The Best Known Brand Name in Real Estate
Donald J. Trump, W’68
It would be difficult
to find a more ubiquitous public business figure of the late 20th and
early 21st centuries than Donald Trump. His name graces casinos in
Atlantic City, condos and commercial buildings in New York, TV shows,
best-selling books, resorts, television programs, and even a Muppet on Sesame Street.
Trump took a successful real estate development business started
by his father, Fred, and turned it into a multi-faceted company. Along
the way, Trump’s style has produced doubters, but no one could deny his
ability to brand his products, and to rise, phoenix-like, from
everything from corporate travails to satire.Trump’s main areas of operation have been in Manhattan, where he is said to control 18 million square feet of real estate, and Atlantic City, where his Trump Organization runs three casinos, all with his name on them — Trump Plaza, Trump Marina, and Trump Taj Mahal.
He got his start when he turned a big profit on a Cincinnati apartment complex his father assigned him after his Wharton graduation in 1968. He then made use of tax credits the New York City government was doling out in the 1970s to build his portfolio of Manhattan real estate....
