After championing New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil fraud case, which claimed that Trump dramatically overvalued Mar-a-Lago compared to its alleged worth of $18 million, CNN panelists are now suggesting the resort is worth “hundreds of millions” of dollars. This follows from James’ strategy to get Trump to pay his $454 bond: forcing him through court order to sell his hard assets.
During a segment with CNN’s Erin Burnett, businesswoman and guest Bess Freedman said “Mar-a-Lago, potentially, that could be something that could be sold quickly. I think the valuation is something in the hundreds of millions and I think there could be a buyer for something like that.” She added that there are “properties that are priced at $150, $200 million that are nearby that and Palm Beach, it’s just shot up like a rocket and people do want to live there,” and said there are many “international people” who would purchase it.
Now they want him to sell it, suddenly Mar-a-Lago is worth WAY more to CNN than $18M… pic.twitter.com/3zTzFqPEcl
— Raheem. (@RaheemKassam) March 21, 2024
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The CNN team then put up visuals of Trump’s property values according to data from Bloomberg: Mar-a-Lago estimated at $240 million, Trump Doral at $305 million, his 40 Wall Street building at $270 million, his 6 East 57th Street at $175 million, and Trump Tower at $160 million.
“I mean, who knows, he’s a desperate seller,” she said, referring to the Mar-a-Lago price. “That’s still half of what it would be.”
As Valuetainment previously reported, James accused Trump, his adult sons, and other executives at the Trump Organization of participating in a conspiracy to commit “numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation” and thereby artificially boost Trump’s net worth so he could dupe investors and get loans for which he was not qualified. As part of that case, Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that Trump’s 2011-2012 valuation of Mar-a-Lago was fraudulent. In his argument, Engoron cited a Palm Beach County tax appraisal of the estate in which it was valued between $18 million and $27 million. He further reasoned that its status as a “business” lowered its worth.
James argued that Trump should have told lenders his property was worth $75 million, due to its annual revenue of $25 million, rather than the $350 million to $740 million valuation he reported in Trump Organization loan applications.
Attorneys representing former President Donald Trump argued Monday their client is unable to secure the $454 million bond for the civil fraud judgment against him, despite attempts to negotiate with some of the state’s largest creditors. With the deadline for the bond payment arriving on Monday the 25th, Trump is now at risk of having his properties seized to cover the penalty during the appeals process.
Attorney General James threatened as much in February: “If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets,” James told ABC News at the time.
Trump insiders allegedly told the New York Post that Trump is considering simply “doing nothing” and allowing James to seize Trump Tower in Manhattan. While others say Trump might “go nuclear” by declaring a Chapter 11 bankruptcy and thus protect all his real estate assets, these sources believe such a declaration would hurt Trump in the 2024 election by introducing too many “complications.”
The insiders report that Trump has confidence he could recover Trump Tower through an appeal, which could ultimately be brought to the Supreme Court.
“Even if there is a taking, it doesn’t mean he can’t take it back later,” the source reportedly said.
Another said it would underscore how frightening it would appear to the rest of the world. “It will have a chilling effect on people who do business in New York because it could happen to anyone,” said another source.
Shane Devine is a writer covering politics, economics, and culture for Valuetainment. Follow Shane on X (Twitter).
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