During Trump’s civil fraud trial in New York, evidence was presented that indicated executives at his company were prompted to defend new potentially exaggerated valuations after journalists exposed that former President Donald Trump might not be as wealthy as he had asserted. These executives proposed various concepts such as incorporating a “premium for presidential property” into specific assets.
The internal deliberations began after Forbes magazine revealed in 2017 that Trump’s Manhattan triplex, or three-story apartment, was about a third of the size he had long claimed — about 11,000 square feet, instead of more than 30,000 — and thus far less valuable.
According to a recent ruling on Sept. 26, when Trump started accurately representing the actual size of the property on financial statements, its value decreased by up to $207 million. This ruling found Trump and others guilty of fraud, and a trial concerning the allegations is currently in progress.
On Tuesday, Allen Weisselberg, the former CFO of the Trump Organization, stated that the discrepancy was insignificant when compared to Trump’s overall wealth, referring to it as a minor amount. However, in late 2017, Weisselberg showed a keen interest in exploring innovative approaches to maximize the value of Trump properties, as per the testimony of another executive from the Trump Organization on Friday.
Patrick Birney, the company’s vice president, was presented with a spreadsheet that outlined the company’s plans to evaluate and impose a “presidential premium” on certain properties. The spreadsheet contained a series of re-valuations for this purpose, compiled for that year.
The Mar-a-Lago property displays a line stating a “15% premium for the Presidential winter residence.” Similarly, Trump’s Bedminster golf club showcases a line stating a “15% premium for the Presidential summer residence.” Additionally, the triplex listed indicates a “25% premium for the Presidential personal residence.”
In total, the nine new valuations would have increased Trump’s estimated wealth by over $144 million. However, in the end, the concept was abandoned.
However, the episode plays a central role in a legal case where the state of New York aims to recover a minimum of $250 million in what they deem as “illegally obtained profits.” According to the state’s rationale, Trump, along with two of his children and his company, deliberately provided false information regarding property valuations and Trump’s personal wealth. This was done with the intention of securing advantageous loan rates and insurance agreements. As a result, the state argues that they profited from this deception to the extent of hundreds of millions of dollars.
In her 2022 lawsuit, Letitia James, the Attorney General of New York, asserted that the aforementioned high valuations held personal significance for Trump as well.
James’ office highlighted internal emails and deliberations regarding publications that evaluate and rank society’s wealthiest, revealing the widely recognized public desire to exaggerate his net worth among his children and employees.
During his testimony on Tuesday, Weisselberg admitted to issuing another instruction to former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney, aimed at enhancing the worth of specific golf properties: merely stating that they were valued 30% higher. Trump’s financial condition reports submitted to banks did not reveal this additional “30% premium.”
The court received testimony on Wednesday from a former Deutsche Bank executive who participated in evaluating loans for Trump. The executive stated that using golf courses as collateral for a loan was “unusual” because he was unaware of their value, given the limited potential buyers in the golf course market.
However, his testimony stated, “I believed that the descriptions of the assets and liabilities’ worth were generally correct.”
Weisselberg and McConney are defendants in the case as well. The defense attorneys have stated in their filings that the company had the authority to include “brand premiums” in its valuations.
Birney took the stand on Friday and recounted an incident from 2018 that caused company executives to panic due to the public’s perception of Trump’s wealth.
A Bloomberg reporter emailed Weisselberg and two other executives about its “billionaire’s index.” The company was prepared to slightly reduce its estimate of Trump’s wealth, from $2.9 billion to $2.8 billion.
Birney was assigned by the executives to conduct research on data that could counter Bloomberg’s analysis.
Birney swiftly sent out a string of emails to the company’s bankers and other individuals, indicating that some of them might have been influenced by Weisselberg. These emails aimed to gather information concerning the values of different properties.
Bloomberg eventually released its revised estimate of $2.8 billion, highlighting the significance of Birney’s task evident in his emails.
The matter, Birney wrote, was “urgent.”
