Trump's net worth surges to $6.4 BILLION to make him one of the world's 500 richest people for the first time after he completed his social media company's lucrative merger

Donald Trump's net worth is shooting up even as he is forced to assemble piles of cash to pay court judgments – now climbing onto at least one coveted billionaire's list.

The former president's net worth has climbed to $6.4 billion following last week's announcement that Digital World Acquisition shareholders voted the special purpose acquisition company to merge with the Trump firm that owns his Truth Social platform.

After a jump in its stock price, Trump's net worth jumped by an astonishing $4 billion – which comes on top of his golf, real estate, and branding empire.

The timing couldn't be better for Trump, says he has almost $500 million in cash and has 10 days to come up with $175 million after a New York appeals court slashed a $454 court judgment against him.

Donald Trump's net worth is skyrocketing even as he prepares to pay $175 million after an appeals court intervened in his fraud case

Even that lesser amount could be a pinch. Trump recently posted bond for a $91 million payment in the E. Jean Carrol defamation case. He must pay both amounts pending his appeals of verdicts against him.

Trump already has an empire that includes golf properties in Florida and Scotland, plus buildings including Trump Tower and 40 Wall Street, where Trump on Monday held a wild press conference where he said he would use cash, securities, or a bond to pay the $175 million amount.

Even with that outlay, Bloomberg added Trump to its list of the world's 500 richest people.

The main driver was the stock price of the merged company, which will be publicly traded on the NASDAQ starting Tuesday. 

Trump's property empire includes 40 Wall Street and other Manhattan properties

Trump also owns golf properties including Trump International golf course West Palm Beach Florida

Shares in DWAC were trading at nearly $50 a share Monday, a jump of 190 per cent since the year began, which put Trump's 58 per cent stake at about $3.9 billion.

Unless he gets a waiver from a board stacked with Trump loyalists, Trump would be prohibited from selling his shares until the end of a six-month period, so he can't rely on the funds to pay his court judgment.

Trump has long vied to get on and stay on the Forbes 400 list, and his New York fraud trial featured testimony that he inflated valuations to get preferable treatment.

Forbes on Monday put Trump's net worth of $2.6 billion, relying on a September 2023 estimate of his social media and branding business at $160 million. 

'I have a lot of cash,' Trump told reporters Monday. 'You know I do because you have looked at my statement.'

Trump posted last week that he had $500 million in cash, although his letters said in a recent filing blasting the court judgment that he was unable to obtain a bond.