Rudy Giuliani - Donald Trump's former lawyer - must pay $148m - here's why and a look at his net worth

A major bill has been dropped at the feet of Rudy Giuliani - the former lawyer and long-time associate of Donald Trump. Giuliani has been ordered to pay more than $148m following defamatory claims he made in 2020.

The verdict was delivered after a four-day trial and on Friday, December 15, an eight-person jury ordered $20m be paid to the victims of the defamatory statements. Despite originally seeking $15m and $43m in damages, it was ruled that Giuliani must pay $16m for emotional distress and another payment of $75m in punitive damages was ordered to be split between them.

Giuliana - who was once mayor of New York and also former President Donald Trump's personal lawyer - said he plans to appeal the "absurd" penalty. He also added: "I don't regret a damn thing."

What does Rudy Giuliani's £148m penalty relate to?

Back in the wake of the 2020 Presidential election in the US, Republicans in Donald Trump's camp had a hard time accepting his electoral defeat which resulted in claims of election tampering and that Joe Biden was incorrectly declared the new President.

Guiliani made claims that two women had tampered with votes. The poll workers from Georgia - Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea "Shaye" Moss - were the victims in the trial. The incident happened after Mr Giuliani shared a video of them, which he falsely said showed evidence of ballot tampering.

In courtroom testimony in Washington DC, Ms Freeman recalled having to flee her home after a group of Trump supporters gathered outside and the FBI told her she was in danger. She said the last few years of her life had been "devastating".

Michael Gottlieb, the lawyer for Ms Freeman and Ms Moss said a big financial penalty was necessary to "send a message" to Giuliani and "any other powerful figure with a platform."

What is Rudy Giuliani's net worth?

The best estimate from CBS News says that Rudy Giuliani is worth about $50m - just over a third of what he has now been ordered to pay.

Approximately $15m of that from his business activities, including his worth with his Giuliani Partners lobbying group. At the time his net worth was last properly calculated — about 15 years ago — he was earning approximately $17m a year. Giuliani also earns approximately $400,000 a year from his radio show and likely has been able to monetise his podcast too. He also has some wealth tied to major assets, like his $6.5m apartment, which was listed in mid-December, according to Sotheby's. This trial is just one of several legal troubles Rudy Giuliani is facing. In Georgia, he faces criminal charges, including making false statements, in an election-subversion case against Mr Trump. Mr Giuliani has pleaded not guilty. A former business associate is also suing him for $10m over sexual harassment claims made against him.

And according to recent court filings from the Internal Revenue Service, Mr Giuliani owes more than half a million dollars in federal taxes.