- Bankruptcy records show Rudy Giuliani spends big on polyester ties and pizza.
- Unfortunately for his creditors, he’s spent more money than he did the previous month.
- Some of Giuliani’s own financial disclosure documents are contradictory.
Now we know what happens when Rudy Giuliani tightens his belt.
The former New York City mayor revealed harrowing details of his financial life in a series of bankruptcy court filings this week, detailing a month’s worth of income and expenses.
Unfortunately for Giuliani’s creditors, who were trying to pay off $153 million in debt, his spending in May, the month disclosed, was higher than in any previous month.
The most eye-catching expense was a pricey restaurant bill he spent while fleeing criminal charges in Arizona for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, but it also included a sizable number of Amazon purchases, including cheap ties and “Deep Bronze” tanning lotion.
Mr Giuliani earned $61,717 in May and spent about $33,000 on it — thousands of dollars more than the previous month and creditors are already complaining that the spending is irresponsible and excessive.
Giuliani revealed for the first time financial details about Giuliani Communications, the company he owns that produces his video livestreams on social media.
The company has also been operating at a loss, especially since its radio show was cancelled last month.
In response to a question about her work at Giuliani Communications, the company’s president, Maria Ryan, spoke about the coronavirus vaccine theories and called them “very disappointing” to Business Insider.
Giuliani is addicted to Amazon
Mr. Giuliani’s largest expense is the $12,000 in monthly maintenance fees for his New York City apartment complex, which he is trying to sell. The 80-year-old, who has no dependents, also appears to spend several hundred dollars a month on groceries.
Some of the evidence in the set of documents filed Tuesday detailed Giuliani’s spending on Amazon. To piece them together, he appears to have photographed a laptop showing each of his Amazon orders, compiled them into a black-and-white PDF and submitted it to the court.
It shows expected expenses for social media bloggers, such as tripods and USB cables.
It also includes personal items like coffee (Giuliani seems to prefer Illy), socks, and lots of ties.
On May 7, Giuliani purchased a six-pack of “Men’s Neckties Classic Silk Neckties Woven Jacquard Neckties” for $22.98, the majority of the nine filibuster-proof ties he ordered from Amazon that month.
“The ties are not silk but I assumed that was a lie and was factored into the price,” wrote one Amazon reviewer.
The listing photo on Amazon does not show the fabric composition tag. The tag in the photo of another tie from the same brand sold on eBay states it is made of 100% polyester. Another tie from the same brand sold on AliExpress and Shein states it is made of 100% polyester.
At less than $4 per tie, they’re a real bargain, but it’s not clear why Giuliani, who has worked at the highest levels of politics and the law, including as personal lawyer to President Donald Trump and as the US attorney in Manhattan, would need new ties.
Giuliani also spent about $13 on a six-ounce bottle of “Jergens Natural Glow Instant Sun Sunless Tanning Moisturizer + Bronzer, Self Tanning, Deep Bronze, Natural Tan.”
Hopefully, he’s satisfied. Giuliani has had trouble with cosmetics in the past.
Giuliani’s financial statements also show multiple purchases worth between $3 and $10 on Amazon that appear to be movies and TV shows he bought for streaming, though court filings do not say what he watched.
While Giuliani was fleeing indictment in Arizona on election interference charges (he was eventually indicted on May 17 and posted $10,000 bail), he racked up pricey restaurant bills in his Palm Beach condominium complex: On May 9, he spent $167 at a restaurant called Bricktops; the next day, he spent $113 at City Pizza; and the day after that, he spent $119 at Italian restaurant Baiche.
Curiously, Giuliani has no dependents, yet appears to have two bills listed as “phone bills” — an AT&T bill for $228 and $256 a month to Verizon.
Some of the numbers don’t add up
Despite the consternation from creditors, retirement funds such as individual retirement accounts are generally protected from bankruptcy proceedings, but creditors have accused Mr. Giuliani of using the funds irresponsibly.
Giuliani revealed for the first time that his Citi IRA, which makes up the bulk of his net worth, has a balance of about $2.5 million in 2022.
But the figures in a table showing expenditures in documents filed Tuesday don’t seem to add up.
Giuliani withdrew $1.8 million from the account between 2022 and 2023, according to the filing.
That would mean the balance would be about $700,000 by the time he files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early 2024. But Citibank documents filed with the court show the balance as more than $1 million.
The reason for the discrepancy is unclear. Neither a spokesman for Mr. Giuliani nor his bankruptcy lawyers immediately responded to requests for comment.
In previous filings, Giuliani’s lawyers have alleged that he withdrew large amounts of money from his retirement accounts over the past few years to set up Giuliani Communications, a company that produces political video blogs.
Giuliani’s video blogging company is in the red
Balance of Nature, a vitamin supplement company, became Giuliani Communications’ largest sponsor in May, paying the company $11,500.
Giuliani Communications also received $1,200 from MyPillow, a bedding company owned by Mike Lindell, another election conspiracy theorist who has been the subject of numerous defamation lawsuits.
Newsmax, which hosts one of Giuliani’s shows, paid him $8,300 that month, and he also made $2,200 from X (formerly Twitter), where he livestreams.
Giuliani’s largest payment came from WABC, the New York radio station owned by Republican billionaire grocery store magnate John Catsimatidis, which paid him $15,000 a month.
That revenue has now evaporated: The network fired Giuliani that month after he continued to push false conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.
Every month, Giuliani Communications has been spending more than it earns, even before WABC went off the air.
Giuliani pays himself $45,000 a month, more than the company’s total revenue. (Giuliani Communications’ balance sheet in May showed about $200,000.)
Giuliani also pays $10,000 a month to his alleged girlfriend, Maria Ryan, who also serves as president of the company and recently brokered a distribution deal for Rudy’s Coffee with the coffee company.
Ryan, who previously worked in health administration, said in an email to Business Insider in response to questions about his salary that he accepted a pay cut to work for Giuliani, saying “there are still people who do not know the truth about the origins of COVID-19.”
“I accepted a significant pay cut to join Giuliani Communications,” she wrote. “As an American 🇺🇸 We have seen censorship during the pandemic.”
“I am so disappointed in you guys. There are no real journalists left,” she later added in an email. “Why are you attacking me? It’s because I’m the president of Giuliani Communications.”
“Please leave me alone. I’m a grandmother to five children and they are traumatized because of you,” she continued.
The filing comes at a perilous time for Mr. Giuliani, as the federal bankruptcy judge overseeing his case is considering whether to appoint a trustee who could give him unhindered control over his financial life.
Nearly all of Giuliani’s debt comes from a $148 million jury verdict against him in a defamation lawsuit in which he falsely claimed two Georgia election officials had rigged the vote.
Bankruptcy proceedings prevent courts from enforcing judgments or seizing assets, and Giuliani’s lawyers have asked the bankruptcy judge to suspend the Chapter 11 proceedings while they appeal the defamation lawsuit.
“Unbelievably, Mr. Giuliani continues to expend state, party and judicial resources on appeals that would have been fully explained by now had he not elected to reorganize under Chapter 11 bankruptcy,” Georgia labor lawyers Ruby Freeman and Wondrea Moss said in a court letter filed Wednesday. “This is one piece of growing evidence that Mr. Giuliani cannot be trusted to manage his own bankruptcy.”
Giuliani’s lawyers say he has struggled to pay the accountants who prepare his monthly bankruptcy reports, which has caused problems in past filings.
The earlier filings were prepared by accountant Joseph Rich, whose firm received a $4,000 fee in May from Giuliani Communications, after Mr. Rich declined to be involved in the bankruptcy proceedings, according to Mr. Giuliani’s lawyers.
The latest report names Giuliani himself as the party “responsible” for preparing the report.
One of Giuliani’s monthly expenses is a house-cleaning service called Merry Maids, for which he pays $195, a steep price for his 2,200-square-foot, three-bedroom apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
Confusingly, Giuliani was billed twice for this service on the same day, May 3rd, which shows why it’s always wise to double-check your invoices.
