Donald Trump

Donald Trump

Donald Trump is not only one of the world’s richest men, but one of its most recognizable. Despite a privileged upbringing, he did not inherit anything, and went on to fame and fortune thanks to his business accomplishments and natural instincts.

Donald Trump, born in June, 14 1946, in Queens, New York, is the fourth of five children of Frederick C. and Mary Macleod Trump (Mortiz, 1987, p.23). His father was a builder and real estate developer who specialized in constructing and operating middle-inome apartments in the Queens, Staten Island, and Brooklyn. Donald was a round, fleshy baby, filled with energy (Tuccille, 1986, p.34). He was a bright kid who did well in most of his subjects, but he enjoyed squirting soda and flinging erasers at teachers more than studying for exams. His parents sent him off to New York Military Academy at age thirteen, hoping that school would set him straight. He did well at the academy, socially and academically. Donald’s best friend during his early years of school was his two-year younger brother, Robert. He did not look up to his older brother Freddie, rather he saw him as someone to compete with for his fathers throne, which he knew was already his. His oldest sister, Maryanne, acted like a mother towards him rather than an older sister (Mortiz, 1987, p.36)

During his summer breaks, Donald would work with his father and later join the company. He impressed his father with his quick mind and natural instinct. During that time, his father announced the start of a 3,000-unit apartment complex to be built on 40 acres in Coney Island (O’Donnel, 1991, p.67). Donald practically lived at the construction site when he was not attending school at the New York Military Academy in 1964 as a honor cadet four out of five years there (O’Donnel, 1991, p.73) He was expected to attend college before going to work with his father fulltime. The college of his choice was Fordham College located in the Northern section of the Bronx. While attending school there, he wanted to stay off campus as much as possible; there fore he did not join any social clubs or fraternities. At age eighteen he had learned a lot about real estate, he wanted to put his studies behind to work with his father. However his father insisted that he obtain a degree, something he never did. Donald transferred to the undergraduate business school at Wharton University of Pennsylvania, where it is reputed to have the best real estate programs in the country (Mortiz, 1987, p.48).

While Donald was coasting through his courses that he could have taught himself, Fred, his father encountered some trouble at home. This one involved the first project to hold the Trump name, Trump Village in Brooklyn (Barrett, 1992, p.22). The towers were built over a span of several years through 90% of government funding. E. Silverman, a state auditor testified before the New York State Investigation Commission for Fred Trump receiving more profit than the law in titled to him (Barrett, 1992, p.29). The incident provided Donald with far more practical education than any college could offer. To pratice, while still in college he bought and renovated several properties in Philadelphia during his undergraduate years. The experience he felt from that was more value to him than sitting in classroom listening to his professors. He continued to work with his father during the summers and helped him with a number of deals. He was also planning projects far more adventurous than anything his father had built. Donald graduated from Wharton University in May 1968 (Barrett, 1992, p.30)

Trump’s first job after joining the Trump organization was to take a careful look at his father’s books. He found out that the houses and apartment building’s Fred put up could be refinanced to free up tens of millions of dollars. He convinced his father that the cash flow from the rents would more than pay the interest charges on the loans. His father took on his smart financial move. He knew that if he wanted to be successful as his father, he had to do it in Manhattan. He tugged his father to towards Manhattan but he pulled Donald back to familiar grounds. After his father saw his great envisions for the business, he made him president of the empire.

Donald went on to marry a Winter Olympic Czechoslovakian Downhill skier in 1977. Her name was Ivana Zelnicokova Winklmayr. (Barrett, 1992, p. 60) After his marriage, his father agreed to go along with the plans to invade Manhattan. Soon after, there was another controversial matter about the trumps. The Department of Justice alleged that Trump Management Corporation was discriminating against blacks in the rental of apartments. In doing so, the government claimed that the corporation violated the Fair Housing Act of 1968 (Barrett, 1992, p.78). Donald Trump, now president, denied the charges. He said it was not that he