Monday was shaping up to be a day of extreme financial risk for Donald Trump's business empire, as the former president faced a deadline to post more than $464 million appeal bond in a fraud lawsuit in New York. However, the day took an unexpected turn and became Trump's most lucrative on record.
The New York Court of Appeals reduced the bond that Trump had to pay to $175 million. This decision gave him crucial financial respite amid several legal tensions. Simultaneously, his social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group, completed a 29-month merger process with Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC), securing shares worth billions of dollars on paper, which are now officially owned by Trump.
🇺🇸|| EI patrimonio neto de Donald Trump salta a 6.500 millones de dólares, lo que convierte hoy a Trump en el mejor día de su riqueza.
En este mismo momento, la fianza de 175 millones de dólares de Trump en el caso de fraude de Nueva York representa sólo el 2,7% de su patrimonio… pic.twitter.com/MhVQejDZX9— Dan-i-El (@DanielJ23480098) March 25, 2024
Additionally, at Monday's close, DWAC shares were trading at $49.95 per share, representing a 185% increase compared to the price at which they began trading at the beginning of the year. As a result of this increase, Donald Trump's stake in the company was valued at $3.9 billion.
The net result of these events involved an increase in the former president's wealth of more than $4 billion, putting Trump's fortune at approximately $6.5 billion. This figure ushered him onto the list of the 500 wealthiest people in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The review of the former president's fortune puts him on par, in terms of paper wealth, with figures such as Joe Ricketts, Gordon Getty and Tony James, according to the Bloomberg Index, which has been tracking Trump's net worth since 2015.
It is important to note that although Trump Media's successful merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp. generated a significant increase in the former president's wealth, Trump will not be able to immediately take advantage of this gain, as his shares will remain locked for approximately six months.
