Donald Trump for President
Will Trump Be President?
The prospect of Donald Trump becoming President, for millions of people, could be a welcomed godsend. For millions of others, Donald Trump for President would be their worst nightmare come to life.
However, no matter which camp you are in most would agree, that Donald Trump brings an interesting, if not entertaining dynamic to the U.S Presidential race that hasn’t been seen in a long time. Polarizing the country into almost tribalistic groupings, like never before.
So Who is Donald Trump?
Born in Queens, Donald J. Trump joined his father’s company early on in his career and had a vision for the Trump name. He envisioned the “Trump” brand as being synonymous with luxury worldwide.
To do this, in the mid-1970s, he went into real estate in Manhattan. Relying on the business connections and creditworthiness of his father, he borrowed a “small sum” of 1 million dollars to get started.
Trump’s Biggest Success
Trump’s top three business successes include:
- The Grand Hyatt, which he bought in 1976 and sold for $142 million in 1996.
- 40 Wall Street, Once the tallest building in the world, which he bought for $1 million and today as prime real estate in the financial district it’s worth more than $500 million.
- The Apprentice. As the T.V’s show’s host and executive producer, he raked in $1 million for each 185 episodes.
[See video below for overview of Donald Trump] source: VisualCaptialist
Trump’s Biggest Failures
Like many businessmen, Donald Trump’s career has also had his share of failures. His biggest failure may be his ill-fated venture into casinos in Atlantic City.
1. Atlantic City
In 1988, he acquired the Taj Mahal Casino. Funded primarily by junk bonds, the casino would be $3 billion in debt within a year. Trump, racked up $900 million in personal liabilities, had the business declare bankruptcy. To stay afloat he sold many personal assets,a 282-foot megayacht, his airline and half of his stake in the company.
Trump’s casino holding company would enter bankruptcy two more times: in 2004, after accruing $1.8 billion in debt, and in 2009, after missing a bond payment during the Financial Crisis. Each time, Trump’s stake in the company fell.
You’re Fired!!
2. Other Businesses
While three of Trump’s four bankruptcies involved Atlantic City casinos, he has also struggled in other ventures outside of real estate: Trump airlines, Trump Vodka, Trump: The Game, Trump Magazine, Trump Steaks, and Trump University were all destined for failure. Trump Mortgages was launched in 2006 right before the real estate crash, and it also failed.
Trump’s Net Worth
According to Trump’s campaign, he is worth “in excess of TEN BILLION DOLLARS”. However, he has been accused of artificially inflating his net worth. Forbes and Bloomberg News both have drastically different estimates of his wealth at $4.5 billion and $2.9 billion respectively.
But whatever the truth, it’s still a lot of money, and he’s still a billionaire who made it through hard work and self-effort, something most politicians and ‘insiders’ can’t lay claim to. He’s been down, he’s been out, he’s been broke, but still he managed to come back.
“Success comes from failure and you should never measure a man by how many times he has failed. Rather by how often he has succeeded. Success eludes most of us so it is something to be respected, no matter our personal views of the individual involved”.