Donald John Trump (born June
14, 1946) is an American
business magnate, socialite, author and
television
personality. He is the
Chairman
and
CEO of the
Trump Organization, a US-based
real-estate developer. Trump is also
the founder of
Trump
Entertainment Resorts, which operates numerous
casinos and
hotels across the
world. Trump's extravagant lifestyle and outspoken manner have made
him a celebrity for years, a status amplified by the success of his
NBC reality
show,
The
Apprentice (where he serves as host and
executive producer).
Donald was
the fourth of five children of Fred
Trump, a wealthy real estate developer based in New York City
. Donald was strongly influenced by his father
in his eventual goals to make a career in real estate development,
and upon his graduation from the Wharton
School of the University of Pennsylvania
in 1968, Donald Trump joined his father's company,
The Trump
Organization.
Starting
with the renovation of the Commodore Hotel into the Grand Hyatt
with the Pritzker family, he
continued with Trump Tower
in New York
City and several other residential projects.
Trump
would later expand into the airline industry (buying the Eastern Shuttle routes), and Atlantic City
casino business, including buying the Taj Mahal
Casino
from the Crosby family, then taking it into
bankruptcy. This expansion, both personal and business, led
to mounting debt. Much of the news about him in the early 1990s
involved his much publicized financial problems, creditor-led
bailout, extramarital affair with
Marla
Maples, and the resulting divorce from his first wife,
Ivana Trump.
The late 1990s saw a resurgence in his financial situation and
fame.
In
2001, he completed Trump World Tower
, a 72-story residential tower across from the
United Nations
Headquarters
. Also, he began construction on Trump Place
, a multi-building development along the Hudson River. Trump owns commercial
space in Trump International Hotel and
Tower
, a 44-story mixed-use (hotel and condominium) tower
on Columbus
Circle
. Trump currently owns several million square
feet of prime Manhattan
real estate, and remains a major figure in the
field of real estate in the United
States and a celebrity for his prominent media
exposures.
Background and education
Donald
Trump is the son of Fred Christ Trump
(Woodhaven, New York
, 11 October 1905 – 25 June 1999) and wife Mary
A. MacLeod (Stornoway
, Scotland
, 10 May 1912 – 7 August 2000), who married in
1936. His paternal grandparents were German immigrants; his grandfather, Frederick
Trump (Kallstadt
, Rheinland-Pfalz
, 14 March 1869 – 30 March 1918), immigrated to the
United States in 1885 and became a naturalized US Citizen in
1892. Frederick married Elisabeth Christ (10
October 1880 – 6 June 1966) at Kallstadt, Rheinland-Pfalz, in 1902.
Trump
attended The Kew-Forest School
in Forest
Hills, Queens
, but after trouble there when he was thirteen, his
parents sent him to the New York Military Academy
hoping to direct his energy and assertiveness in a
positive manner. It worked reasonably well: while at NYMA,
in upstate NY, Trump earned academic honors, played varsity
football in 1962, varsity soccer in 1963, and varsity baseball from
'62-64 (baseball captain '64). The baseball coach, Ted Dobias, a
local celebrity for his unselfish work with area youth, awarded him
the Coach's Award in '64. Promoted to Cadet Captain-S4 (Cadet
Battalion Logistics Officer) his Senior Year, Trump, and Cadet
First Sergeant Jeff Donaldson, '65, (West Point '69) formed a
composite company of cadets, taught them advanced close-order
drill, and marched them all down Fifth Avenue on Memorial Day,
1964.
Trump
attended Fordham
University
for two years before transferring to the Wharton
School of the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating
in 1968 with a
Bachelor of
Science in
economics and concentration
in finance, he joined his father's real estate company.
In his book,
Trump: The Art of the Deal, Trump discusses
his undergraduate career:
- "After I graduated from the New York Military Academy in 1964,
I flirted briefly with the idea of attending film school...but in
the end I decided real estate was a much better business. I began
by attending Fordham University...but after two years, I decided
that as long as I had to be in college, I might as well test myself
against the best. I applied to the Wharton
School at the University of Pennsylvania and I got in...I was also very glad to get
finished. I immediately moved back home and went to work
full time with my father."
Career
Early success (1968–1989)
Trump began his career at his father's company, the Trump
Organization, and initially concentrated on his father's preferred
field of middle-class rental housing in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten
Island.
One of Donald's first projects, while he was
still in college, was the revitalization of the foreclosed Swifton
Village apartment complex in
Cincinnati
, Ohio
--turning a
1200-unit complex with a 66% vacancy rate to 100% occupancy within
a year. When the Trump Organization sold Swifton Village for
$12 million, they cleared $6 million in profit.
In 1971 Trump moved his residence to Manhattan, where he became
convinced of the economic opportunity in the city, specifically
large building projects in Manhattan that would offer opportunities
for earning high profits, utilizing attractive architectural
design, and winning public recognition. Trump began by landing the
rights to develop the old Penn Central yards on the West Side,
then—with the help of a 40-year tax abatement by the financially
strained New York City government, which was eager to give tax
concession in exchange for investments at a time of financial
crisis—turned the bankrupt Commodore Hotel into a new Grand
Hyatt.
He was
also instrumental in steering the development of the Javits
Convention Center
on property he had an option on. The
development saga of the Javits Convention Center brought Donald
Trump into contact with the New York City government when a project
he'd estimated could have been completed by his company for $110
million ended up costing the city between $750 million to $1
billion. He offered to take over the project at cost but the offer
was not accepted.
A similar
opportunity would arise in the city's attempt to restore the
Wollman
Rink
in Central
Park
--a project started in 1980 with an expected 2½-year
construction schedule that was still, with $12 million spent,
nowhere near completion in 1986. Trump offered to take over
the job at no charge to the city, an offer that was initially
rebuffed until it received much local media attention. Trump was
given the job which he completed in six months and with $750,000 of
the $3 million budgeted for the project left over.
Financial problems (1989–1997)
By 1989, the effects of
recession left
Trump unable to meet loan payments.
Trump financed the construction of his
third casino, the $1 billion Taj
Mahal, primarily with high-interest junk bonds. Although he shored up his
businesses with additional loans and postponed interest payments,
by 1991 increasing debt brought Trump to business
bankruptcy and the brink of personal bankruptcy.
Banks and
bond holders had lost
hundreds of millions of dollars, but opted to restructure his debt
to avoid the risk of losing more money in court.
The Taj
Mahal
re-emerged from bankruptcy on October 5, 1991, with
Trump ceding 50% ownership in the casino to the original
bondholders in exchange for lowered interest rates on the debt and
more time to pay it off.
On
November 2, 1992, the Trump Plaza Hotel
was forced to file a prepackaged Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection plan
after being unable to make its debt payments. Under the
plan, Trump agreed to give up a 49% stake in the luxury hotel to
Citibank and five other lenders. In return Trump would receive more
favorable terms on the remaining $550+ million owed to the lenders
and retain his position as chief executive, though he would not be
paid and would not have a role in day-to-day operations.
By 1994, Trump had eliminated a large portion of his $900 million
personal debt and reduced significantly his nearly $3.5 billion in
business debt. While he was forced to relinquish the
Trump Shuttle (which he had bought in 1989),
he managed to retain Trump Tower in New York City and control of
his three casinos in Atlantic City.
Chase Manhattan Bank, which lent Trump
the money to buy the West Side yards, his biggest Manhattan parcel,
forced the sale of a parcel to Asian developers. According to
former members of the Trump Organization, Trump did not retain any
ownership of the site's real estate - the owners merely promised to
give him about 30 percent of the profits once the site was
completely developed or sold. Until that time, the owners wanted to
keep Trump on to do what he did best: build things. They gave him a
modest construction fee and a management fee to oversee the
development. The new owners also allowed him to put his name on the
buildings that eventually rose on the yards because his well-known
moniker allowed them to charge a premium for their condos.
Trump was elected to the
Gaming Hall
of Fame in 1995.
In 1995, he combined his casino holdings into the publicly held
Trump Hotels & Casino
Resorts.
Wall Street
drove its stock above $35 in 1996, but by 1998 it
had fallen into single digits as the company remained profitless
and struggled to pay just the interest on its nearly $3 billion in
debt. Under such financial pressure, the properties were
unable to make the improvements necessary for keeping up with their
flashier competitors.
Finally, on October 21, 2004, Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts
announced a restructuring of its debt. The plan called for Trump's
individual ownership to be reduced from 56 percent to 27 percent,
with bondholders receiving stock in exchange for surrendering part
of the debt. Since then, Trump Hotels has been forced to seek
voluntary bankruptcy protection to stay afloat. After the company
applied for Chapter 11 Protection in November 2004, Trump
relinquished his CEO position but retained a role as Chairman of
the Board. In May 2005 the company re-emerged from bankruptcy as
Trump Entertainment
Resorts Holdings.
Resurgence (1997–2007)
Trump has several projects under way. The level of success of the
progress of the projects varies.
The Trump International Hotel and Tower -
Honolulu
seems to be a success. According to Trump,
buyers paid non-refundable deposits to commit to purchase every
unit on the first day they were made available.
Construction of the
Trump International Hotel and Tower -
Chicago
seems to be proceeding as planned although 30% of
the units remain unsold. The Trump International Hotel and Tower -
Toronto
has had a series of delays and a height
reduction. The Trump Tower - Tampa
has been quite controversial because the initial
sales were so successful that all deposits were returned to charge
a higher price. Three years after construction of this
controversial development began, construction has delayed and
lawsuits have been filed.
In one Trump construction project was put on
hold in favor of another (Trump International Hotel and Tower - Fort
Lauderdale
). Meanwhile,
Trump Towers - Atlanta is being
developed in a housing market which has the nation's second-highest
inventory of unsold homes.
2008 financial crisis
Trump has
been caught in the 2008 financial
crisis as sales for his Trump International Hotel and
Tower in Chicago
have been lagging and he failed to pay a $40m loan
to Deutsche Bank in December.
Arguing that the crisis is an
Act of God,
he evoked a clause in the contract to not pay the loan and
initiated a
countersuit asserting his
image has been damaged. Deutsche Bank has in turn noted in court
that 'Trump is no stranger to overdue debt' and that he has twice
previously filed for bankruptcy with respect to his casino
operations.
On 17 February 2009
Trump
Entertainment Resorts filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Mr Trump
having stated on February 13 that he would resign from the
board.
Properties
its October 7, 2007 Forbes 400 issue, "Acreage Aces," Forbes valued
Trump's wealth to $3.0 billion. Trump is known for his many
properties.
Selected completed properties
- Trump World Tower: 845 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY. It
is valued at $290 million.
- Trump Tower: 725 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10022 Trump owns the
retail and office space on the lower half of this building.
It is valued at $288 million.
- Personal Residence: Trump Tower: top 3 floors of Trump Tower
with approximately 30,000 square feet (3,000 m²) of space; detailed
in bronze, gold, and marble. Worth as much as $50 million, it is
one of the most valuable apartments in New York City.
- AXA
Financial Center
, 1290
Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY
- 555 California Street
, formerly the Bank of America Center, in San
Francisco: When Trump was forced to sell a stake in the railyards
on Manhattan's West Side, the Asian group to which he sold then
sold much of the site for $1.76 billion. They then
reinvested the rest of the money, via a tax-free exchange, into two
office buildings: 1290 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan and 555
California Street in San Francisco (The Group has since sold their
stake to Vornado Realty Trust).
Trump ended up owning 30% of the two buildings. Based on the recent
sales price, Trump's stake is valued at $540 million.
- The
Trump Building at 40 Wall
Street
: Trump bought and renovated this building for about
$35 million in 1996. Although Trump claims it is worth $400
million, New York tax assessors value it at only $90 million. Mr.
Trump has taken out a $145 million mortgage on this property to use
for other investments. Forbes values the property at $260
million.
- Trump Entertainment Resorts: This company owns the Trump
branded casino resorts. After a long period of financial trouble,
the company entered bankruptcy protection in 2004. Trump agreed to
invest $55 million cash in the new company and pay $16.4 million to
the company's debtors. In return he holds a 29.16% stake in the new
public company. This stake was worth approximately $171 million in
October 2006. The following are the Trump branded casino resorts:
- Riverside South/Trump Place When completed, Riverside South will be the largest
single private development in New York City's history. It
was built by the Trump Organization, although financed by investors
from Hong Kong and owned by the Hudson Waterfront Company. During
his financial difficulties in the mid 90's, Trump was forced to
sell this site, the former west side rail-yards. The new owners
continued Trump's involvement with the property and sought to use
his name to seek higher sales prices. Trump was paid $2 million
annually for his oversight of the project, and he was offered an
estimated 30% of the net profits upon completion of this 10 year
project. The investors sold off the uncompleted project in 2005 for
$1.8 billion and offered Mr. Trump $500 million. Trump contends
that the property should have been sold for more than $3 billion
and in 2006 sued the owners for selling without his consent, and
sought $1 billion in damages. Forbes values his stake in
the property at $170 million.
- Trump International Hotel and Tower
Chicago ( Official Site), (under construction,
anticipated completion is 2009) The entire project is valued at
$1.2 billion ($112 million stake for Trump).
- Trump Hotel Las Vegas
( Official Site) This is a joint development with
fellow Forbes 400 member, Phillip Ruffin. Trump's stake is
valued at $162 million.
- Trump International Hotel and Tower New
York ( Official Site), Trump provided his name and expertise
to the building's owner (GE) during the building's re-development
in 1994 for a fee totaling $40 million ($25 million for project
management and $15 million in incentives deriving from the condo
sales). Forbes values Trump's stake at $12
million.
- Trump Park Avenue: Park Avenue
& 59th Street. It is valued at $142 million.
- Golf Courses (valued at $127 million):
- Trump currently owns four golf courses in the United States
including Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff Manor, New York,
Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump
International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Trump
National Golf Club in Los Angeles, CA.
- In
2006, Donald Trump purchased a plot just north of Aberdeen
at Menie
, Scotland, Trump
International Golf Links, with the intention of turning it into
a £1 billion golf resort and "the world's best golf course".
The development plan included two courses, a 5-star hotel, holiday
homes, and a golf academy. Trump wishes the site, once finished, to
hold the British Open. There
has been opposition from some locals and negative reaction from
environmental groups interested in preserving the 4,000-year-old
dunes that are designated as an SSSI . The development was
rejected by the local council's planning subcommitee and is
currently going through a planning inquiry with the Scottish
Parliament
.
- Trump is also building Trump International Golf Club in the
Caribbean island of Canouan Island, The Grenadines. The development
will include Trump Club Privee, a Monte Carlo inspired casino.
- Trump also builds residential housing developments near these
golf clubs. Examples include: The Estates at Trump National in
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, Trump Island Villas on Canouan Island, The
Grenadines, and The Residences at Trump National in Westchester
County, NY.
- Nike Store: The Niketown store is located in Trump Tower. It is
valued at $120 million
- Palm Beach
estate: 43,000 square feet (4,000 m²) on a large
oceanfront lot in Palm Beach. Trump purchased this property
for $40 million at a bankruptcy auction in 2004. Renovations to the
property were led by the Season 3 Apprentice Kendra Todd, and Trump sold the property for
$100 million in June 2008, making it the most expensive house ever
sold in the United States. (The preivous record is $70 million for
Ron Perelman's Palm Beach estate in
2004.). Forbes values his stake in the property for $43
million.
- Mar-A-Lago
( Official Site), Palm Beach, Florida. Most of
this estate has been converted into a private club. This landmark
property, according to Trump, has received bids near $200,000,000.
However,
Forbes magazine does not take into account either of
Trump's large vacation residences (Mar-a-Largo or his spread near
Bedford,
NY
in Westchester County, NY
) for its valuation of his wealth.
Real Estate Licensing
Many developers pay Donald Trump to market their properties and be
the public face for their projects. For that reason, Trump does not
own many of the buildings that display his name. According to
Forbes, this portion of Trump's empire, actually run by
his children, is by far his most valuable with a valuation of $562
million. According to
Forbes, there are 33 licensing
projects under development including seven "condo hotels" (i.e. The
seven Trump International Hotel and Tower developments). Some
examples are:
- Manhattan:
- Trump Palace: 200 East 69th Street, New York, NY
- Trump Parc and Trump Parc East: Two adjoining buildings on
Central Park South on the southwest corner of The Avenue of the
Americas. Trump Parc East is a 14-story apartment building and
Trump Parc (the former Barbizon Plaza Hotel) is a 38-story
condominium building.
- Trump Plaza: 167 East 61st Street, New York, NY ( 39-story,
Y-shaped plan condominium building on the Upper East Side)
- 610 Park Avenue (The old Mayfair Hotel): Trump is helping with
the construction and development of this property for Colony Capital.
- Trump
SoHo
( Official Site) Hotel Condominium: A partnership with
Bayrock Group to build a 42 story building in Soho
.
- New York City Suburbs:
- Trump Plaza: Jersey City, NJ. The project includes New Jersey's
two tallest residential towers and costs about $450 million. The
55-story tower will have 445 condos, and the 50-story tower will
have 417.
- Trump Plaza
is a 39-story luxury residence and hotel with
retail space that is currently under construction in Westchester
County, NY with developer Louis
R. Cappelli.
- Trump Tower at City Center
is a 35-story condominium apartment building built
in Westchester County, New York with developer Louis R. Cappelli.
- Trump
Parc Stamford is a development in Stamford, Connecticut
with F. D. Rich Company and Louis R. Cappelli.
- Florida:
- Domestic:
- International:
In the media
Donald Trump, a two-time
Emmy
Award-nominated personality, has made appearances as a
caricatured version of himself in television series and films (e.g.
Home Alone 2: Lost in
New York, The
Nanny, The
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Days of our Lives), and as a
character (
The Little
Rascals.) He has been the subject of comedians, flash
cartoon artists, and online caricature artists. In addition to the
aforementioned forms of media he has appeared on, he has been a
guest on various talk shows and other media.
In 2003, Trump became the
executive
producer and host of the
NBC reality show,
The Apprentice, in
which a group of competitors battled for a high-level
management job in one of Trump's commercial
enterprises. The other contestants were successively "fired" and
eliminated from the game. In 2004, Donald Trump filed a trademark
application for the
catchphrase
"
You're fired".
For the first year of the show Trump was paid $50,000 per episode
(roughly $700,000 for the first season), but following the show's
initial success, he is now paid a reported $3 million per episode,
making him one of the highest paid TV personalities.
In December 2006,
talk show host
Rosie O'Donnell criticized Trump on
The View for "acting as a moral
compass for 20-year-olds" after giving a second chance to
Miss USA,
Tara Conner,
who had violated pageant guidelines by partying and drinking.
Trump, who owns the rights to the pageant, decided to let Conner
retain the Miss USA crown while she pursued rehabilitation. A
tabloid war raged for several weeks
thereafter between the two celebrities.
In 2007,
Trump received an honor for his contribution of The Apprentice to
television by receiving a star on the Hollywood
Walk of Fame
.
In October 2007, Trump appeared on
Larry King Live and delivered a strong
criticism of then-
United States
President George W. Bush, particularly concerning the
Iraq War. He also predicted that
Rudy Giuliani and
Hillary Clinton would win the Republican and
Democratic Presidential nominations, respectively, and said that he
would be very supportive of either of them being elected President.
He made further statements about the issue on the
The Situation Room, in which he said
"anybody who wants more troops in Iraq, I don't feel can win an
election" as Rudy Giuliani supports that position. On the same
show, he was also critical of the public perception of
Angelina Jolie as a grand beauty.
On September 17, 2008, Trump officially endorsed
John McCain for the U.S. Presidency on
Larry
King Live.
Other ventures
The
Miss Universe
Organization is owned by Donald Trump and the National
Broadcasting Company (
NBC). The organization
produces the
Miss Universe,
Miss USA, and
Miss Teen
USA pageants.
Other investments include a 17.2% stake in
Parker Adnan, Inc. (formerly AdnanCo Group), a
Bermuda-based financial services holdings company. In late 2003,
Trump, along with his siblings, sold their late father's real
estate empire to a group of investors that included
Bain Capital,
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, and
LamboNuni Bank reportedly for $600
million. Donald Trump's 1/3 share was $200 million, which he later
used to finance
Trump Casino
& Resorts.
With his success in real estate and television, Trump has succeeded
in marketing the Trump name on a large number of products. These
products include
Trump Financial (a
mortgage firm), Trump Sales and Leasing (residential sales),
Trump University (a business
education company) , Trump Restaurants (Located in Trump Tower and
consisting of Trump Buffet, Trump Catering, Trump Ice Cream Parlor,
and Trump Bar),
GoTrump (an online travel website), Donald J. Trump
Signature Collection (a line of menswear, men's accessories, and
watches), Donald Trump The Fragrance (2004), Trump Ice bottled
water, Trump Magazine, Trump Golf, Trump Institute, Trump The Game
(1989 Board Game), Trump Vodka, and Trump Steaks. In addition,
Trump reportedly receives $1.5 million for each one hour
presentation he does for the
The
Learning Annex.
Trump was also involved with the old
USFL, a
competitor to the NFL, as owner of the
New Jersey Generals. In addition, Trump
at one time acted as a financial advisor for
Mike Tyson and hosted Tyson's fight against
Michael Spinks in Atlantic
City.
In the 2000 election, Donald Trump considered running for president
as a member of the Reform party.
Instituted by Ronna Mee Brand, the
Donald J. Trump Award honors and recognizes
individuals who make a significant impact on the evolution,
development and perpetuation of real estate throughout Greater Los
Angeles.
The second annual Donald J. Trump Award was presented December 6,
2007 at the Beverly Hilton, International Ballroom. Tom Gilmore,
the first recipient, presented the award to Michael Koss. Donald
Trump congratulated Mr. Koss via video broadcast.
World Wrestling Entertainment
Donald Trump and Bobby Lashley shave
Vince McMahon bald.
Trump is a known
World
Wrestling Entertainment fan and friend of WWE owner
Vince McMahon. He has hosted two
WrestleMania events in the Trump Plaza and has
been an active participant in several of the shows. Trump's Trump
Taj Mahal in Atlantic City was host to the
1991 WBF Championship (which
was owned by WWE, known at the time as the "World Wrestling
Federation."). Trump was interviewed by
Jesse Ventura ringside at
WrestleMania XX. He also appeared at
WrestleMania 23 in the corner of
Bobby Lashley who competed against
Umaga with WWE Chairman McMahon in his
corner, in a hair versus hair match, with either Trump or McMahon
having their head shaved if their competitor lost. Lashley won the
match, and he and Trump both proceeded to shave McMahon bald.
On June 15, 2009, as
part of a storyline,
McMahon announced on
WWE Raw that
he had 'sold' the show to Donald Trump. Appearing on screen, Trump
confirmed it and declared he would be at the following
commercial-free episode in person and would give a full refund to
the people who purchased tickets to the arena for that night's show
in the amount of
$235,000. McMahon 'bought back'
Raw on June 22.
In wrestling
Golf course
Trump
testified in June 2008, as first witness at the Aberdeen
Exhibition and Conference Centre
(AECC) inquiry (ordered by Scottish ministers)
after an Aberdeenshire Council committee denied his plans to build
a £1billion golf resort north of
Aberdeen, at the Menie
Estate. Environmental groups and local campaigners
opposed the bid in which part of the course would be built on sand
dunes that are a
Site of Special Scientific
Interest (SSSI), though business leaders supported the would-be
golf course. Trump stated the site "had the potential to be the
greatest golf course in the world."
Vitamins
In the fall of 2009, Trump launched The Trump Network, a direct
selling vitamin company. The products include PrivaTest, a
multi-vitamin, Silhoutte Solution, a series of weight loss
products, and QuikStik, mood infusion beverages.
Personal life
Donald
Trump is popularly known as The Donald, a nickname
given to him by the media after his ex-wife Ivana Trump, a native of the Czech
Republic
referred
to him as such in an interview. He is also known for his
catchphrase, "You're Fired", made popular by his television series
The Apprentice. Trump is known for his distinctive
hairstyle, which he has refused to change
throughout his career.
Family
Trump's mother Mary Anne was born on the
Isle of Lewis.
She left Tong
, Scotland in 1930 aged 18 for a holiday in New York, met a local builder, and stayed.
Born in ,
United
States, Trump has four siblings - two brothers (Fred Jr.,
who is deceased, and Robert) and two sisters (Maryanne and
Elizabeth). His older sister,
Maryanne Trump Barry, is a federal
appeals court judge and the mother of
David Desmond, who is a neuropsychologist and
writer.
In 1977, Trump married Ivana Zelničkova (later
Ivana Trump) and together they have three
children:
Donald, Jr.,
Ivanka, and
Eric.
They were divorced in 1992. In 1993, he married
Marla Maples and together they had one child,
Tiffany. They divorced on June 8, 1999. In a February 2008
interview on ABC's
Nightline Trump commented on his
ex-wives by saying, "I just know it's very hard for them (Ivana and
Marla) to compete because I do love what I do. I really love
it."
On April 26, 2004, he proposed to
Melania
Knauss ( in
Slovene, later
Melania Knauss-Trump) from Slovenia.
Trump and Knauss (who
is 24 years Trump's junior) married on January 22, 2005, at
Bethesda by the Sea Episcopal Church on the island of Palm Beach,
Florida, followed by a reception at Trump's Mar-A-Lago estate. Neither Melania nor Trump is an
Episcopalian. Melania gave birth to a boy named Barron William
Trump, Trump's fifth child. Trump became a grandfather when son
Donald Jr. and his wife Vanessa welcomed a daughter named Kai
Madison. Trump became a grandfather of two after Donald Jr. and
Vanessa had their second child and first son, Donald John Trump
III.
Hobbies
Trump is an enthusiastic
golfer, with a low
single-figure
handicap.
He is a member of the
Winged Foot
Golf Club
in Mamaroneck, New York
, and also plays regularly at the other courses
he owns and operates.
Bibliography
Trump has authored many books including:
- Trump: The Art of the Deal (1987)
- Trump: Surviving at the Top (1990)
- Trump: The Art of Survival (1991)
- Trump: The Art of the Comeback (1997)
- Trump: How to Get Rich (2004)
- The Way to the Top: The Best Business Advice I Ever
Received (2004)
- Trump: Think Like a Billionaire: Everything You Need to
Know About Success, Real Estate, and Life (2004)
- Trump: The Best Golf Advice I Ever Received
(2005)
- Why We Want You to be Rich: Two Men - One Message
(2006), co-written with Robert
Kiyosaki.
- Think Big and Kick Ass in Business and Life (2007),
co-written with Bill Zanker. (ISBN 978-0061547836)
- The America We Deserve (2000) (with Dave Shiflett,
ISBN 1580631312)
- Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top
Experts Share Their Strategies (2007)
- Trump 101: The Way to Success (2007)
- Trump Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges
into Success (2008)
References
- Reuters: Trump Entertainment files for
bankruptcy
- news.bbc.co.uk, Trump £1bn golf inquiry tees
off
- pressandjournal.co.uk, Tycoon’s actions critical to
outcome
- http://www.trumpnetwork.com/Products/QuikStik.aspx
- http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20038764,00.html
- http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20259930,00.html
Further reading
External links
with fellow Forbes 400 member Jorge
Perez.
with fellow Forbes 400 member Jorge
Perez.
: This 45-story building will offer 263
luxurious condominiums on the Delaware River.
for which Trump received a licensing fee of $5
million to lend his name.
, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
. This project collapsed due to the project's
failure to secure financing.
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