No, the claim that Eric Trump has spent $400 million in legal fees is not true. It likely stems from a conflation of several financial figures related to the Trump family's legal battles, particularly the New York civil fraud case.
Legal payments and claims
- Eric Trump's penalty: In the February 2024 civil fraud ruling against the Trump Organization, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. were each ordered to pay approximately $4 million. This was part of a larger judgment against Donald Trump and the organization, which totaled hundreds of millions of dollars.
- Donald Trump's alleged cash-on-hand: A key point of confusion appears to be Donald Trump's own testimony during the trial, where he stated he had "substantially in excess of $400 million in cash". This figure was his claimed personal cash, not a sum paid in legal fees.
- Total legal costs: Donald Trump's political committees have used donor funds to pay for his extensive legal costs. For example, his PACs spent around $50 million on his legal fees in 2023 alone. However, this is still a smaller amount than the claimed $400 million, and it is Donald Trump, not Eric, who is responsible for the bulk of these bills.
- Court reversal: In August 2025, an appeals court threw out the massive financial penalties in the civil fraud case against the Trump family, including the fines for Eric and Donald Jr., ruling that the verdict was excessive.
