When Donald Trump was in college, his father gave him $1 million to purchase an apartment complex. He sold the complex 10 years later for $10 million. He has since had much more lucrative deals but that was where he got his start. He did inherit his father's assets upon his passing, as do most children, and it was a considerable amount but Trump was already very wealthy by then.
He did not "survive bankruptcy" at any time, personally. He chose to use bankruptcy laws four times to liquidate corporate assets. In one case, he literally bought a company one week, reviewed the books and filed for bankruptcy the next week. Business people use the bankruptcy law all the time to their advantage... it's not as "negative" as it sounds to us laymen.
Donald survived the economic collapse in Atlantic City by getting out while the getting was good. He sold his casino assets there because he saw the writing on the wall ahead of most. That's what you see a pattern of with Trump. He stays a step or two ahead of the game, as do most very successful people. This is why it's just patently boneheaded stupid to think you can ever "punish" the rich. You're just not smart enough or fast enough to do it... they are always a couple steps ahead of anything you try. By the time you implement whatever governmental scheme you come up with, they have already checked out. Who you end up hurting the most are those who are trying to gain an edge and become wealthy. They get caught in the cracks and left holding the bag.
Trump has had some failures... this happens sometimes when you're wheeling and dealing in the kinds of money deals he makes. But failure doesn't really bother successful people. They take it in stride and move on to the next deal. They don't face a failure by curling up in the fetal position and turning themselves into helpless victims. People like this do not listen to the negativity of others... when someone says.. Oh, you can never do that... or You can't make that happen... that's just a challenge to them. They don't take it to heart. You'd be very surprised at how many times they defy all odds and make things happen because they simply had the vision to make it happen regardless of the naysayers. It's 95% attitude.
I posted recently about my latest venture. I am happily retired but I like to stay busy... I had the opportunity to purchase a couple of old buildings in the "downtown" section of a small little ghost town where nothing was happening in terms of commerce. I traded some stock which will reach maturity next year and be worth about $20k. So I own these two old buildings outright... now what to do with them? I had some other deals going on the barter exchange and I ended up with about $10k worth of restaurant equipment, so I decided to open a Bistro. Now, I cannot tell you how many people looked at me as if I were crazy.. A bistro, in THIS economy? In a Podunk little dead town? YES! And I am going to serve upscale French, Italian and German cuisine!
Next month will be a year since I purchased the buildings and the bistro has been open for a few months. We're doing great business... around $2k per day, maybe a little more on weekends. There's no place else to go, nothing else to do there. We're the big fish in a little pond. People are coming in from 50-60 miles away because they've heard about us. We just hired an executive chef. We're getting 5-star reviews. In the second building (next door) I put, inside the building, an old trolley car. It's a small intimate music hall where we feature live music and host events. We got included in the National Dinning Car Registry and we've been getting people from all over coming in... we're about a mile off the interstate.
Last week, I had an offer to buy the place for $175k. I've not decided if I am going to sell or not... the point is, where would I have been if I had followed conventional wisdom? If I had listened to the naysayers who said it would never fly? We're across the street from the railroad tracks, a train comes blowing through about every 20 minutes... people love it! We can't serve alcohol, it's a dry county... but people flock to our place to listen to live music... again, there is nowhere else to go. We serve Irish coffee and artisan deserts... people love it!
