What is Michael Cohen's net worth and salary?
Michael Cohen is an American lawyer, author and convicted felon who has a net worth of $1 million. Michael Cohen is best known for being Donald Trump's former personal attorney. He was also an attorney for The Trump Organization for many years. He was previously a partner at the Phillips Nizer law firm. As we detail in the section below, in a 2016 loan application Cohen and his wife claimed to have a combined net worth of $40 million. However, in recent years he has claimed to be experiencing severe financial problems due to his enormous ongoing legal bills which at one point were topping $100,000 per month. In late 2019 it was reported that Cohen and his wife owed nearly $2 million to the IRS. During a 2024 Donald Trump criminal trial it was revealed that Michael made $3.4 million off two books he wrote in the wake of his departure from Trump's orbit.
When he was a lawyer the Trump organization, Michael Cohen was paid a salary of $1 million per year. He joined the Trump Organization in 2006 and served as an Executive Vice-President as well as a co-president of Trump Entertainment. Cohen was involved in Trump's successful 2016 presidential campaign and was a member of the board of the Eric Trump Foundation.
In February of 2018 it was revealed that Mr. Cohen paid an adult entertainer named Stormy Daniels $130,000 to allegedly keep her quiet about an affair she had with Donald back in 2006. Cohen also facilitated payments to a former Playboy model named Karen McDougal who also had an affair with Trump. In April 2018, Cohen's office and home were raided by the FBI. He was fired from the Trump Organization in May 2018. In August 2018 he pleaded guilty to a number of charges including tax evasion, bank fraud and campaign finance fraud. In December 2018 he was sentenced to serve three years in Federal prison.
Financial Problems
In 2003, Cohen invested $1.5 million to own a 30% stake in a Florida riverboat casino. That casino went bust after just a few months and set off more than 25 lawsuits from creditors. Cohen was not personally a defendant in any of those lawsuits. In 2006 he reportedly invested in in a Ukrainian ethanol business.
In 2015, Cohen reportedly purchased a $58 million apartment building in New York City's Upper East Side. His family members also reportedly own 12 apartment units in Trump buildings around the country. Michael and his wife own a $9 million penthouse in Trump Park Avenue.
When Cohen became a subject of federal investigation into his business dealings, he reportedly complained to an associate that his legal bills were "bankrupting him". His legal bills reportedly top more than $100,000 per month. He reportedly owes at least $1.4 million to the IRS. When he paid Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal back in 2016, he used money obtained after receiving a $500,000 home equity loan. In the 2016 loan application, Cohen and his wife claimed to have a net worth of $40 million.
Taxi Medallions
At one point, Cohen's paper net worth topped $100 million thanks to his ownership stake in more than 200 New York City taxis medallions. Before the advent of Uber and Lyft, a single taxi medallion could easily sell for more than $1 million. Today a taxi medallion would be lucky to sell for $100,000.
At the peak of their value, before Uber existed, Cohen's share of the medallion collection was worth at least $100 million. Cohen reportedly sold his stake in at least one of his taxi companies to Ukrainian businessman Simon Garber. In 2012, Garber filed a lawsuit claiming Cohen had failed to pay a number of insurance settlements resulting from accidents involving their taxis. Arbitration documents from this case showed that Cohen had been making roughly $1 million per year from the taxi medallions they owned together.
For some time, Cohen co-owned a large number of taxi medallions with a Russian named Evgeny Freidman. At his peak, Evgeny owned more taxi medallions than any other individual in New York City. Before Uber, Evgeny was considered a taxi billionaire on paper due to the sheer number of medallions he owned. In 2018 the majority of Freidman's medallions were auctioned off to satisfy outstanding debts. The auction raised approximately $24 million
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Early Life
Michael Cohen was born on August 25, 1966, in Long Island, New York. Cohen grew up in a Jewish family. His father was a surgeon, and his mother was a nurse. Cohen attended American University in Washington D.C. and earned his undergraduate degree in 1988. He went on to attend Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Michigan and earned his law degree in 1991.
Pre-Donald Trump
After completing law school, Cohen worked at several law firms before starting his own practice in 1997. He specialized in personal injury law and real estate law, and his clients included several Russian-American businessmen.
Cohen also became involved in politics, serving as a delegate for the Democratic Party in 2004 and working on several political campaigns.
The Trump Organization
In 2006, Cohen joined the Trump Organization, serving as the company's executive vice president and special counsel. In this role, he was responsible for handling legal and business matters for the company and for Donald Trump personally.
Cohen quickly became known as a fierce defender and loyal confidant of Trump, often handling sensitive and controversial matters for the businessman. He was also known for his aggressive and combative style, and he quickly gained a reputation as one of Trump's most trusted advisors.
Controversies
Cohen's tenure at the Trump Organization was marked by numerous controversies and legal troubles. In 2018, he pleaded guilty to several charges, including campaign finance violations, tax fraud, and lying to Congress.
The charges stemmed from Cohen's role in paying hush money to two women who claimed to have had affairs with Donald Trump, as well as his involvement in a failed attempt to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.
Cohen's guilty pleas led to a prison sentence of three years, which he served from 2019 to 2021. While in prison, he cooperated with federal investigators and provided damaging testimony about Donald Trump's business practices and personal behavior.
Personal Life
Cohen has been married twice and has two children. He is known for his lavish lifestyle and love of luxury cars and expensive clothing.
Despite his legal troubles and controversies, Cohen has remained a vocal and outspoken critic of Donald Trump and his administration. He has become a regular commentator on cable news shows and has written a memoir about his experiences working for Trump called "Disloyal: A Memoir."
