Donald Trump could be fined $250m (£201.3m) and banned from owning real estate in New York for five years after a judge ruled that he and his associates inflated their assets by as much as $3.6bn (£2.9bn).
The former US president is expected to appear in court today after the pre-trial ruling by Judge Arthur Engoron last week, which came after a civil lawsuit was brought against him by New York’s attorney general, Letitia James.
Trump’s lawyers – who are seeking clarity over the pre-trial ruling – have said that statements about the value of his assets were never relied on by the banks, which had never complained about being misled.
Sky News has gone through the court documents to show the main assets Trump listed – and the most up-to-date claims figure he’s claimed they are worth.
Golf clubs and related real estate
Trump’s total valuation: $1.7bn
Image: Donald Trump at his Turnberry golf course in Scotland
This figure relates to 12 golf and social clubs owned or leased by Trump, including his prized Mar-a-Lago estate.
The clubs, 10 of which are in the US and two in Scotland, make up by far the largest percentage of Trump’s net worth.
The district attorney said he lumps their numbers together when listing his assets in order to “conceal” any significant changes in value to individual clubs.
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He valued the clubs at their highest in 2018, claiming they were worth nearly $2.4bn.
Mar-a-Lago has been at the forefront of this case too, as the court ruled Trump had overvalued the Palm Beach club by as much as 2,300%, and that its actual worth was closer to $75m.
Trump Tower
Trump’s valuation: $806.7m
Image: Trump Tower in New York
Trump owns the commercial space in the iconic 58-storey building.
It’s been the headquarters of the Trump Organization since it opened in 1983 and has been a mainstay for Trump himself and some of his family members.
Ms James said the Trump Organization used tactics such as inflating income figures and adding favourable numbers from its projections in order to reach such high valuations.
Triplex apartment in Trump Tower
Trump’s valuation: $131m
That’s his valuation of the three-storey penthouse as of 2021 – but in 2015 and 2016, he had it at $327m.
The prosecutor labelled that valuation as “absurd”, and the court ruled Trump had reached that figure by pretending the property was three times bigger than its actual size.
40 Wall Street
Trump’s valuation: $663.6m
The 72-storey building was completed in 1930 and bought by the Trump Organization 25 years later.
The company claimed the tower was around $796.4m in 2016 – a valuation Ms James said could have been inflated by up to $473.9m.
Trump Park Avenue
Trump’s valuation: $135.8m (2020)
Image: Trump Park Avenue
The building near Central Park houses over 120 luxury apartments.
Trump’s valuations, which ranged from $90.9m and $350m between 2011 and 2021, only related to the commercial space and unsold residential units that he owns.
Ms James said the values of the unsold residential units were “false and misleading” because they ignored legal restrictions that would decrease property values.
Trump gave the units a $50m valuation in 2012, but, due to rent-pricing regulations that Ms James said he failed to take into account, they were actually meant to be valued collectively at just $750,000.
Seven Springs
Trump’s valuation: Between $261m and $291m (2011-2014)
He purchased this estate, which consists of two large homes, undeveloped land, and a few other buildings, in 1995 for a total of $7.5m.
The estate spans 212 acres across the towns of Bedford, North Castle and New Castle in New York.
Ms James focused on Trump’s valuations between 2011 and 2014 because from 2015 onwards, he moved the estate into the category ‘other assets’ – which we’ll get to later.
As for the 2011-2014 valuations, the attorney general said they were in “sharp contrast” to a bank’s $30m valuation in 2006.
This was put down to the Trump Organization factoring in the future sales of mansions it planned to build. “All of these values were a fiction,” she concluded.
1290 Avenue of Americas and 555 California
Trump’s valuation: $645m
Trump has a 30% stake in 1290 Avenue of Americas – a two million square foot skyscraper located in midtown Manhattan – and 555 California, a 52-storey building in San Francisco that is home to many high-profile tenants.
The remaining 70% is owned by the Vornado Realty Trust, which is not run by Trump.
The attorney general said Trump calculated the value of his shares without considering “the nature” of the agreement, causing the figures to be “false and misleading”.
The ‘other assets’
‘Other assets’ is a category Trump has used in all of his declarations, in which he sometimes includes more than a dozen different properties and assets.
Assets in this category include, depending on the year: aircraft, a management company, loans to Trump’s family members, and various homes in Palm Beach, Florida, Beverly Hills, California and the island of St Martin.
Ms James said Trump used ‘other assets’ in a similar way to his ‘golf clubs and related real estate’ category – grouping many items together and presenting a total figure so that he didn’t need to disclose the value of each asset individually.
She said the Triplex and Seven Springs were added to this category intermittently in attempts to “cover-up” when they dropped in value.
Between Trump’s 2014 and 2015 statements, for example, the ‘other assets’ category was reported to have increased in value by $219.6m after the Seven Springs property was grouped into it.
The court document did not share the overall value given for ‘other assets’ on any year.
Donald Trump has threatened to impose 50% tariffs on the EU, starting from next month, after saying that trade talks with Brussels were “going nowhere”.
Mr Trump made the comments on his Truth Social platform. It is a fresh escalation in his trade row with the European Union, which he has previously accused of ripping off the US.
It comes as he also announced that Apple will be forced to pay 25% tariffs on its iPhones unless it moves all its manufacturing to the US.
Apple shares dropped more than 2% in premarket trading after the warning, also posted on Truth Social.
“I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,” wrote the president.
“If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.”
Production of Apple’s flagship phone happens primarily in China and India, which has been an issue brought up repeatedly by President Trump.
On Thursday, the Financial Times reported Apple was planning to expand its India supply chain through a key contractor.
Taiwanese company Foxconn is planning to build a new factory in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, according to the paper, to help supply Apple.
Sky News has contacted Apple for comment.
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The man suspected of shooting dead two Israeli embassy workers in Washington DC leaned over and fired at them repeatedly after they fell to the ground, the FBI has said.
Elias Rodriguez, 31, has been charged with murdering Sarah Milgrim and her boyfriend Yaron Lischinsky, after they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday night.
Footage has showed Rodriguez, from Chicago, chanting “free, free Palestine” as he was arrested.
It later emerged Mr Lischinsky had bought a ring and planned to propose to Ms Milgrim.
Authorities are investigating the killings as both a hate crime against the Jewish community and terrorism.
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1:39
Shootings suspect shouts ‘free Palestine!’
‘I did it for Gaza’
It comes as the FBI has said in a charging document on Thursday that surveillance footage shows how Ms Milgrim and Mr Lischinsky died.
Rodriguez is allegedly seen passing the couple after they left the museum before shooting them in the back.
The FBI says the footage then shows him leaning over the couple and firing at them several more times after they fell to the ground.
The video then shows Ms Milgrim attempting to crawl away before “(Rodriguez) followed behind her and fired again”, the charging document says.
The suspected gunman is then accused of reloading his weapon and firing at Ms Milgrim as she sat up.
According to the charging document, Rodriguez then jogged to the museum and once inside asked to speak to a police officer before stating that he “did it” and that he was unarmed.
He is then said to have told police: “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, I am unarmed.”
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1:15
DC shooting: Father pays tribute to ‘perfect’ daughter
Suspect ‘expressed admiration’ for fatal protest
The court document also states that 21 expended 9mm bullet cases were found at the scene and the gun was slide-locked – meaning it was empty of ammunition.
An empty gun magazine was also recovered from the scene.
The FBI says it has obtained travel records which show Rodriguez flew from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to the Reagan National in Washington DC on Tuesday with the gun in his checked baggage.
Rodriguez had bought the weapon in the state of Illinois on 6 March 2020, according to the charging document.
The FBI has said that while Rodriguez was in custody he “expressed admiration” for a US Air Force member who set himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC on 25 February 2024.
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10:20
Starmer ‘on wrong side of history’
During a brief court appearance at the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington DC today, Rodriguez was charged with two counts of first degree murder and with the murder of foreign officials.
He has also been charged with causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Rodriguez was told he could face life in prison or the death penalty if he is found guilty.
He remained calm throughout the hearing, paying attention to the proceedings throughout and confirmed that he is asking the court to appoint an attorney on his behalf.
He will next appear at a federal court in Washington DC on 18 June.
Murdered couple ‘were perfect for each other’
Meanwhile, Ms Milgrim’s father, Robert, says he feared his daughter might be in danger when he saw news alerts of a fatal shooting in Washington DC.
Ms Milgrim’s mother Nancy opened a phone locator app and saw Ms Milgrim was at the Capital Jewish Museum.
“Shortly after that, the Israeli ambassador called us on my wife’s phone,” Mr Milgrim told Sky News’ partner network NBC News, fighting back tears.
He added that it was the ambassador who told them Mr Lischinksy had bought a ring and was planning to propose to Ms Milgrim.
“They were perfect for each other, he said.
Mr Milgrim continued: “They just brought us joy, and her memory, which is a blessing, will continue to bring us joy – but it’s not the same as her not being here.”
Donald Trump hosted a dinner for investors in his meme coin on Thursday, as critics warned the US president was putting personal profit first.
Some 220 of the biggest investors in the $TRUMP meme coin descended on the exclusive dinner at Mr Trump’s private country club in Northern Virginia.
As the US president arrived, more than a hundred protesters at the Trump National Golf Club held signs that included “America is not for sale”, “stop crypto corruption” and “release the list”.
Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren described the dinner, where the US president spoke for about half an hour before dancing to the song YMCA, as an “orgy of corruption”.
Image: Donald Trump leaves the White House to attend his own meme coin gala. Pic: Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein
Access to the dinner, and the president, was earned by purchasing enough of his $TRUMP meme coin to secure a seat.
The White House insisted Mr Trump would attend the event “in his personal time”, but the lectern he stood behind had the presidential seal.
NBC News reported that during his remarks, Mr Trump did not unveil any new crypto policies but spoke in support of a potential bitcoin reserve and then left promptly afterward.
In total, investors spent an estimated $148m (£110m), with the top 25 holders of the coin spending more than $111m (£82.56m), according to crypto intelligence firm Inca Digital.
A company controlled by the Trump family, and a second firm, hold 80% of the remaining $TRUMP coins and have so far earned $320.19m (£238.14m), including at least $1.35m (£1m) after the dinner announcement, according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.
‘Trump a very successful businessman,’ says White House
According to blockchain analysis, more than half of the 220 holders who attended the black-tie event are likely based outside the US.
This has led to claims the US president has auctioned off access to himself to foreign investors for personal gain.
In response to criticisms about Mr Trump using his office to enrich himself from the meme coin, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “All of the president’s assets are in a blind trust, which is managed by his children.
“And I would argue, one of the many reasons that the American people re-elected this president back to this office is because he was a very successful businessman before giving it up to publicly serve our country.”
Image: Protesters gather outside Trump National Golf Course ahead of the dinner.
Pic: Reuters
Image: Trump arrives back at White House after attending the crypto dinner. Pic: AP/John McDonnell
Who was on the guest list?
One of those attending was China-born crypto entrepreneur and billionaire Justin Sun.
He won first place in the dinner contest with his $18.5m (£13.76m) wallet of the Trump meme coin and is the largest publicly known investor in the family’s crypto platform – which has made them hundreds of millions of dollars.
Mr Sun posted videos of himself visiting parts of the White House complex on Wednesday, and on Thursday of Mr Trump at the dinner event.
In February, the US Securities and Exchange Commission paused a 2023 fraud case against him, citing public interest.
Image: Demonstrators protest near Trump National Golf Club before the arrival of the president.
Pic: AP/Rod Lamkey Jr
However, the identities of the majority of the coin holders attending the event remain unknown.
Of those going, one was simply known as Ogle, a crypto security specialist who appears in video interviews with his face covered by a bandana and sunglasses.
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Even some pro-Trump crypto voices worried his personal involvement may hurt efforts to establish credibility.
“It’s distasteful and an unnecessary distraction,” said Nic Carter, a Trump supporter and partner at the crypto investment firm Castle Island Ventures.
“We would much rather that he passes common sense legislation and leave it at that.”
The event was capped off with an after-party, called “Meme The Night,” thrown by a Singapore-based meme-coin engagement company called MemeCore.