Donald Trump reportedly used a bail bondsman after being arrested at Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday, paying $20,000 of his bond set at $200,000 and taking out a loan for the rest of it. The fact that the former president resorted to such a measure has sparked questions on social media about the state of his finances.
Honest but unpopular answer? He might believe he can make more money holding on to the $180k. It’s the same reason why I would take a 2% car loan even if I had enough to buy the car outright. I can make more than 2% just keeping that money in a mutual fund.
It’s not so much that this would be a valid (if boring) financial strategy.
It’s the fact that Trump is actually a terrible fucking businessman. To the extent that he makes any money at all, he makes it by borrowing money and resources and then never giving back anything in return. And he STILL lets casinos go bankrupt. He’s completely incompetent, which makes it hard to believe he would take the valid (if boring) strategy of reinvesting the 180k.
$200,000 for him (if he is real billionaire) should be like $20 for us, he would have to have really some killer investment strategy to make more than $20k during that time (which would be worth about $2) and all of that to ruin his image of a billionaire who can’t afford $200,000?
That’s possibly what he’s thinking, but making back 20k on 180k (11%) before his trial ends seems like a bit of a tall order. Especially for someone who’s business accumen is a bit suspect. Not necessarily impossible, depending on how long the trial takes.
Of course he may just feel that keeping the capital fluid is a more prudent decision right now. Or he’s broke. No way to be sure ¯_(ツ)_/¯