Donald Trump Biography

Donald John Trump aka The Donald was born June 14, 1946, in New York, NY. He was educated at the military academy. Once he graduated from there, he contemplated becoming an actor or director but then dropped the idea. Donald Trump joined Fordham University. Two years later he successfully applied to the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania. After college he joined the Elizabeth Trump & Son, and assisted his father Frederick Christ "Fred" Trump. He later renamed the company as Trump Organization.

Early Career and Business Ventures
The beginning of Donald Trump, the consummate deal-maker was at his father's office in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, New York. Donald Trump credits his father for being an able guide and mentor. He says, "My father was my mentor, and I learned a tremendous amount about every aspect of the construction industry from him." Donald Trump was tired with the small deals after five years in Brooklyn. He wanted a piece of the gold that was available in Manhattan. When he arrived in Manhattan, he was broke but he knew the importance of contacts with influential people. The best place to meet these people were at exclusive clubs, entry to which was restricted to people like Trump. Donald managed to charm the management committee of the club into giving him membership. He utilized the opportunity to make contacts with the rich and famous of the city.

Donald Trump's businesses span many industries today. He is the owner of the largest single piece of land in New York City. It is a 100-acre piece of land fronting along the Hudson River from 59th Street to 72nd Street, the biggest development ever approved by the New York City Planning Commission. When it is completely developed the buildings would house 10 million sq. ft. of space. 5 buildings out of the 18 buildings have been completed and are fully occupied. Other premium buildings owned by Donald Trump are Trump Parc, Trump Palace, Trump Plaza, 610 Park Avenue, The Trump World Tower and Trump Park Avenue. The names of the buildings are an indication of Donald Trump's fetish of naming his buildings after himself. He has also converted a few buildings into top-notch hotels.

Apart from the real estate business Trump has always had a proclivity for attractive women. He owns part of the broadcast rights to Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA Pageants. He also has his own hit show on NBC called "The Apprentice." One of the reasons for Donald Trump's success has been his penchant to go against the tide. When the competition was heating up in the real estate business, he raised prices. But it has not always been one-way traffic for Trump. The real estate slump in the early nineties meant that he could not pay off bank loans worth U.S. $2 billion. Donald Trump was forced into bankruptcy. He was back where he started, with practically nothing in his pocket.

Slowly but surely his trusted negotiating skills and deal making instincts brought him back from the brink. He had already written a best seller called "The Art of the Deal." The sequel to it called "Surviving at the Top" was equally successful. But the book that outsold both of them was "The Art of the Comeback." Donald Trump started viewing life differently after his resurrection was complete. It was epitomized in his fourth book, which was called "The America We Deserve." It captured the various problems that was plaguing American society. Trump was back to his capitalistic best when he wrote his last book entitled, "How To Get Rich: Big Deals from the Star of The Apprentice."

Donald Trump has been addicted to beautiful women for a long time. His marriage to Ivana Trump ended in divorce in 1990. Donald Trump then married Marla Maples in 1993. They filed for divorce n 1999. He has four children from his two marriages. The Trump wedding saga continued in 2005 when he married Slovenian model Melania Knauss at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach.

Donald Trump has been very active with various charitable organizations. He once paid of the entire mortgage on the house; of a car mechanic who rectified a problem with his limousine. He recently made a foray into politics after accepting a ticket of Ross Perot's Reform Party. While campaigning however he said in his characteristic style "I'm not a big fan of the handshake," he told US TV channel NBC. "I think it's barbaric, shaking hands, you catch colds, you catch the flu, you catch this, you catch all sorts of things." Donald Trump's main grouse with Bill Clinton was that the affair with Monica Lewinsky was not worth the trouble because she was not attractive enough.

Monetary Troubles

1989 - Taj Mahal Casino
Recession had an impact on Trump's wealth as well, as his $1 billion dollar worth casino; The Taj Mahal went into debts as he couldn't afford to pay off the loans. However, banks and bond owners, decided to restructure hid debt in order to minimize further loss of money. The bargain was set on the terms that Trump give over the control of 50 % of his share, in exchange of lesser interest rates and more time to pay off the loans. The loans were met and the debt cleared in 1991.

1992 - Trump Plaza Hotel
Trump was required to file a bankruptcy protection plan, after failure to pay off debts. As per which he had to forsake 49 % of his stake in favor of Citibank and other lenders. He retained is position as chief executive of the plaza minus his pay, and had to pay off one million and more to the lenders.

1994 - Trump Shuttle
By this time Trump had a personal debt of $900 million, which he had to pay off, including a majority of his business debt which was closing $3.5 billion. He had to sell off his ownership in the airline Trump Shuttle after repeated losses. He however purchased a large part of the West Side Rail Yards (Riverside South or TrumpPlace) , without retaining ownership on the property. The actual owners gave him a construction and management fee along with the right to add his name to some of the property.

Apart from these trump gives his name to other developers who use his moniker to promote their projects. He has also marketed his name on products such as Trump Financial which is a mortgage firm, is involved in residential sales, also owns a business education enterprise, magazine, has a line of fragrance and men's accessories such as watches, and clothes. He has a vodka named after him and owns a few golf courses.