Secret Schemes Unveiled: Trump Execs Planned to Inflate Net Worth with Exclusive 'Presidential Premium'!
Trump Org execs allegedly discussed adding presidential premiums to Trump's properties during his tenure as president in order to boost asset values and inflate his net worth, as revealed in exhibits and testimony at his ongoing civil fraud trial
Executives at Trump Organization allegedly contemplated adding "presidential premiums" to select properties owned by then-President Donald Trump in 2017. The objective was to enhance asset values and artificially inflate his overall net worth, as revealed during Trump's civil fraud trial on Friday. Eric Haren, representing the attorney general's office, presented various iterations of internal spreadsheets from 2017 financial records that were prepared by Patrick Birney, an employee of Trump Org.
On Wednesday, October 11, 2023, former President Donald Trump, who is running for the Republican presidential candidacy, delivered a speech at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. This photograph, taken by Rebecca Blackwell for the Associated Press, captures the moment.
Rebecca Blackwell/AP
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The October 2017 timestamps on different spreadsheet drafts reveal calculations which incorporate a "presidential" premium, resulting in a markup of 15 to 35 percent on the valuations of specific assets. This substantial increase greatly impacts the overall valuation of assets. According to Birney's testimony, he stated that his previous supervisor, Allen Weisselberg, the CFO of Trump Org., was likely the individual who instructed him to perform this action.
The idea originated when Trump's penthouse at Trump Tower was re-evaluated and its square footage was adjusted, decreasing its size from 30,000 square feet to 10,996 square feet. Trump had previously boasted about the incorrect square footage. Both Birney and Weisselberg testified this week that they amended the square footage in Trump's financial statements after Forbes published an article in 2017 alleging that Trump had lied about the size of his penthouse. The news outlet discovered the accurate measurements in records from the 1990s.
Trumps financial statements never included the presidential premiums, ultimately. At the ongoing civil trial brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James against Trump, his adult sons, and their businesses, two weeks of testimony have already been completed.
Birney, formerly a senior financial analyst in 2016 upon joining Trump Org., remains with the company but now holds the position of vice president of financial operations. He reaffirmed his earlier statement, stating that either Weisselberg or former controller Jeffrey McConney would decide the approaches used to assess the worth of assets featured in Trump's financial statements.
Furthermore, Birney attested that Weisselberg instructed him to employ lower capitalization rates and consider recent sales at the peak of the market when determining the value of certain assets belonging to Trump. Adopting a reduced cap rate consequently inflated the appraisal.
Despite expressing some concerns to Weisselberg over the data, he mentioned using a low cap rate to evaluate a commercial property they collaborated on with Vornado, a real estate investment company, located at 1290 6th Ave. in New York.
