Trump reaches $25 million settlement in Trump University case

President-elect Donald Trump's lawyers have reached a settlement in the lawsuit against Trump University, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman confirmed in a statement Friday. Though Trump reportedly did not admit to any wrongdoing in the settlement of the class-action lawsuit, the billionaire did agree to pay $25 million to settle the case, including $1 million in penalties to the state of New York for violating education laws. The suit accused the now-defunct, for-profit university of fraud.
"Today's $25 million settlement agreement is a stunning reversal by Donald Trump and a major victory for the over 6,000 victims of his fraudulent university," Schneiderman said in a statement.
Trump vowed prior to his election that he would not settle the suit, brought by students who claimed they did not receive the real estate "secrets" and "hand-picked" instructors they were promised — after paying nearly $35,000 each in tuition. Throughout the entire campaign the trial date — originally set for Nov. 28 — loomed, and Trump's team had voiced concerns the legal battle would conflict with Trump's mounting responsibilities as president-elect.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, the judge whom Trump accused of being unable to provide a fair trial because of his Mexican heritage, was set to preside over the case.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Nvidia: unstoppable force, or powering down?
Talking Point Sales of firm's AI-powering chips have surged above market expectations –but China is the elephant in the room
-
5 hard-working cartoons about Labor Day celebrations
Cartoons Artists take on creation of AI, spelling mistakes, and more
-
Codeword: September 7, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fine
Speed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year