Real estate developer, born in New York City, USA. The son of a New York City residential real estate developer, he took over the Trump Organization, and greatly expanded its holdings. He built increasingly grandiose buildings, including the Trump Tower, New York City (1982), and Atlantic City casinos. His high-profile political dealmaking and enthusiastic self-promotion made him a 1980s celebrity. He suffered a spectacular crash into near-bankruptcy in 1990.
Donald Trump|
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| Born: |
June 14, 1946 New York City, New York |
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| Occupation: | Chief executive officer |
| Net worth: | $250 million |
| Website: | The Trump Organization |
Donald John Trump, Sr. (born June 14, 1946 in Queens, New York) is an American business executive, entrepreneur and author. He is the CEO of Trump Organization, an American-based real estate company in the premium real estate market and the founder of Trump Entertainment, which operates gambling casinos.
Overview and business
Donald Trump initially gained publicity for his lifestyle and several skyscrapers bearing his name, which he has developed on Manhattan.
Starting with the renovation of the Commodore Hotel into the Grand Hyatt, he continued on with Trump Tower and several other residential projects. 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. In 2001 he completed Trump World Tower, a 72-story residential tower across from the United Nations complex. Trump also has an undisclosed stake in Trump International Hotel and Tower, a 44-story mixed-use (hotel and condominium) tower on Columbus Circle. Trump currently owns over 18 million square feet of prime Manhattan real estate. 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, KKR, and LamboNuni Bank reportedly for $600 million. Donald Trump's 1/3 share was $200 million, which he later used to finance Trump Casino & 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 before transferring to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
In his book, 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 immediately moved back home and went to work full-time with my father."
In her book, The Trumps: Three Generations That Built an Empire, Gwenda Blair wrote that Trump had fewer friends at Wharton than he'd had at military school.
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. When the Trump Organization sold Swifton Village for $12 million they cleared $6 million in profit.
The development saga of the Javits Convention Center gave Donald Trump a revealing lesson in the ineptitudes and inefficiencies of the New York City government in that a project he'd estimated could've been completed by his company for $110 million ended up costing the city between $750 million to $1 billion. Trump offered to take over the job at no charge to the city, an offer that was initially rebuffed until the New York City media got wind of the story which changed their minds in a "New York minute". 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 (he used the leftover money to renovate the adjacent skatehouse and restaurant).
It should be noted that the city had started the Wollman Rink restoration project at the same time (May 1980) that Trump had broken ground for his landmark Trump Tower project, which he completed in 1983. Although he shored up his businesses with additional loans and postponed interest payments, increasing debt brought Trump to business bankruptcy and the brink of personal bankruptcy. Things were so bleak for Trump at this time that in the August 21, 1990 edition of the Jersey Record, columnist Mike Kelly wrote "If we still had debtors' prisons, Trump would be in the dungeon." Kelly added that "Donald Trump is a Third World Nation."
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. 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 kept Trump on to do what he did best: build.
In 1995, he combined his casino holdings into the publicly held Trump Hotels &
In 1999, Donald's father Fred Trump, a multi-billion dollar real estate mogul, died. Fred Trump, the same man who cosigned Donald's first business loans, also happened to be the man who enabled Donald to escape from the massive financial morass he had created over the decades. Whereas Donald walked away from his empire unscathed, others were forced to take catastrophic writeoffs and losses even up to 2004, when Trump refused to continue to back his casino. Although Trump boasted he would build a bigger empire than his father, in the end, his father built an empire so large it could even accommodate Donald's most lavish personal losses.
Problems loomed for Trump's casino resorts. In a May 28, 2004 Wall Street Journal article, Trump said the spectre of bankruptcy bothered him "from a psychological standpoint," but added, "it really wouldn't matter that much." On October 21, 2004, Trump Hotels & Since then, Trump Hotels has been forced to seek voluntary bankruptcy protection to stay afloat.
Brand name
With his success in real estate and television, Trump has succeeded in marketing the Trump name on a large number of products. Trump Men's Collection Trump Ice (Bottled Water) Disposable Cameras (Sold at Trump) Trump Vodka (Available Soon) Trump Magazine Trump Golf (Official Site)
Trump University
In 2005, Donald Trump launched Trump University, a business education company.
Trump Mortgage
In 2006, Donald Trump launched Trump Mortgage, a mortgage firm.
Travel website
In January 2006, Trump launched Go Trump, The site features some Trump Properties as well as other hotels and travel deals worldwide.
Trump Think Big Expo
On June 15, 2006, Donald Trump spoke in the Minneapolis Convention Center to host the Trump Think Big Expo. (NBC)
Trump Restaurants
Donald Trump has launched a new section within the Trump Organization dedicated to food. To name a few, Trump Buffet, Trump Catering, Trump Ice Cream Parlor.
Television and entertainment
In 1990, Trump's Atlantic City casino was used for the game show Trump Card, produced by Fielder-Berlin.
For a disconcertingly long time, Trump was parodied in Berke Breathed's long-running political cartoon strip, Bloom County.
In 2004, 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. For the first year of the show Trump was paid a mere $50,000 per episode (roughly $700,000 for the first season), but following the show's initial success, he is now paid a reported $3,000,000 per episode ($48 million USD if the job interview lasted for 16 weeks), making him one of the highest paid TV personalities.
In 2004, Trump became the headliner at The Learning Annex Real Estate Wealth Expo in New York. Trump got a 50% raise and is making $1.5 Million per show.
As part of a promotion campaign for The Apprentice, Trump hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live on April 3, 2004.
Trump has also been included in numerous television commercials over the years obtaining him a $1 million fee for a Pizza Hut commercial in the 1990s, a $3 million fee for a Domino's Pizza commercial in 2005 as well as a $5 million fee for his Visa Card commercial the same year.
A Muppet of Donald Trump also appears in an episode of the 36th season of Sesame Street, alongside grouch Muppet Donald Grump.
Trump also guest starred on an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, when he almost buys their mansion for his nephew.
On September 27, 2005 Hollywood Records released The Regis Philbin Christmas Album where Trump and Philbin sing a duet of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (Track #5).
On October 24, 2005, Trump starred as himself on Days of Our Lives.
On February 27, 2006, Trump made an appearance on the game show Deal or No Deal, advising the contestant to take the banker's deal - the contestant initially refused Trump's advice, and ended up winning much more money after being advised again by Trump.
Recently, when asked who should win American Idol in 2006, Trump chose Katharine McPhee.
As of June 2006, Trump is planning a new reality show with R.
In 2007, Trump will receive an honor for his contribution of The Apprentice to television by receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Trump is slated to host the next installment of The Big Break on the Golf Channel.
Personal life
Born to Mary MacLeod Trump, native of Stornoway, Isle of Lewis in Scotland, and the soon-to-be millionaire Fred Trump in 1946, Trump has three siblings, a brother and two sisters.
In 1977 Trump married Ivana Zelničkova later Ivana Trump and together they have three children: Donald, Jr. 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. In an interview given weeks before WrestleMania IV, Hulk Hogan referred directly to Trump when he exclaimed, "Thank God Donald Trump's a Hulkamaniac!". In 2004, Donald Trump filed a trademark application for the phrase You're fired, which he had popularized on The Apprentice. When Stan says "You're fired!", Donald appears with his hand out and clearing his throat to gain attention, to which Stan says "For God sake someone pay Mr. Trump." He later appears again, when Stan says "But you were fired", to which Stan replies: "Damnit Trump, that's passive past tense, you don't own that!" When it was revealed that he and Regis Philbin would sing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" on Philbin's Christmas album, CNN began rolling it by calling the news article: "Comet, Cupid, Donald, and Regis?" Guests at Trump's recent wedding to Melania Knauss include: Bill and Hillary Clinton, Kathie Lee and Frank Gifford, Star Jones, Shaquille O'Neal, Barbara Walters, Billy Joel, Tony Bennett, Simon Cowell, Russell Simmons and Kimora Lee Simmons, Matt Lauer, Rudolph Giuliani, Kelly Ripa, Chris Matthews, Don King, Katie Couric, Regis Philbin, Heidi Klum, Pat O'Brien, Mark Burnett, Billy Bush and many others. Trump also appeared briefly in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. In the 1997 episode New York and Queens of The Drew Carey Show, Trump made a cameo and ended up giving Drew and his friends excellent seats at a Yankees baseball game while also giving them directions through New York City. Has appeared on the Sirius Satellite Radio show G-Unit Radio talking with rapper Tony Yayo In January of 2006, Trump filed a $5 billion libel suit against biographer Timothy L. The Donald Love character Grand Theft Auto III is a spoof of Donald Trump. A Character of Leisure Suit Larry 5 named Donald Tramp, is clearly a spoof of Donald Trump. The clients turns out to be none other than Donald and Ivana Trump.
Books
Trump: The Art of the Deal, (ISBN 5-557-09901-8) Trump: The Art of Survival, (ISBN 0-446-36209-3) Trump: The Art of the Comeback, (ISBN 0-8129-2964-0) Trump: Surviving at the Top, (ISBN 0-394-57597-0) Trump: How to Get Rich, (ISBN 1-4000-6327-2) The Way to the Top: The Best Business Advice I Ever Received, (ISBN 1-4000-5016-2) Trump: Think Like a Billionaire : Everything You Need to Know About Success, Real Estate, and Life, (ISBN 1-4000-6355-8) Trump: The Best Golf Advice I Ever Received, (ISBN 0-307-20999-7) Why We Want You to be Rich: Two Men - One Message, (ISBN 1933914025)Properties
Selected completed properties
Personal Residence: Trump Tower: top 3 floors of Trump Tower with approximately 30,000 square feet (3,000 m²) of space; 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 is planning to re-list the property for $125 million. Trump Entertainment Resorts: This company owns the Trump branded casino resorts. Trump agreed to invest $55 million cash in the new company and pay $16.4 million to the company's debtors. The following are the Trump branded casino resorts: Trump Taj Mahal (Official Site) Trump Plaza (Official Site) Trump Marina (Official Site) The Estates at Trump National: Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275 (310)265-5000 Trump Grande: Florida 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. Trump Palace: 200 East 69th Street, New York, NY Trump Parc: 106 Central Park South, New York, NY Trump Park Avenue: Park Avenue & 59th Street Trump Tower: 725 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10022 Trump owns the retail and office space on the lower half of this building. Trump World Tower: 845 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY Trump Tower at City Center (Official Site)10 City Place, White Plains, NY 10601 Trump Plaza of the Palm Beaches: Twin 32-story residential towers located in downtown West Palm Beach, Florida. Trump Plaza: 167 East 61st Street, New York, NY ( 39-story, Y-shaped plan condominium building on the Upper East Side) Grand Hyatt: Park Ave at Grand Central, New York City, NY (26-story hotel next to Grand Central Station and first major project by Trump. Later sold 50 percent interest to the Hyatt Corporation for a reported 140 million dollars in 1996.)Selected current and future developments
International hotel and tower properties
Trump International Hotel and Tower, Las Vegas (Anticipated completion of Tower I is 2007) Trump International Hotel and Tower, Fort Lauderdale (Anticipated completion is 2007) Trump International Hotel and Tower, Chicago (Anticipated completion is 2008) - but difficultis pile up. Trump International Hotel and Tower, Toronto (Anticipated completion is 2008) Trump International Hotel and Tower, SoHo (New York City) Trump International Hotel and Tower, Honolulu (Anticipated completion is 2009) The Palm Trump International Hotel and Tower, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Trump Ocean Club International Hotel and Tower, Panama City (Anticipated completion is 2009) Trump International Hotel and Tower, New Orleans (Project slated to begin construction during the first quarter of 2007) Trump International Hotel & Trump Tower Philadelphia: This 45-story building will offer 263 luxurious condominiums on the Delaware River. Trump Grande, Sunny Isles Beach, FL: Two condominium towers and a resort tower just north of Miami. Trump Island Villas: Canouan Island, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trump Plaza: Jersey City in Jersey City, NJ.Trump Ocean Club - A new division of the Trump Organization. They are Trump Ocean Club International Hotel and Tower Panama, which is located on the peninsula of Panama.
Other prominent involvement
Many developers pay Donald Trump to market their properties and be the public face of their projects. Here are some examples:
Trump World I, II, and III: Seoul, Korea Trump received a licensing fee of $5 million to lend his name to this project. Trump International Hotel and Tower, New York: Trump provided his name and expertise to the building's owner (GE) during the building's re-development in 1994 for a fee which totaled $40 million ($25 million for project management and $15 million in incentives deriving from the condo sales). 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 Mr. Trump's involvement with the property and sought to use his name to seek higher sales prices. Mr. 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. Mr. Trump contends that the property should have been sold for more than $3 billion and is currently suing the owners for selling without his consent. A recent announcement, Donald Trump has purchased an 800-acre plot just north of Aberdeen with the intention of turning it into what he describes as "the world's best golf course" by 2008.
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