One of the most well-known entrepreneurs is Donald Trump, especially after his spotlight in his TV show, The Apprentice. Donald Trump is a great role-model for those aspiring entrepreneurs. The biography of his life includes strife, failure, and of course, success.
Trump was born into a wealthy family, had an upper-class education and had his start in his father’s real estate business. Prior to this he received a bachelor’s degree in economics. “My father was my mentor and I learned a tremendous amount about every aspect of the construction industry from him.” (Trump)
In the early 1970’s Trump turned his focus from middle-class real estate towards commercial real estate. Donald Trump acquired deals secure loans with little collateral and this allowed Trump’s business to flourish and become incredibly successful in real estate as well as entertainment. Trump’s fame began primarily from the success of these movements.
Although Trump had a great life and a lot of success, he learned that nothing is ever 100% secured. Donald Trump became a victim of recession in the late 1980’s. This caused trump’s inability to make the payments on his loans and forced him to declare bankruptcy in 1990. Instead of going to court, his creditors agreed to restructure the debt. Although his business was bankrupt, Trump managed to stay out of personal bankruptcy, even with his personal debt being over $900 million.
Trump, then was forced to sell his airline and his largest real estate parcel. Although he underwent this great loss he continued building in exchange for money and a portion of the future profits. By 1994 Trump managed to pay approximately $3.5 billion of his business debt and most of his personal debt.
A very popular part of Trump’s business tactics includes media exposure. He is a strong-headed individual with an enormous ego which causes people to take notice. His media exposure grew even further with the NBC reality show, The Apprentice. Trump chooses one out of several candidates to become a part of his team and exclaims “You’re fired!” to the unlucky participant from the week. (Trump has actually trademarked that phrase in order to secure this part in the media.) Trump made $50,000 per episode in the first season, but now is paid approximately $3 million per episode. He continued this series with an additional series that includes Martha Stewart. Trump has continued to stay in the spotlight by consistently insisting on marrying models such as Ivana Zelnièkova and Melanija Knavs as well as the actress Marla Maples.
According to Forbes magazine, Trump is worth approximately $2.7 billion. According to Trump himself he is worth approximately $5 billion.
Alongside of Trump’s enormous success in the media, among other things he has also published several self-help books. These include:
Trump: The Art of the Deal, Trump: Surviving at the Top, Trump: The Art of Survival and Trump: Think Like a Billionaire – Everything You Need To Know About Success, Real Estate, And Life.
Recommended Downloads:
- Free Business Cards.
- Free Business Plan Template.
If you follow this mans path to success your ahead of the game. The reading here should keep everyone busy for a while. He is a great entrepreneur to research and find the clues he has left before us.
I am glad to see you giving this great resources for the audience and readership .
doesn’t he recommend not sleeping as well?
I really like the apprentice but think Trump is a bit of a cheese ball… the stuff about his losses was interesting, I did not realise he had recovered from such a dissaster… interesting stuff
How could be live without sleep?