trump's 58% stake in the company at $3.9 billion. The merger's completion, despite facing obstacles such as an SEC investigation and lawsuits, resulted in Bloomberg's inclusion of Trump's shares in his net worth calculation. Previously, his stake was valued at a modest $22.5 million based on his latest financial disclosure.
With his revised fortune, Trump's net worth now rivals figures such as Joe Ricketts, Gordon Getty, and Tony James, according to the Bloomberg wealth index, which has been tracking Trump's financial standing since 2015.