12:30 P.M. This is an unusual day, even for me. Sandra Bullock is here to visit, so she comes into the conference room where I’m having a meeting, just to say hi. I think the guys in the room are very impressed, and so am I, but I try to act cool. After all, my life isn’t exactly dull, but getting a visit from Sandra is a highlight for everyone—especially the contractors, who cannot believe that it is actually her.
1:00 P.M. Robin, one of my assistants, is eating a great-looking salad, so I ask her to order one for me. Then I start returning calls that came in while I was out, including one to Bob Tisch, owner of the Giants and Loews Hotels. The Tisch family has been a tremendous force for good in New York City, and I like Bob a lot. Most of the people I know don’t take lunch hours, so when I return calls at lunchtime it means I actually want to talk to them.
I talk to Ashley Cooper, director of Trump National Golf Club at Bedminster, New Jersey, for an update on progress. I’ll visit next week by helicopter to check things out for myself.
I call Sirio Maccioni, the owner of Le Cirque, one of my favorite restaurants in New York. We’ve decided to have a business dinner there tonight; while getting a table isn’t a problem, I like to talk to Sirio just to catch up on things. He has the instincts required to run a great restaurant, as well as the manners. I always look forward to seeing him.
1:30 P.M. I see Norma in the small conference room, meeting with the Bank One executives about a credit card, the Trump card, which I am starting. Everyone tells me this will be a great success, and it is going very well.
Aretha Franklin’s assistant calls to see if I can attend her concert at Radio City later in the month. Aretha is one of the all-time greats, but, unfortunately, I will be out of town on business. That’s one of the downsides of having a busy schedule, but it’s flattering to hear from Aretha.
One of the things I think about when my schedule gets a little crazy is a labyrinth. Labyrinths date back to the ancient Greeks and usually imply something intricate or complex. Thinking about them helps me, because my schedule can make a labyrinth look like tic-tac-toe, so it becomes a soothing visual for me. That may be some convoluted psychology, but it works. Later on, I learned that there are some famous labyrinths still around today, such as the one at Chartres Cathedral, in France, and that they serve some meditative purpose, but the motive for me has always been to gain perspective on my own agenda.
As they say, whatever works.
2:00 P.M. I attend the board meeting for one of my residential properties in the small conference room. I think anyone who lives in any of my buildings is fortunate, not just to be in a great building, but because we take pride in upkeep and service. We try to cater to the people living and working in my buildings in every way possible, so these meetings are important to me, and here’s the reason: Past, pres-ent, and future tenants and owners have one very important quality in common. They all want the best for their money, which allows me to give you a simple formula for success: Deliver the goods.
A lady in a building across from one of mine actually called in to complain to us. Her complaint? The constant cleaning and polishing of my building was making her crazy. Every time she looked outside and across the street, someone was cleaning something, which she thought was excessive and unnecessary, and that I must have some sort of a problem that should be taken care of. Ever hear of New York stories? The funny part is that we don’t have to make them up.
2:45 P.M. I decide to take a tour of the office. First I visit Bernie Diamond, my general counsel, who is conferring with Sonja Talesnik. Then I see Andy Weiss and Don Jr. about something they’re working on. I pass Scott Etess, who is on the phone, and see Charlie, Jill, and Russell in the conference room. I stop by to visit Micha Koeppel, VP of construction, and notice that Nathan Nelson and Anna DeVincentis are both busy on their phones. I ask my accounting team, Jeff McConney and Eric Sacher, to meet with me and Allen Weisselberg at 4:30. I see Ramon dealing with an enormous pile of mail, which we get plenty of around here. Everyone looks busy to me, and there’s a nice hum to all the activity. On my way back, I stop to chat with George Ross and Jason Greenblatt. I notice some doorknobs need polishing and that the copy room needs to be cleaned up a bit, but on the whole, the office is looking good. We’ve been in our Trump Tower offices for twenty years, and they still look brand-new.
3:00 P.M. I agree to go to Ferragamo’s new store opening and the Luca Luca fashion show at Bryant Park, and we’re trying to arrange my weekend schedule, which at this point is a whirlwind, even with a helicopter. It’s a good thing I’m an active type, or this might tire me out.
Reggie Jackson stops by for a quick visit. He is always welcome here, and my staff loves it when he visits. We chat for a few minutes, and I remember all the incredible moments he has given us as a Yankee. Truly a great.
I return calls to Jay Neveloff, David Scharf, and my brother Robert, and make a call to Wollman Rink to see how we did with our summer attraction, Victorian Gardens. We used the ice rink space as an upscale amusement park for children during the summer months, and since this is our first season doing so, I’m interested in a firsthand account.
3:30 P.M. I take a walk over to Trump Park Avenue, at Park and Fifty-ninth. As I said, I like to keep my eye on things, and I never find property checks tedious. This is such a beautiful building. I remember being interviewed last year byThe New York Times about both the building itself and the real estate market in New York. I told them People would rather invest in real estate than in Enron and WorldCom. You can touch it, feel it, smell it. As opposed to Enron, which you can only smell. Costas Kondylis mentioned that this building also had an advantage over properties that boast of being prewar-like, in that this building is definitely not prewar-like. Itis prewar. Anyway, the work is coming along and it’s looking good.
I guess someone sawThe View on TV this morning, because, as I’m walking back, a lady says Hey, Donald! Your hair looks great! Whoever you are, thanks.
4:30 P.M. I take a call from Joe Cinque regarding Sardinia. That’s pretty far away but he says that next to Mar-a-Lago, it’s his favorite place, and this guy travels all over the world. I’ll have to check into it a bit.
I have a short meeting with my finance group, Allen, Jeff, and Eric. I should have a picture of these guys for you—what a crew! However, they do good work. People often ask me where I find the people who work for me. I think it must be divine intervention, if there is such a thing. But somehow, it all works. Remember how I once said that you should try to get people you like to work for you? These guys are a good example of that advice.
4:50 P.M. Rhona comes in to tell me that Jim Griffin is on the line. Ever heard of the William Morris Agency? He’s the guy to know. Jim is another example of someone who will always tell it like it is, which I appreciate. He’ll give you the facts, and fast.
5:00 P.M. I get a lot of letters from students of all ages who ask me specific things—either for school projects or for their own interest—and, while I can’t respond to them all, I like to review their letters. Sometimes the simplicity and directness of their questions can keep me aware of small and simple things. As Benjamin Franklin once said, Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship. In business, nothing is ever too small to notice.
5:30 P.M. I review a pile of legal documents, making short notes on them for response by my assistants tomorrow morning. If we didn’t keep up with our correspondence several times a day, we’d be sunk. I receive requests from people in every industry under the sun, moon, and stars combined. My daily delivery includes submissions from artists, musicians, screenwriters, architects, authors, poets, comedians, chefs, designers, actors, shoemakers, and more. That’s a condensed list. I also receive bundles of cookbooks from a lady in Illinois several times a year. Why she does this is beyond me. She must know that one of the few things I don’t do is cook.
6:30 P.M. Enough ruminating. I check my faxes and go upstairs.
8:30 A.M. The electrical contractors call in with some bogus claims about why they’re way off schedule. They’ve been slacking off on the job. I’ve been watching them carefully and know exactly what their problem is, and proceed to tell them so. They get the message and promise me they will get back on track. We’ll see. I believe about twenty percent of what contractors say, and that’s on a good day. They know what I mean.
9:00 A.M. I take a call from Dick Levy, a real gentleman, then I ask for a Diet Coke. Another call concerns an ad I placed about slot machines at the racetracks in New York, which I’m against. Without countless layers of security, it will not be in the public’s best interest, and I therefore mention that it is obvious the ground under our racetracks is most fertile for growing organized crime. The ad contains a photograph of Al Capone, with the caption He would have loved it. The bottom of the ad says, Paid for by a Committee of one, who may not always be right,
