NEW YORK — On April 13, Donald Trump sat down with New York Attorney General Letitia James for seven hours under oath to answer questions in the state’s civil fraud lawsuit alleging he was worth $812 million in value of his assets. dollars (S$1,096 million) to $2.2 billion per year.
According to a transcript of the statement released Wednesday, Trump detailed his philosophy on calculating assets and wealth, saying his name alone is worth at least $3 billion (Singapore dollars 4 billion).
“I think it’s the hottest brand in the world,” Trump said.
The former president dismissed a suggestion by Ms James’ team to save some of his comments for later in the statement and insisted he explain how he calculates the value of his properties.
“No,” Trump said at the meeting in lower Manhattan. “I want to explain it to you because you don’t have a case and you should drop this case.”
The lawsuit alleges that Trump and his real estate company exaggerated the value of its largest properties from 2011 to 2021 to inflate its annual financial condition statement, a document used to hedge deals with banks and insurance companies. Ms. James, whose case is scheduled to go to trial on October 2, claims it helped Trump rake in at least $250 million in ill-gotten gains.
Here are the highlights of Trump’s statement.
‘mona lisa’
Trump testified that if he wanted to sell one of his assets, he would get “staggering” and “astronomical” numbers because they had “intrinsic value,” like an old master painting. Trump cited his Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida and his Turnberry golf course in Scotland as examples.
“You know, these are things that have tremendous value to rich people and I think you could sell them if they fetched $2 or $3 million and were therefore worth $30 or $40 million 4 (millions) US dollars or 5 (million) US dollars or 600 million US dollars because it is a painting. The Mona Lisa is there, the Renoirs of property, many of my properties.”
“Why would anyone pay $250 million for a painting to hang on their wall? Those are iconic, very iconic qualities. And I have a lot of them.”
40 Wall Street
Trump has been accused of repeatedly inflating the value of his 40 Wall Street skyscraper in Lower Manhattan, sometimes by double its estimated value. He testified that he felt the reviewers failed to see the potential for the building to be refurbished as the city recovers from its current crisis. His own assessments included this unrealized potential, he said.
“I say that about a lot of things. Here’s what you can say with “like”: If the city ever comes back, you can convert the entire tower of 40 Wall Street to condos and make an absolute fortune, far more than the $5 (million) or $600 million that that Building probably worth now, probably more than that. But the condos would make a fortune.”
In addition to expressing his belief that the building should be worth more, Trump could not explain exactly why his financial statements valued the tower at hundreds of millions of dollars more than he had estimated from his own bank, citing a “bank valuation.” “. is always low”.
Source : www.straitstimes.com