Trump never paid the lower court’s hefty fine, so there won’t be any half-billion dollar checks exchanging hands. Instead, the president is now eligible to get back the $175 million bond he posted to hold off collection while he pursued his appeal. Such bonds are common in the appellate process, acting as placeholder to guarantee payment.

A New York appellate court threw out the $527 million penalty in the civil fraud case against President Trump and others on Thursday, ruling that the fine was "excessive."