Bail isn't a fee, but a security that you will return to court for trial: you put up $n bail, which is forfeited only if you flee, and returned if you show up f

Bail isn't a fee, but a security that you will return to court for trial: you put up $n bail, which is forfeited only if you flee, and returned if you show up for your court dates as promised. It's intended to make it more likely that when you're let out of jail pending trial, you won't become a fugitive, because you don't want to forfeit the bail. But for that to be effective, the bail amount has to be a substantial portion of your net worth, so that it would actually be painful to lose it. If someone is worth billions and the bail is only $1m or something, they can just shrug it off, so it would be ineffective at compelling appearance.