Trump, Donald John (1946– )

US billionaire property financier. Trump made his name in the 1980s with a series of property purchases, with tax concessions, from the New York City government. He also built the Trump Tower (1983) on Fifth Avenue for his New York headquarters. The effects of the recession left Trump facing bankruptcy in 1990, and forced him to relinquish some of his assets. However, he made a recovery and Forbes magazine estimated his net worth at $1.7 billion in 2000. In the same year he was unsuccessful in his bid to become a Reform Party candidate in the US presidential election. He remains a major figure in US real estate development, as well as a television celebrity since 2004 for his leading role on The Apprentice reality television show.

Trump negotiated his first major deal for his father's Trump Organization in 1974, achieving a 100% return on a $6 million investment in a dilapidated apartment block. He renovated the Grand Hyatt Hotel (1980), built the Trump Parc 20,000 apartment complex (1983), and bought the Plaza Hotel and three casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey; he also owns the land under the Empire State Building. Following a property slump, assets sold to meet estimated debts of $800 million included the Trump shuttle airline, bought from American Airlines in 1989. He also went public with his new company, Trump Hotels and Casinos, to raise $140 million. His fortunes rebounded, however, and by the late 1990s he had recovered his billionaire status and embarked on the Trump World Tower project (completed in 2001) in New York City, one of the tallest residential buildings in the world.

Trump was born in Queens, New York, the son of a wealthy builder. He was educated at Fordham University and the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Finance, before joining the Trump Organization to work on the acquisition of rental properties. His publications include Trump: The Art of the Deal (1987), Trump: The Art of the Comeback (1997), and Trump: How to Get Rich (2004).