Donald Trump; Being a Millionaire to Becoming a President

Donald Trump is now the "how to Millionaire." He arouses resentment, curiosity and envy. One can hardly NOT have an opinion of "The Donald." Who is Trump and what motivates him?

It is the rare person who does not have a definite opinion when it comes to Donald Trump. People either love or loathe him. From his scandalous and headline making divorces to his reality TV shows, Donald Trump always commands attention, and lavishes in the spotlight. Just how did Donald Trump get started and what drives him to continually dominate the spotlight and remain indifferent towards the negative publicity that surrounds his wives, his appearance, and his money?

Donald Trump was a naturally ambitious child who watched his father, Fred Trump, in action. His father was a good role model of a hard working man who faced adversity, the loss of his own father at a young age, and took on the role of bread winner while still a teenager to support his younger siblings and mother. Fred Trump focused on the American dream, attending night classes in drafting and promoting his very own prefab garages to families who lived in homes that were built long before garages were a natural part of a home. Although Fred Trump never went to collage to earn a degree, he used his wits, natural talent and hard work to achieve wealth and prosperity for his family. Donald Trump was made of the same stuff that his father was, he listened to his dad work all weekend, and all night on real estate deals. It is with this very knowledge that much of the public like to discredit Donald as having it easy, being the son of a wealthy man, but, Donald deserves all the credit due. He could have sat back with the knowledge that his father was wealthy enough that he himself would not have to work. but, Donald drove himself, worked relentlessly, and surpassed his father by a landslide. How many sons of wealth have what it takes to do that?

Donald Trump is now the "how to Millionaire." He arouses resentment, curiosity and envy. One can hardly NOT have an opinion of "The Donald." Who is Trump and what motivates him?

It is the rare person who does not have a definite opinion when it comes to Donald Trump. People either love or loathe him. From his scandalous and headline making divorces to his reality TV shows, Donald Trump always commands attention, and lavishes in the spotlight. Just how did Donald Trump get started and what drives him to continually dominate the spotlight and remain indifferent towards the negative publicity that surrounds his wives, his appearance, and his money?

Fred Trump

Donald Trump's Inspiration

Donald's father, Fred Trump, was the single greatest influence on Donald Trump's early years. Donald paid close attention to his father and mastered the art of motivating people through competence and efficiency. In business one must get things done quickly and efficiently, and Donald admired his father's ability to manage business and multitask. Donald was always an alfa male, and although he admired his father and learned a tremendous amount from him, he wanted to be bigger than his father was. He decided early on that he did not want to be a repeat of Fred Trump. His determination and work ethic are truly admirable.

Donald's father built rent controlled housing in Queens. It was a tough business of squabbling to get paid while avoiding being shot by irate tenants who decided to stop paying their bills. Donald, as many children who see their parents line of work, wanted something more glamorous and exciting by comparison to his father's way of earning a living.

Fred Trump was born in 1905 in New Jersey of Swedish stock. Fred's father owned a moderately successful restaurant and ran the business quite well when he was not drinking heavily. Due to his hard living he passed away when young Fred Trump was only eleven years old. Fred became the man of the house and immediately began taking odd jobs while his mother became a seamstress to support her three children. Fred eventually began working in the construction business and used his entrepreneurial spirit to thoroughly learn the trade. He also took night classes in carpentry, plan reading, and finance, while working long hours to help support his sister and mother, and eventually established his own prefabricated garages that he sold for $50 each.

This was the late teens and early 1920s, and Fred was sharp. He realized that with just about every household owning one car, a garage was becoming a necessity. He jumped on the opening to make money with the opportunities in life that were now creeping up. He was now earning decent money for a young man, but he could never consider college due to his family circumstances, and responsibilities. Fred was focused and ambitious, building his first home one year after graduating from high school, and he never stopped building from that moment on. He built bigger homes in more affluent neighborhoods as he gained experience.

Donald Trump learned how to think like an entrepreneur when he was still a child, just by watching and imitating his father. This is one of the reasons why Donald Trump writes the best motivational books for entrepreneurs on how to get rich and stay rich. The independent spirit of one who creates wealth is in his blood.

Donald was always the leader of the pack when he was a child. He was the kid who set the rules on the playground and the leader of the parades during Military School. His natural leadership and ambition were always present. He just needed to build on his education to find his path. Donald liked to challenge people and the rules as a young boy and the other kids either loved him or hated him, just as in adulthood. Because he was such an aggressive kid his father though it would be best to send him to military school. This idea did not sit well with Donald, but later on in life he would say that it was the best thing his parents did for him.

He learned to channel is aggression into achievement, and in his senior year he was appointed captain of the cadets.

Donald began to do some work for his father during this time, and decided without a doubt that he wanted nothing to do with the type of real estate deals his father dabbled in. Unsure of what he would do with his life Donald applied to the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania and was accepted. A humbling experience for anyone attending the Wharton school at that time was that no matter how exceptional one was, it was easy to feel like nothing compared to the other students. Trump being the self made entrepreneur learned that degrees don't mean much in the overall scope of true success, but he was glad to finish, and graduate just the same. Since his father's business was a little rough around the edges for Donald's style, the Wharton degree might come in handy. At least it would back up his "thinking big."

Thinking big is what Donald Trump attributes his success to. He has said that thinking bigger than most people is a trait that he has always had. Many people would have been satisfied to be the son of the successful Fred Trump, inherit his property someday, and call it good. But Donald had a strong desire to achieve as much as possible in life, and managed to outshine his own father before the age of 30.

Donald wasted no time upon graduation from Wharton at establishing himself as an up and coming New York "big shot." He knew that image was everything and dressed the part, even when he was nothing. He attended the clubs and hot spots of the wealthiest men in Manhattan. His desire was to be known and respected by the top millionaires and billionaires and learn from them. It would also mean that he could spot deals and be on hand to jump into a real estate opportunity when they would inevitably come up. Trump had all the right connections and seemed like a much older man when still in his twenties. He did not drink or party, never sat around, and made every waking moment in his life count towards success.

Trump was a handsome and successful man in New York without a serious girlfriend in the late 1960s and the country had turned upside down. Young women were throwing away their self respect in the name of modernism. Donald admired his mother and the relationship she had with his father, but, when it came to dating, he was unimpressed with the air headed bimbos, and party girls frequenting the nightclubs, and thought that marriage was out of the question for him until he met Ivana.

Ivana was interesting because she was independent. Born in Czechoslovakia, she had been an Olympic athlete on a ski team and was now a fashion model. She had earned her Master's degree in physical education before leaving Czechoslovakia. Trump admired her for her achievements. Ivana was more than another pretty face. They were married in 1977 in a grand wedding ceremony. The glamorous Trumps became a well known society couple who were seen dressed in their finest in every society column. The crowning achievement to their image of a handsome and successful couple were the three children they had together. The Trumps continued to become more and more successful throughout the 70s and 80s. One of their greatest achievements during that time was, Trump Castle Hotel and Casino.

Ivana had been the Vice President and CEO of Trump Enterprises, but decided to take time away to focus on raising her family.

In the late 80s rumors were running rampant that Donald was having an affair with a Georgia beauty queen named Marla Maples. One of the greatest scandals to back up the rumors unfolded while the Trump family was on a trip in Aspen Colorado for a Christmas vacation. Marla Maples just happened to be there too, and Ivana accidentally bumped into Marla on the ski slopes. Ivana confronted Maples about the affair and it appeared that the two were arguing. No one knows for sure what was said but it was reported in the papers the next day.

The Trump divorce was one of the greatest and most sensational scandals that the National Enquirer had ever printed. Everyone was interested in how much Ivana would get in the divorce settlement, and if Donald and Marla would marry. The settlement still is sealed but it is believed Ivana received 20 million, while Donald Trump married Marla Maples. The divorce of Donald Trump and Marla Maples was expected and received less than half the amount of publicity than the divorce of Ivana. With each divorce and affair Trump was losing the respect of the public, but gaining interest as an unusual and unpredictable character. Trump being the tycoon he is, capitalized on his new off color reputation. When the press printed photos of his bad haircut, Donald made the hairstyle even stranger. As long as Trump was being photographed and asked to do commercials, he was satisfied.

Trump married again for the third time. There are prenuptual arrangements for Donald these days of course. Trump knows what the realities are when marrying a woman decades younger than he. Although Donald admired his parents for their solid and deep relationship, his own ego, vanity and drive simply would not let him follow in his father's footsteps on that same level. The temptations that came along with his celebrity status got the better of him. Trump loves the spotlight too much to build a relationship with a woman and work with it. His personal life reflects his public image and his wife is little more than a decoration that fits the image of a billionaire's wife. It is generally believed that Wife number three will undoubtedly collect after fulfilling her contract.

We have watched Trump evolve from a serious real estate tycoon, to a society gentleman, and now to full blown celebrity. Being financially literate, Donald knows the value of publicity and realizes that bad publicity is better than no publicity at all. Trumps greatest fear is probably to have no one know who he is, become forgotten, and uninteresting. This is why he appears on so many talk shows that do not endear him to anyone, and continually seeks ways to gain attention. In 2011 he announced that he was contemplating a run for the presidency. This probably resulted in another great windfall financially for The Donald, as book sales jumped, and guest appearances were more than even he could keep up with.

No one who knows Trump personally believed for a moment that he would run for president. Although Donald likes publicity and likes to have power, the presidency is not something he would be interested in simply because there would be too much structure and not enough fluff or room for creativity. But, Trump got what he wanted out of his talk of a run for the presidency. A lot of publicity!

The republicans were afraid of having Trump run on their side and the democrats were angry with him for thinking about running as a Republican. Trump was happy that they were all stirred up over him. In 2012 when Mitt Romney was being endorsed by everybody who was somebody, Donald Trump wished to gain a little publicity himself by endorsing Mitt too. Unfortunately for him, Romney had no interest in playing games and shrugged off the whole announcement. Trump was like a child who had been sent to bed without his favorite blanket. He was obviously disappointed about being ignored by Mitt Romney, and after appearing on a few news programs and talking about his disappointment in not being given the opportunity to endorse Mitt publicly, Romney then obliged. Mitt Romney stood on stage next to Donald, just to make "The Donald" happy.

The endorsement was for Trump's ego and credibility and not really for Mitt Romney. It was considered by many to be another example of Mitt Romney's charitable deeds.

It has been said that Donald Trump needs publicity the way most people need a loaf of bread, but, he always lands on top and seems to get what he is after. In 2015 he announced that he would be running for President. He shocked the politically correct America by talking about issues dead on and not playing games, as Obama had been doing for the past 8 years. Trump was an immediate hit to Americans who are sick and tired of being lied to. The liberal media saw an immediate threat in The Donald and wasted no time in trying to break him down. What the left wing media has forgotten is that Trump does not lie down and play dead, he gets up and fights. The Daily Beast, one extremely left wing site began trying to get feminists up in arms against Trump by stating that he raped his ex-wife Ivana. They had hoped that Ivana would play along and gladly tell some ugly stories about her ex, however, Ivana Trump is a classy lady, and she too is one with integrity. She came out publicly stating that Donald never raped her and that he would make a great president. Trump's lawyer just may sue the Daily Beast for spreading lies. Americans who are tired of being untrue propaganda are cheering on Trump, and hoping that The Daily Beast finally has to pay for its crimes.

In 2015 Donald Trump once again announced that he is running for president. Being highly intelligent, and an excellent communicator he gained enormous support by many independents who were simply tiered of living in the politically correct state that nearly eight years under a democrat created. Donald was such a breath of fresh air because he spoke the truth while president Obama side stepped and avoided making decisions that might offend people, meanwhile the country was falling apart. While president Obama's only focus was on keeping the masses dangling in effort for his party to get the most votes, Trump came in with candor and a down to business attitude that most of America respects. Only time will tell what Trump's intentions really are as far as his talk of presidency, but for many Americans who have had it with a cowardly president, its Trump all the way for 2016.