Yes, the company went public. No, it is not a financial success—or even a lifeboat.
Debuting on the charts w/a “DJT” ticker, #TrumpMedia saw a 55% surge in valuation right after markets opened.
Huge influx of cash, right? w/Trump holding ~79M shares, equating to 58% of available stock, the #SPAC debut balloons his #NetWorth by nearly $5B; there were ~136M shares outstanding post-merger.
For everyone fascinated by the ticking fiscal time bomb under the criminal fraudster running for president, the amazing investigative analyst @wendysiegelman has done a deep dive into what can be determined about his finances and net worth from court filings and other public sources. Spoiler, it's not pretty.
I recall during #NY#fraud trial that I said people were focused too much on how much property #Trump claims to own v how much debt he has. Even w/limited reporting, it was easy to figure out he was "borrowing from Peter to pay Paul". And w/favorable interest rates, he was still over leveraged. The trial docs never revealed his #networth. Many observers assumed, wrongly, that if he could borrow amounts he did, he must be "rich". He played a shell game w/lenders & it caught up with him #Broke
#ElonMusk’s $56 billion pay package from #Tesla …was the cornerstone of Musk’s meteoric rise from eccentric CEO to world’s richest person….
Now, he may have to give it all back. #Legal experts say #Musk likely will be forced to return at least some of the stock options he secured as part of his 2018 pay package, an award that was — & remains — unparalleled in scope.
…The #Tesla pay package helped propel #ElonMusk’s #NetWorth to ~$200B, making him the world’s richest person. If he’s forced to return the stock grants, his #wealth would take a significant blow, probably knocking him out of the top spot. But the hit to his net worth wouldn’t necessarily be straightforward. Because so much of his wealth is tied to Tesla’s valuation, the potential shock to the co’s stock price could cause his net worth to tumble further than the $56B value….
Testimony concluded Wed in a $250M #cuvil#fraud#trial against #Trump & his company in #NewYork state, a case in which the judge may issue a bench verdict in January.
The trial stems from a #lawsuit filed by #NYAG#LetitiaJames (D) last year alleging that Trump & executives at the #TrumpOrganization purposely deceived #lenders & #insurance companies over the course of a decade.
#Trump wrongly profited & saved money by inflating Trump’s #NetWorth by up to $2.2B a year, & his business partners were #cheated out of potential earnings, acc/to #NYAG James.
Trump & his lawyers have denied any wrongdoing, saying that the company followed standard business practices.
NY Supreme Court Justice Arthur #Engoron, who is overseeing the trial, previously set a date for final arguments in January & said he hoped to issue a verdict that month.
#Now it’s #Ivanka Trump’s turn to face questioning in the #civil#fraud#trial that is publicly probing into the family business. #Trump’s eldest daughter, who has been in his inner circle in both #business & #politics, is due on the stand Wed, after trying unsuccessfully to block her #testimony.
The #NYAG, continued to press about whether she thought it was a good deal.
#Ivanka: "Well we ended up doing the deal w/ #DeutscheBank. Yes I thought generally the deal terms w/ Deutsche Bank were positive & we proceeded forward."
Justice #Engoron: "That could have been a simple yes.”
Remember in order to secure this #loan, #Trump executed a personal guarantee & agreed to certain #covenants, including that he maintain a #NetWorth of $2.5B.
#NYAG Solomon says #Ivanka was deeply involved in the #Doral#loan process:
"She negotiated the deal from top to bottom, from interest rates to the net worth covenant.”
Objection overruled.
NYAG asked Ivanka several questions about Trumps statements of financial condition (SFCs), which the AG said were #falsified to inflate #Trump's #NetWorth.
#Trump is arguing in his NY civil case that he surpassed #NetWorth minimum requirements on his loans because his "#brand" was worth so much.
In that vein, I'd like to make the following value announcements affecting my net worth:
My hopes and dreams: $363 million
My capacity for logic: $3.2 billion
My sense of humor: $1.7 billion
My integrity: $2.1 billion
My work ethic: $50
I expect all creditors to recognize my new net worth of $7.4 billion, thank you very much.
The day began w/ yesterday’s drama. Trump attys accused #NY Supreme Court Justice Arthur #Engoron's #LawClerk, #AllisonGreefield, of bias, & the asserted she influences the judge.
Yesterday, Engoron warned Trump atty #Kise not to speak about court staff, & noted a pattern of #misogyny in Kise’s behavior toward women in the courtroom.
Tomorrow will be more interesting, when Cohen will be cross-examined. Today we heard more about how the tofurkey was made (how exactly they conducted the process of #FinancialFraud; tofurkey as opposed to sausage)
#Cohen began calmly & clearly about his role at the #TrumpOrganization, where he reported directly to Trump.
“I was tasked by Mr. Trump to increase the total assets based upon a number that he arbitrarily elected,” Cohen testified, saying that it was his responsibility to “increase those assets in order to achieve the number.”
Trump continued to #attack#James, #Engoron & the trial itself in posts to his social media platform this morning.
He again suggested that the trial is an attempt to interfere w/ his presidential campaign & complained about the lack of a jury in the trial.
(It is long established that either are issues)
Trump won’t be in court today. He had no legal obligation to attend, & left yesterday, noticeably angry.
The trial is scheduled to last until the end of Dec but is expected to end sooner.
Trump arrived in the courtroom & strode past AG #LetitiaJames, seated in the first row, w/o making eye contact & immediately took a seat at the defense table.
While pool photographers took his picture at the defense table, looking solemn, in camera-ready way, Judge #Engoron looked amused.