Currently, he is the Chairman and CEO of the Trump Organization, a US-based real-estate developer. He is also the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts which holds a large number of casinos and hotels all over the world. He became a celebrity for years due to his extravagant lifestyle and outspoken manner and of course his well-watched successful NBC reality TV show, The Apprentice on which he worked as host and at the same time executive producer.
He is the fourth child among five children of Fred Trump, a filthy rich real estate developer based in New York City. It was Donald’s father who made a strong influence in his goals to achieve and make a name for himself in real estate development. After getting a degree at Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1968, he joined his father’s company, the Trump Organization.
His first step to his real estate world started when he headed the renovation of the Commodore Hotel into the Grand Hyatt with the Pritzker family and next was the Trump Tower in New York City and other residential projects. On other businesses, he expanded his airline industry through purchasing the Eastern Shuttle routes. He also handles his Atlantic City casino business which includes buying the Taj Mahal Casino from the Crosby family which eventually led it to bankruptcy. The expansion resulted to mounting debt. In early 1990s, his life was highly publicized due to his financial problems, creditor-led bailout, extramarital affair with Marla Maples and the resulting divorce from his first wife, Ivana Trump.
Back in 2001, he completed Trump World Tower, a 72-story residential tower across from the United Nations Headquarters. He also began the construction of Trump Place, a multi-building development along Hudson River. He also owns commercial space in Trump International Hotel and Tower, a 44-story mixed-use (hotel and condominium) tower on Columbus Circle. At present, he owns several million square feet of prime Manhattan real estate, and remains a major figure in the field of real estate in the United States and a celebrity for his prominent media exposures.
