Don Hankey Reveals Why He Backed Donald Trump's Bond

Don T, the chair of the company that helped former President Donald Trump pay his civil fraud bond said his decision to help Trump wasn't based on politics.

"Yes, I voted for him in the past, but this is a business deal and this is what we do," Hankey told Bloomberg. "I have never met Donald Trump, nor talked to him on the phone."

"I heard they were looking for somebody, and this is what Knight Insurance does," Hankey said. "We have the liquidity, and I'm just happy to provide it."

The Context

Trump on Monday posted a $175 million bond in New York Attorney General Letitia James' civil business fraud case against him, preventing her from beginning to collect his assets while he appeals Judge Arthur Engoron's judgment against him.

Engoron in February ordered Trump to pay $355 million after siding with James in the civil suit, in which she accused Trump and top executives at The Trump Organization of conspiring to increase his net worth by billions of dollars on financial statements provided to banks and insurers to make deals and secure loans.

Since the ruling, Trump's debt has grown to $464 million due to interest. Engoron previously ruled that Trump would have to pay the sum to halt James' collection of his assets, but a court in March reduced the bond to the $175 million figure posted by Hankey's company.

What We Know

Knight Specialty Insurance Company, a California-based company owned by the Hankey Group, posted the bond for Trump. Both organizations are led by Hankey, who has a net worth of more than $7 billion, according to Forbes.

Hankey has prior connections to the former president. He is the largest stakeholder in Axos Bank, which previously provided a loan to Trump Tower in Manhattan.

He told Bloomberg that Knight offered to help Trump post bond after hearing about his struggles securing the funds after his legal team said he did not have enough cash to pay the initial judgment.

Had Trump not been able to post bond, James could have started to seize his assets. A document from the attorney general's office reviewed by Newsweek lists Trump's properties that had "fraudulent" and "misleading" values that James could have seized.

Views

The bond deal has sparked some pushback from Trump's critics online.

"Know who Trump's indebted to: A billionaire Trump supporter who has ties to one of Trump's banks arranged his $175 million civil fraud appeal bond. Don Hankey is one of the largest shareholders in Axos bank, which loaned Trump $100 million to refinance Trump Tower and loaned him $125 million to do the same for Doral," MSNBC producer Kyle Griffin posted on X, formerly Twitter.

"Even crazier than forking over all that money to a known con-artist and a potential broke boy, Hankey has never even met or talked to Trump, per @Forbes," journalist Jemele Hill wrote.

Trump, however, celebrated posting bond in a post to Truth Social on Monday, writing that his "financial statements were conservative and had a 100% perfect caution/non-reliance clause, there were no victims (except me!), there was no crime or damage, there was only success and HAPPY BANKS."

What's Next

Trump has now managed to post bond, meaning James will not be able to collect any assets at this point. He has also appealed Engoron's ruling, though it remains unknown whether that judgment will be reversed.

Update 4/2/2024, 11:06 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

Update 4/2/2024, 11:44 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.