Former President Donald Trump is Facing Financial Ruin Worthy of a TV Series – Fans of Showtime’s “Billions” largely found the series finale, which aired on Sunday, to be quite satisfying. It concluded its seven-season run with (spoilers) billionaire Mike Prince (Corey Stoll) seeing his political ambitions end as he lost nearly his entire fortune.
It was pure fantasy TV and comes at a time when billionaires are more loathed than admired.
However, back in reality, another billionaire seeking the Oval Office could meet a similar – or perhaps even worse – outcome. And yes, we’re talking about former President Donald Trump.
But it won’t require a cabal that includes other billionaires, lawyers within the Justice Department, and insiders from within his enterprises.
Well, maybe it will – Trump’s once-loyal allies are turning on him (just more publicly), while he faces numerous lawsuits, both civil and criminal.
Donald Trump’s Financial Ruin?
Even if Donald Trump can avoid jail, he is facing financial ruin. And it could derail his presidential campaign.
“He’s making mistakes. He’s babbling incoherently even more than usual, this is striking,” conservative lawyer George Conway said in an MSNBC with Jen Psaki interview Monday. “He was the mogul with ‘The Apprentice,’ and he’s been that in New York for 50 years.”
“And now it’s coming crashing down,” added Conway, a prominent Trump critic, who was previously married to former Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway.
In the New York civil case, Trump and his adult sons – Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump – are accused of intentionally inflating and deflating the value of their business assets to get better terms on loans and insurance.
Judge Arthur Engoron, who is overseeing the case, has already ruled that the fraud occurred. The ongoing trial is only set to determine damages. New York State Attorney General Letitia James is seeking $250 million in penalties, as well as a ban on Trump and his sons running businesses in New York.
Engoron has already granted the latter request, but his decision is on hold pending appeal.
Losing those business licenses, Conway said, is what will seriously hurt the former president, TheHill.com reported.
“He’s already been found to have committed fraud, that his books and records, that his statements of financial condition are false,” Conway explained. “And the judge has already ruled that there was no triable issue of fact on whether or not they were false. And as a result, the judge said– ordered that Trump and the Trump Organization, the ability to do business in the state of New York should be invalidated.”
Trump could face more than just putting up a “for sale” sign on Trump Tower. It could be more like a “going out of business sale,” Conway suggested.
“He’s gonna have to liquidate everything – including places like Mar-a-Lago, which are owned by New York LLCs. But then the question of how much of the proceeds of those sales, when he has to be put out of business go to the state of New York. And that’s what this is about,” said Conway.
“This is a death blow to Trump’s businesses,” Conway argued.
The New York civil trial has already cost the former president $15,000 in fines for twice violating Engoron’s partial gag order. In the end, it could cost him his empire.
Perhaps about now, Trump may be wishing he didn’t ever run for president. Much of this likely wouldn’t have ever occurred had he just remained the host of an extremely popular reality TV series.
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
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