Donald Trump Book Summary

Book Summary

15 min

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Brief Summary

What was Donald Trump's path to success? Learn about his life, his challenges, and his success story.

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Biography & Memoir

Donald Trump Book Summary Preview

Donald Trump may be a contentious public figure, but there’s no doubt he’s found great success since his early years in real estate in New York City. So how does a man with no previous government or military experience become the president of one of the most powerful nations in the world? Trump’s unique career in business, real estate, and American politics offers a lesson on the world-altering power of a distinctive personal brand.

A Real Estate Dynasty

Donald Trump Jr. didn’t make his fortune by his own accord - he was born into a family of powerful real estate moguls. His grandmother, Elizabeth Trump, was a German immigrant who took over her late husband’s properties when he died unexpectedly in 1918. From those properties, Elizabeth founded E. Trump and Son, a real estate development company that would soon lead the family to fame and fortune.

Donald Trump’s father Fred continued the family legacy in real estate and development. Alongside his mother, E. Trump and Sons began to rent out single-family homes and apartments in Queens, including Navy barracks along the East Coast. At one point, E. Trump-owned more than 27,000 apartments. As they gained wealth, they also gained notoriety. Fred Trump was investigated for profiteering twice, once in 1954 and once in 1966. After Donald took over the company in 1971, the family was sued for violating the Fair Housing Act.

Trump took his family fortune and ran with it. Most of the properties owned by E. Trump and Sons were in Queens when he took over and renamed it The Trump Organization. He made the brazen decision to move into the Manhattan market. His first renovation was the Commodore Hotel, which got a $400 million property tax cut from the city thanks to Fred Trump. It reopened as the Grand Hyatt Hotel in 1980, the same year Trump began construction on Trump Tower.

From there The Trump Organization kept growing. By 2016, when Trump was elected president of the United States, he owned sixteen golf courses, half a dozen casinos, an estate in Mar-a-Lago, a house in Beverly Hills, a winery in Virginia, and a carousel and skating rink in Central Park. Trump owns buildings in Israel, Turkey, India, Brazil, and Seoul, South Korea.

But not every real estate developer becomes an A-list celebrity. Trump’s fascination with reality TV led him down a unique path -- one that would take him all the way to the Oval Office.

Life in the Public Eye

It was Trump’s 1987 book, The Art of the Deal, that transformed him from a New York City developer to a world-renowned deal-maker and business tycoon. The book was co-authored by Tony Schwartz, who later admitted he ghost-wrote the book. The Art of the Deal spent nearly a year on the New York Times best-seller list -- by the end of that year, Trump was a household name.

Trump’s best-selling book got him slots on talk shows, cameos in movies, and more. Soon after his book came out, he started an on-again-off-again relationship with...