A look into the business career of the richest President of America, Donald Trump
We all know Donald Trump as a controversial media personality, a successful businessman, and the 45th President of the United States but did you know that he is the richest President in the history of the United States, in fact, he has more money than 44 Presidents before him, combined!
The business tycoon’s journey started in his college days when he began working on his real estate career at his father’s company- Elizabeth Trump and Son which was founded by his paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Christ Trump who was a German businesswoman and is also considered the matriarch of the Trump family along with his father. The company focused on providing middle-class rental in the Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island boroughs of NYC. In 1971, Trump became the President of the organization. He renamed the company Trump Organization and within 2 years developed 4,000 apartments across the boroughs.
This was the time by which he had moved to Manhattan and his first major deal was the architectural reconstruction and development of the Grand Hyatt Hotel in 1978- which when got remodeled 2 years later, brought Trump a great deal of public prominence. Then yet again, in 1981, Trump purchased and renovated a building that would become the Trump Plaza, on Third Avenue in New York City, a 36-story cooperative apartment and retail building designed by Philip Birnbaum and built for $125 million. It was opened in 1984.
The 80s were a phenomenal era for Trump, in 1983 after complicated negotiations with different parties, he developed his famous Trump Tower with Equitable Life Assurance Company. This 58-story skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan houses both the primary penthouse condominium residence of Donald Trump and the headquarters of the Trump Organization along with shops, cafés, offices, and residences.
Then, Trump partnered with Holiday Corp and opened Harrah’s at Trump Plaza in 1984-a hotel and casino complex on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It contained 614 rooms, seven restaurants, a health club, a 750-seat showroom, and a 60,000 sq ft casino. Soon after opening, the name was changed to simply Trump Plaza. He then went to
Then in 1985, Trump acquired the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, for $5 million, this not only became a spot for winter retreat but also a private club with membership fees of $150,000.Not only this, he soon went down to acquire a condominium complex in West Palm Beach that became the Trump Plaza of the Palm Beaches. In 2001, Trump completed Trump World Tower, a 72 story residential condominium in Midtown Manhattan, New York City across from the United Nations Headquarters.
After the complete number of successful real estate deals in Manhattan and New York City, and his company, Trump Organization now owns and develops lodging and golf courses around the world- the number of golf courses that Trump owns or manages is about 18, according to Golfweek. You would also be surprised to know Trump was also involved in the beauty industry for quite a while-from 1996 to 2015, he co-owned the Miss Universe Organization, which also included the Miss U.S.A. and Miss Teen U.S.A. pageants.
Trump and his associates Michael Sexton and Jonathan Spitalny also found an American for-profit education company, Trump University LLC- a real estate training program offering many courses in asset management, entrepreneurship, wealth creation, etc. in 2005. It charged between $1500 and $35,000 per course; however, it’s no longer functional after multiple lawsuits.
Though real estate is still his most preferred asset class, Trump became an active financial market investor in 2011 following disappointment from the depressed American real estate market and has invested a minimum of $70 million in stocks. His personal investment portfolio is concentrated in the financial and commodities markets and focuses on generating income and cash flow from a variety of mechanisms as dividends, capital gains, etc.
According to a July 2015 press release from his campaign manager, Trump’s “income” for the year 2014 was $362 million (“which does not include dividends, interest, capital gains, rents, and royalties”). His disclosure filings for the year 2015 stated that his total gross revenue was more than $611 million.
