Donald John Trump is the 45th President of
the United States. This biography provides detailed information about his
childhood, life, career, achievements & timeline.
Quick Facts
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Also Known As
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Donald John Trump
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Nationality
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American
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Religion
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Presbyterian
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Political ideology
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Republican
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Born on
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14 June 1946 AD
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Height
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1.88 m
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Zodiac Sign
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Gemini
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Born in
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New York City, New York, U.S.
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Father
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Fred Trump
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Mother
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Mary Anne
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Siblings
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Fred Jr., Robert S. Trump, Maryanne Trump
Barry, Elizabeth
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Spouses
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Melania Trump (m. 2005), Marla Maples (m.
1993–1999), Ivana Trump (m. 1977–1992)
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Children
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Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, Tiffany Trump,
Eric Trump, Barron Trump
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Education
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University of Pennsylvania, New York Military Academy,
Fordham University, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, The
Kew-Forest
School
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Net worth
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$3.5 billion as of Feb 1 2017
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Donald John Trump is the 45th President of
the United States, in office since January 20, 2017. In addition to being a
politician, he is a successful business magnate and television personality as
well. The son of a wealthy real estate developer, Trump attended the Wharton
School of the University of Pennsylvania before taking charge of his family’s
business.
An astute businessman and charismatic leader,
he built and renovated numerous hotels, casinos, and office towers during his
business career, accumulating a net worth of billions. He also owned several
beauty pageants and ventured into reality television as well. Expanding the
horizons of his ambitions, he entered national politics in the early 2000s and
set his eyes on the presidential office. As a politician, his career was marred
by allegations of sexual misconduct and for his extravagant lifestyle and
controversial comments on immigrants from Islamic nations. Despite the
controversies surrounding him, Trump ran for the 2016 presidential election as
a Republican and defeated Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in a surprise
victory. Donald Trump is the first person to assume presidency without prior
military or governmental service and at 70, he is also the oldest one to assume
the office.
Childhood:
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He was born
in New York City, to a builder and real estate developer Frederick Trump and
his wife Mary McLeod. He was one of the five children.
§ He had his initial schooling in the Kew Forest School, Forest hills, New York. At the age of 13, his parents sent him to New York Military Academy (NYMA) in Upstate New York where he performed well, both socially and academically; emerging as a star athlete and student leader by the time he graduated in 1964.
§
He was at
Fordham University for two years before joining the Wharton School of Finance
at the University Of Pennsylvania, from where he graduated in economics in
1968.
Career:
·
He joined
his father’s company, ‘Elizabeth Trump and Son’, while still in college. The
company focused on middle-class rental housing in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten
Island. He became deeply involved in the project and with a $500,000
investment, turned the 1200 unit apartment complex in Cincinnati with a 66
percent vacancy rate to 100 percent occupancy within two years.
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In 1971, he
moved to Studio apartment in Manhattan, New York and became involved with
larger building projects. In the following year, he finalized first
multi-million dollar real estate transaction with the sale of Swifton village
in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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In 1985, he
bought Mar-a-lago estate in Palm beach, Florida and renovated the Barbizon
hotel and 100 Central Park South.
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In 1988, he
bought the Plaza Hotel in New York City.
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In 1989, he
bought a fleet of Boeing 727 airplanes to form Trump air shuttle service.
Unfortunately a helicopter crash killed three Trump casino executives which
lead to big issue.
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By 1989,
poor business decisions left him unable to meet loan payments but he somehow
financed the construction of his third casino, the $1 million Taj Mahal, with
high-interest junk bonds. The increasing debt soon brought him to business
bankruptcy.
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In 1990, he
regained his previous stable financial position and fame and opened the Trump
Taj
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Mahal casino
in Atlantic City. Soon he gained approval for Riverside south development of
West Side rail yards.
In 1996, he got the ownership of
Miss Universe Organization which produces the Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss
Tean USA pageants.
In 2003, he became joint partner
with the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) where he became the executive
producer and host of the NBC reality show, ‘The Apprentice’ which became a huge
success. Following its success, he co-produced a show, ‘The Celebrity
Apprentice’ along with British TV producer Mark Burnett.
·
On October
21, 2004, Trump Hotels and Casino & Resorts declared a restructuring of its
debt which led to a reduction in his individual ownership from 56 percent to 27
percent. The company applied for Chapter 11 Protection in November and soon the
company re-emerged from bankruptcy as ‘Trump Entertainment Resorts Holdings’.
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He marketed
the Trump name on large number of products, including ‘Trump Financial’,
Political
Career:
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Trump also
harbored political aspirations. In the 2000 elections he expressed his wish to
run as a third-party candidate for the US presidency. In 2004 and 2008, he
speculated about running for president in the Republican Party and in between
in 2006, he considered running for governor of New York as a representative of
the party. He again registered as a Republican in 2009 after having registered
with the Democratic Party in 2001 and campaigned for it.
·
In
2010-2012, his involvement in politics intensified when he publicly announced
his consideration of candidature for presidency again. However, his association
with the ‘Birther issue’, a group that firmly believed Barack Obama was not
born in the US, disparaged his political reputation. But he continued to be
against Obama on various political issues.
·
In January
2013, he endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the Israeli
elections. He was also a featured speaker at the 2013 Conservative Political
Action Conference (CPAC).
Presidential
Campaign, 2016:
·
Trump
announced his candidacy for president as a Republican in June 2015. As a
flamboyant personality with a successful business career and media presence, he
quickly emerged as the front-runner for his party's nomination and was formally
nominated for president at the 2016 Republican National Convention.
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His
campaigning focused on domestic issues such as illegal immigration, crime,
Islamic terrorism, offshoring of American jobs, and the U.S. national debt, and
his campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again” resonated with the
American citizens.
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While many
of his campaigning tactics received criticism, they also ensured that he got
unprecedented media coverage. He was accused of lying and embellishing facts
during his election speeches and received a lot of negative backlash with major
publications like ‘Politico’, ‘The Washington Post’, ‘The New York Times’, and
the ‘Los Angeles Times’ terming his statements as downright falsehoods.
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As a
presidential nominee, he adopted a populist political stance and supported a
broad interpretation of the Second Amendment. His tax plan calling for reducing
the corporate tax rate to 15% and replacing the Affordable Care Act
("Obamacare") with a different free-market plan earned him support
from several quarters.
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Trump’s
campaign was, however, fraught with controversies. There were several
accusations of sexual misconduct against him and he was criticized by the media
for using vulgar and sexist language. A 2005 recording of him bragging about
how he forcibly kissed and groped women caused a major dent to his popularity.
He soon issued a public apology in a bid to salvage his reputation.
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Donald Trump
assumed office as the 45th President of the United States of America on January
20, 2017.
Major works:
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In 1974, he
obtained the option to buy two rail yards in New York City and after few years
with the help of 40-year tax abatement from the government, he bought and
turned the bankrupt Commodore Hotel into the Grand Hyatt and also created the
‘Trump organization’.
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In 1980, he
undertook the project of constructing the Wollman Rink in Central Park and
completed it in six months using $750,000 of the remaining $3 million budget.
In the same year, he renovated the Trump tower in New York City and Atlantic
City casino business which led to huge debt.
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In 2006, he
bought the Menie estate in Balmadie, Aberdeen shire, Scotland to create the
best golf course in the world on a site of special scientific interest (SSS)
but it was met with criticism from environmentalists and by local landowners.
But the battle became more difficult this year when the Scottish government
approved the construction of a wind farm nearby.
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He has
hosted many wrestle mania events in Trump Plaza and has been an active
participant in several of the shows. On June 15, 2009 he bought the WWE RAW
show from WWE owner Vince McMohan.
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He wrote
many books which became famous worldwide for their entrepreneurial guidance. It
includes, ‘Trump: The Art of the Deal’, ‘Think big: Make it happen in Business
and Life’, ‘Think like a champion: An Informal Education in Business and Life’,
‘Trump 101: The Way to Success’, ‘Trump: How to Get Rich’, ‘Trump: Surviving at
the Top’, etc.
Awards
& Achievements:
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In 2005, he
again got nominated for Primetime Emmy for ‘The Apprentice’ under the aforesaid
category.
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In 2007, he
earned the Star on Walk of Fame for his contribution to Television.
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In 2013, he
was inducted in to the celebrity wing of the WWE hall of fame at Madison Square
Garden due to his contributions to the promotion of several WWE shows.
Personal
Life:
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In 1977, he
married Ivana Zelnickova and had three children from her, Donald Jr., Ivanka
and Eric. The couple called off their marriage in 1992 when Ivana discovered
his extra-marital love affair with an American actress Marla Maples.
·
In 1993, he
married Marla Maples and they had one child, Tiffany two months before their
marriage. In 1997, he filed for a highly publicized divorce with Maples which
was finalized in June 1999. The divorce agreement allotted $2 million to
Maples.
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On January
22, 2005, he married Melania Knauss at Bethesda by the Sea Episcopal Church, on
the island of Palm Beach, Florida, after proposing to her the previous year.
They have a son together named Barron William Trump.
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In 2011, he
claimed in an interview to be a Presbyterian within the Protestant group after
gaining the membership of New York City’s ‘Marble Collegiate Reformed
Protestant Dutch Church’.
Top
9 Facts You Did Not Know About Donald Trump:
§ Donald Trump is a teetotaler and
has never smoked cigarettes or done drugs.
§ He is a germophobe and hates
shaking hands. When faced with the inevitable situation of shaking hands, he
has an interesting technique of avoiding it; he vigorously pulls the other
person close into his body.
§ At one time, he acted as a
financial advisor to Mike Tyson and hosted Tyson’s fight against Michael Spinks
in Atlantic City.
§ Donald Trump is confidence
personified. In fact, at times his over-the-top confidence borders on
braggadocio. In 2004, he was quoted in The Daily News saying, “All of the women
on The
§ Though Trump has been a very
successful businessman, in hindsight, he has wasted some brilliant business
opportunities. In 1988, he had the opportunity to buy the Patriots, a
professional American football team, but he turned down the offer because he
didn't think it was a good investment. The team is now worth more than $2
billion.
§ He is the only presidential
candidate to have his own board game, titled Trump: The Game. Trump has the
dubious distinction of winning the Razzie Award for worst supporting actor for
the film 'Ghosts Can't Do It', in 1990. He played himself in the movie.
§ He is a golfer and a member of
the Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York, and plays regularly at the
other courses he owns and operates.
§ He was an active member of the
“birther” movement that questioned President Obama’s birthplace.
§
A consistent
vocal critic of Barack Obama, Trump offered Obama to play golf anytime on any
of the golf courses that he owns with one rider - if Obama ended his term
early.
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