Donald Trump Jr. Rages About Father's Properties Before Potential Sale

Ahead of former President Donald Trump's March 25 deadline to pay his New York civil fraud fine, his son, Donald Trump Jr., claimed that people are changing the values of Trump properties based on convenience.

New York Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump and some of his business associates had illegitimately inflated the value of his assets to obtain more favorable terms from lenders and insurers. In February, the judge ordered the former president to pay roughly $355 million in penalties for fraud, plus interest. With this, the payment exceeds $464 million. He also banned him from serving in top roles in any New York business for three years. Trump has always denied any wrongdoing.

To appeal his civil fraud conviction, the former president has to pay the $464 million bond, which he has admitted he is having difficulty raising the funds for. If he's unable to get the money together by Monday, New York Attorney General Letitia James may start seizing his assets. This has led people to speculate about the true value of his properties, such as Mar-a-Lago and Trump Tower.

During a conversation with Newsmax's Eric Bolling on Thursday, Donald Trump Jr. came to his father's defense.

"If it's worth 18 million and that's good for the soundbite at the time, it's worth 18 million, if it's worth hundreds of millions the next day for a different purpose, it's worth hundreds of millions and that's what's going on," he said.

He went on to say that it's not going to end with "them trying to go after Donald Trump" and eventually, others could have their assets seized as well.

Donald Trump Jr. added: "They're willing to seize your assets, the people screaming about fascism are acting awfully a lot like the fascists."

Newsweek has emailed Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr. for comment via Trump's campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung.

As Mar-a-Lago, Trump's Florida resort residence, is not for sale—and the Trump family has never expressed the wish to put it on the market—it's hard to determine its value. In 2017, Forbes valued Trump Tower at $371 million.

According to Sportico, which cited the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, Trump International Golf Links Scotland is his second most profitable course, bringing in $52 million between January 2022 and April 2023 for the presumed 2024 Republican presidential nominee.

His course in Jupiter, Florida, is his fourth most profitable course, having made the former president $39.4 million in that period.

Newsweek could not immediately verify Sportico's data and has contacted a Trump representative by email to comment on this story.

According to Trump's 2023 Office of Government Ethics certified financial disclosures, obtained by the Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington (CREW), Trump has loans on multiple properties that may affect their value. The combined total of the properties listed by the disclosures is at least $200 million.

One is a mortgage on Trump Tower, incurred in 2012, that is for over $50 million. Another, for private estate Seven Springs, was incurred in 2000. It is worth between $5 million and $25 million.

40 Wall Street also has a mortgage of over $50 million. James said these properties had "fraudulent" and "misleading" values and could end up being seized.

If the properties are not seized, it has been speculated that the former president may have to sell off some of his real estate empire to pay the penalty.