Trump sells $10 million jet to megadonor as legal fees mount
Donald Trump reportedly sold a jet valued at $10 million to a megadonor as his legal fees pile up and his presidential campaign moves forward.
The former president unloaded a 1997 Cessna earlier this month for an undisclosed amount, according to public filings reviewed by the Daily Beast.
It was reportedly bought by a company linked to an Iranian American construction and development tycoon living in Texas, who donated nearly $250,000 to Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign.
Trump, whose criminal hush money trial in lower Manhattan is expected to go to a jury as soon as late Tuesday afternoon, burned through $76 million on legal fees in 2022 and 2023, according to The Associated Press. Some of those costs were paid through fundraising organizations.
He then went through nearly $5 million in litigation costs in March and had less than $7 million designated to pay attorneys moving forward, according to Bloomberg.
The purported billionaire still faces numerous felony charges and ongoing civil litigation as he continues his efforts to be elected president again in November.
On its website, Trump Aviation claims the nine-passenger jet the former president sold is “ one of the fastest in the world.”
“The signature Trump Crest is featured prominently on the exterior adding an even higher level of luxury and beauty to this magnificent aircraft,” the site says.
In March 2022, Trump, who celebrates his 78th birthday in June, asked supporters to help him buy a new plane.
“The construction of this plane has been under wraps,” Trump teased in a fundraising letter. “Not even the fake news media knows about it — and I can’t wait to unveil it for everyone to see.”
Trump launched his own airline in June 1989, but ceded control of the business after defaulting on a loan in September 1990, according to NYAviation.com.
His personal fleet also includes helicopters. The 1989 Sikorsky S-76B chopper used in his reality show “ The Apprentice” was put on the market in August 2020, according to Time magazine.
In March, Bloomberg reported Trump’s personal net worth at $6.5 billion.
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