# Is Rudy Giuliani destitute? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 26, 2024, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rudy-giuliani-destitute/1010820 "2024-11-26T19:25:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rudy-giuliani-destitute/1010820/41 "2024-11-27T16:58:18Z")
In today’s NYT there is an article about Rudy’s repeated failures to turn over his assets to the two poll workers he slandered. He turned over the vintage Mercedes, but not the keys or the title. All of his possessions are in locked storage facilities. Why the judge hasn’t jailed this conman is puzzling. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rudy-giuliani-destitute/1010820/42 "2024-11-27T17:01:37Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > That was one of the reasons OJ Simpson lives in Florida {…} Lived. Let’s make that past tense 😉 FQ. Back to the OP 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rudy-giuliani-destitute/1010820/43 "2024-11-27T17:39:01Z")
As I understand, the main reason is that your personal dwelling is exempt for seizure under bankruptcy in Florida (even if your name starts with OJ and the dwelling is worth $25M). But There’s still the issue of property taxes and condo fees for anything. I assume bankruptcy law everywhere has the same provisions to allow someone a basic income. (Would Rudi get Social Security? He was making a fortune on books, appearances,etc after 9-11, and consulting fees with foreign governments during the previous Trump admin, etc. How much of that is subject to Social Security taxes? If he’s been raking it in for how manydecades that should also be a tidy bundle - whatever the max SS pays? > As mentioned, there are a couple of other factors that go into calculating your monthly Social Security check. First is when you were born. The **$4,873 maximum monthly benefit in 2024** is only applicable for retirees turning 70 this year. > [@doreen](#): > > Salaries for US Attorneys ran about $50K in 1981… Is that all they paid for top lawyers? What sort of quality did/do they attract for the guys running major prosecutions of the NYC mob? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rudy-giuliani-destitute/1010820/44 "2024-11-27T17:47:42Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > As I understand, the main reason is that your personal dwelling is exempt for seizure under bankruptcy in Florida (even if your name starts with OJ and the dwelling is worth $25M). I’m probably misremembering (and not willing to look it up), but as I recall, in Texas - and I think Fla - your home and 1 car are exempt from collection AND you cannot garnish wages. Based on a vague recollection of a job I did for less than a year some 35 years ago. I had one judgment against a member of the Houston Oilers. I could always count on my client calling me Monday morning after watching football on Sunday, irate that I was having such difficulty collecting on the judgment. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rudy-giuliani-destitute/1010820/45 "2024-11-27T17:49:19Z")
[Yep](https://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/17/nyregion/classic-fight-is-on-to-be-us-attorney.html) - remember that was over 40 years ago. Government lawyers get paid more than other government workers but not much compared to the top attorneys in private practice - the US Attorney General currently earns about $220K. People take those jobs for the status/prestige and then make their money afterwards or by making speeches and writing books. Plus there are people who cannot stomach the idea of being defense attorneys, so they will stay prosecutors even if switching to defense is more lucrative. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rudy-giuliani-destitute/1010820/46 "2024-11-27T18:20:07Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > And aren’t pensions and a home usually immune from garnishment? Job-sponsored retirement plans generally are (but not individual IRAs), with the exception of tax liens and divorce proceedings. Homes I think is pretty much state by state. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rudy-giuliani-destitute/1010820/47 "2024-11-27T20:18:01Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Based on a vague recollection of a job I did for less than a year some 35 years ago. I had one judgment against a member of the Houston Oilers. I could always count on my client calling me Monday morning after watching football on Sunday, irate that I was having such difficulty collecting on the judgment. 😃 How did that work with away games? As I understand, sports figures, like rock stars playing concerts, have to pay income tax in each location they perform in. Wouldn’t that expose their out-of-state earnings to garnishee where that’s allowed? > [@Dinsdale](#): > > I’m probably misremembering (and not willing to look it up), but as I recall, in Texas - and I think Fla - your home and 1 car are exempt from collection AND you cannot garnish wages. Boggles the mind - what’s the point of a garnishment then? Although I do recall from again, back in the 80’s, some article in Ontario saying that the moment they got a garnishee order many employers fired the guy rather than deal with accomodating the courts on an on-going basis. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rudy-giuliani-destitute/1010820/48 "2024-12-02T01:00:10Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > > [@Dinsdale](#): > > > > I am unaware of any bankruptcy or garnishment laws that would leave an individual “destitute” - at least according to any definition I have of that term. > > And aren’t pensions and a home usually immune from garnishment? That was one of the reasons OJ Simpson **lives** in Florida, because pensions are protected. _Lived_, iirc. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rudy-giuliani-destitute/1010820/49 "2024-12-02T01:29:12Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > Boggles the mind - what’s the point of a garnishment then? The restrictions on garnishment are to keep someone from freezing and starving on the street. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rudy-giuliani-destitute/1010820/50 "2024-12-02T02:04:48Z")
More completely … Garnishment is a tradeoff between the government squeezing the judgement value out of the debtor, and the government driving the judgement debtor into bankruptcy, penury, homelessness, hopelessness, or fugitive status. So, generally speaking, _some_ of your wages can be garnished. But not all of them or worse yet, 150% of them. Society wants to extract value from the goose laying the valuable eggs, not kill it. Certainly some states err too far in either direction. But the tradeoff is real and exists everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rudy-giuliani-destitute/1010820/51 "2024-12-02T02:21:30Z")
> [@JacobSwan](#): > > Is that the one in ‘Somebody, somewhere’? Seems like a lovely little town. They even sell appropriate cushions. \< snort \> on the cushions. They say they’re in Manhattan KS, but they film in some small town in Illinois. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rudy-giuliani-destitute/1010820/52 "2024-12-02T02:24:57Z")
Question: Is Rudy destitute? Answer: No, but he is broke. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ppMvosDVu3U/hqdefault.jpg "Amadeus (1984) - Scene: "No, But I'm Broke.." Talk With Salieri") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppMvosDVu3U) ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rudy-giuliani-destitute/1010820/53 "2024-12-02T04:41:09Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > More completely … > > Garnishment is a tradeoff between the government squeezing the judgement value out of the debtor, and the government driving the judgement debtor into bankruptcy, penury, homelessness, hopelessness, or fugitive status. > > So, generally speaking, _some_ of your wages can be garnished. But not all of them or worse yet, 150% of them. > > Society wants to extract value from the goose laying the valuable eggs, not kill it. Certainly some states err too far in either direction. But the tradeoff is real and exists everywhere. Well, yes. Garnishment IIRC is for a fraction of income, and obviously there s a floor. (Does the judge set the amount, based on tables and guidelines?) The idea that wages are completely immune from any garnish order is strange. I found something that says for Ontario, max 20% of salary. For New York: > **What Is the Most Judgment Creditors Can Garnish From My Paycheck Under Federal Law?** > Under federal law, the garnishment amount for judgment creditors is limited to 25% of your disposable earnings for that week (what’s left after mandatory deductions) or the amount by which your disposable earnings for that week exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage, whichever is less. [15 U.S.C. § 1673] > Some states limit creditors to a lesser amount. Then, the creditor has to follow the state’s garnishment laws. > **What Is an Income Execution in New York?** > In New York, wage garnishments are commonly called “income executions.” An “income execution” is an order from a court or a government agency that requires your employer to withhold a certain amount of money from your paycheck for the benefit of your creditor. > The creditor can’t take your entire check, though. Legal limits dictate how much of your paycheck a creditor can garnish, depending on the type of debt. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rudy-giuliani-destitute/1010820/54 "2024-12-02T12:37:51Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > The idea that wages are completely immune from any garnish order is strange. I don’t think any place completely exempts wages from garnishments - for example, Texas allows wage garnishment for court ordered child or spousal support and Federal debts but not for consumer debts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rudy-giuliani-destitute/1010820.md?page=2)