Who is the billionaire known for his auto loans who paid Trump’s $175 million bail?

Former President of the United States donald trump paid on Monday the US$ 175 million bail imposed on New York in the case of civil fraud, and was thus saved from having his assets confiscated. Although the tycoon has a net worth much higher than this amount, someone else paid the money: billionaire Don Hankey.

trump He had until Thursday to post bail.

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It should be noted that the initial bail was 464 million dollars, but Trump couldn’t raise that money and appealed to the court, which reduced him to 175 million dollars.

In mid-February this year, trump He was fined $454 million along with his sons Eric and Don Jr. for financial fraud in their real estate empire trump Organization.

Former US President Donald Trump arrives at 40 Wall Street after his court hearing to determine his trial date in the Stormy Daniels case. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU/AFP). (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/)

They were accused of inflate your real estate assets by several billion dollars throughout the 2010s to get more favorable loans from banks.

After the conviction, the New York State Attorney General Letícia Jamesthreatened to confiscate the assets of trump if he didn’t cancel the fine and still mention his assets as the 40 Wall Street building.

But trump appealed, and while this appeal is resolved, the payment of the deposit prevents James the fine of 454 million dollars is levied immediately.

The main legal cases against Donald Trump. (AFP).

But who is the billionaire who paid the bail and what was the deal like?

Dom Hankey79 years old, yeah California billionaire who proclaims himself a follower of trump.

He is president and majority shareholder of Knight Specialized Insurancea company that offers subprime loans to car buyers with poor credit scores and is part of the Hankey Group.

Hankey confirmed to CNN on Tuesday that his company agreed to trump the payment of 175 million dollars.

“That’s what we do. I’m happy to do this. We would have done this for anyone else… It was an easy transaction. It was assembled quickly“Hankey told CNN in a phone interview.

He stated that he initially contacted the Trump Organization in March, when the former president had trouble getting bail for $464 million.

“We had a conversation about increasing bail from that amount.”he said Hankey for CNN.

After an appeals court New York reduce the fine, Trump’s team contacted Knight Specialized InsuranceHe explained Hankey.

The businessman told CNN that Trump initially planned to launch a combination of bonus investment grade and cash as collateral (80% in bonds and 20% in cash), but this idea did not prosper.

“In the end, he put in all the money.”he said Hankey. He added that he doesn’t know where the $175 million in money Trump sent came from.

According to The Washington Post, without the help of Hankey Trump would have had to spend his money to pay bail or authorities would have begun seizing his property.

Hankey He also spoke to the Washington Post. He told the media that his company is charging Trump a “modest fee”, which he did not want to reveal. He merely indicated that it was “good business, not a political statement.”

Don Hankey owns Knight Specialty Insurance, a company that provides high-interest car loans to customers with bad credit.

Dom Hankey was born and raised in Los Angeles and holds a bachelor’s and graduate degree from the University of Southern California.

He has Knight Insurance Groupof which it is part Knight Specialized Insurancethe company that provides high-interest car loans to customers with bad credit.

Forbes estimates Hankey’s net worth at $7.4 billion. But according to USA Today, he has more than $22.5 billion in assets, including Hankey Grouphis Los Angeles-based automotive services empire.

According to Forbes, when he was a teenager Hankey He washed and polished cars before becoming a car salesman. at his father’s Ford dealership In Los Angeles. Then came his rise as a businessman.

“From him Westlake Financial Services works with more than 30,000 auto dealers in all 50 states to offer auto loans to people with bad credit or no credit,” according to Forbes. “The Hankey Group also includes a real estate company and a Toyota dealership, as well as car insurance, car rental and dealership software companies,” he added.

Hankey told the Washington Post that Westlake Financial Services provides loans to 1.5 million customers.

The billionaire is also the largest individual non-institutional shareholder in the Axos Banka little-known online company that in 2022 provided $225 million in loans crucial to keeping businesses afloat. trumpafter many of its longtime creditors cut ties following the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the Washington Post said.

Hankey told the Washington Post that never spoke to Donald Trump. But after the deal became public, he heard about one of his sons, who runs the Trump Organization .

“I spoke to Eric Trump this morning,” Hankey said. “He called us and thanked us for posting bail.”

Hankey confirmed to CNN that he and his wife, as well as their two children, donated money to Trump’s presidential campaigns. trump in the past and we plan to support it again in 2024.

Source: Elcomercio