Trump: How to Get Rich

Craig Semandl, the director of Trump National Golf Club, Los Angeles, calls in. He gives me an update on what’s happening, and we go over some details. I will visit California later this month to see the progress for myself. It helps to have people you can trust when you’re three thousand miles away.

This is something that still amazes me: Here’s another person requesting my autograph on the March 1990 issue of Playboy magazine, which featured an interview and a cover photo of me. To this day, thirteen years later, I receive several requests a month for my autograph on this issue, and, granted, the girl I’m photographed with is a beauty, but I never thought this interview would remain so popular with people who follow my career. I’ll have to reread it one of these days. Meanwhile, I sign the cover and it’s sent back to the owner, and I sign a few books that have been sent in as well.

I make a call to Tiffany, my youngest daughter, who is giving me an update on her latest activities. She has enough going on for five people. She must take after me. She is excited about her upcoming birthday and her plans to have a party aboard theQueen Mary in Long Beach, California.

I write a note to the Veterans of Vietnam of Ward 4CD of Valley Forge General Hospital. I am cochairman and builder of the New York Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, and still continue to do what I can for these brave people.

4:00 P.M. I take a call from Susan James, director of sales for Trump International Hotel and Tower on Central Park West. She has a great job—this is one of the most successful condominium towers ever built and the top-rated luxury hotel in New York City, all in one building. This is also where Jean-Georges Restaurant is located. All in all, it’s a gem, and I’m proud of it. It’s near Lincoln Center on Columbus Circle, and those of you who know architecture will find it interesting that Philip Johnson designed both this building and the State Theatre at Lincoln Center, home of the New York City Ballet. I’m sort of young to be considered historical, but some things point in that direction, and this building is one of those things.

I go over the invitations and requests of the day with Norma. I decide on an event given by Anna Wintour of Vogue magazine and leave the other decisions until later, when I can give them more time and consideration.

Charlie Reiss comes in and we go over current project developments in Chicago, Toronto, and London. Bernie Diamond and Jason Greenblatt, my terrific in-house attorneys, are in on the meeting as well. Contrary to what people may think, I listen to and take advice from a lot of people before I make a final decision on anything. I like to be as well informed as possible. However, when it comes to making a decision, I am aware that the full responsibility for that decision is, and will always remain, mine. That is why I proceed with caution, even if my image may be more flamboyant.

4:30 P.M. I have a meeting with Matthew Calamari, my chief of operations. He’s always a busy guy, but with The Apprentice starting up soon, he’s busier than ever. I’m not concerned, because after knowing Matthew for more than twenty years, I am certain he can handle anything.

My son Eric stops by to say hello. He’s in college now but is visiting New York City for a couple of days. He sits in on my meeting with Matthew and then we chat for a bit. He’s got a great grin. I love it when my kids visit, and we decide to have dinner together tonight.

5:15 P.M. I write a welcome-back letter to the members of the Mar-a-Lago Club. We are finishing a new ballroom, and it will be magnificent. One visitor to the Mar-a-Lago Club remarked that F. Scott Fitzgerald and his friends would feel right at home there. I had to agree. I’m looking forward to the new season, and I fly down most weekends during the winter.

I return a few calls, including one to Larry King, one of the sharpest interviewers of all time; another to a reporter for the Star-Ledger in New Jersey; and one to a reporter doing a story on the wonderful and very smart Russell Simmons.

John Myers, the president and CEO of GE Asset Management, calls in. He’s a terrific guy in every sense of the word, and we are active together with the Damon Runyon Cancer Foundation, along with Dale Frey, who preceded John at GE and likewise did an absolutely fantastic job. These are two guys worth knowing. Over the years, General Electric has been my partner in a number of my developments, including the very successful Trump International Hotel and Tower at 1 Central Park West.

6:00 P.M. I call Melania to see where we should take Eric for dinner. We decide on the 21 Club.

Norma comes in and we review some details of my deals, invitations, letters, and media requests, including those from a surprising number of international television programs and publications. Last year I did an interview for the number one program in China, which drew a huge audience. These facts continue to surprise me, probably because I am so focused on my immediate and daily responsibilities. I never found myself to be particularly fascinating.

The phones have quieted down, so I decide to go through a box I keep beside my desk where I put articles and letters of interest to me. Sometimes I’ll keep certain articles for years if I like them. I also keep letters and quotes, such as Hope is not a strategy. I saved an invitation from a speech I gave to the Wharton Business School Club about the future of New York City. I am always honored to speak to Wharton students and alumni.

I find nice notes from Dr. Jerry Buss of the Los Angeles Lakers, one terrific guy; Ed Malloy, an old friend I call Blue Eyes; and Harrison Tucker LeFrak, the next generation in a remarkable real estate family. Richard LeFrak, the son of Sam LeFrak, has done an amazing job in the real estate business. Likewise, his son Harrison will be one of the really great young people to watch. I have no doubt he will go right to the top.

There’s a clipping from Liza Minnelli and David Gest’s wedding, which I was honored to attend, even though I didn’t think the marriage had a chance, and letters from John F. Kennedy Jr. and Howard Schultz of Starbucks, as well as one from Clint Eastwood, a great guy and golfer. He was my guest at Mar-a-Lago. He liked my course in Florida and wrote to tell me that.

I come across a fax from Roger Ailes of Fox Network News. What a job he’s done, taking them to heights they’d probably never dreamed of.

During the march toward war in Iraq, someone sent me this joke: You know the world has changed when you realize the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, and Germany doesn’t want to go to war.

A review to savor, from Rick Remsnyder upon the opening of Trump National Golf Course: Trump National’s par 3 thirteenth hole, which features a breathtaking 100-foot man-made waterfall behind the green, is one of the most challenging and spectacular holes in the world. Music to my ears.

I love sports. I have one of Shaquille O’Neal’s oversized sneakers on display in my office and a signed baseball from my favorite team, the New York Yankees. I keep it near Tiffany’s drawing of a house. She’s already into real estate.

To Donald Trump—‘I wanna be like you when I grow up.’ Shaq.

Speaking of real estate: I’ve saved an article about how I sold the land under the Empire State Building for $57.5 million in March 2002. New York real estate can be a wonderful business. I’ve also clipped a profile of another great success story, developer Steve Witkoff, who owns the Woolworth Building and the News Building, in addition to valuable property in London. In an interview with a London newspaper, Steve described me as the only real estate person in this world who can brand his name individually. In my opinion, it’s not going to happen again. Donald is a master at marketing. But you can’t market and be a master at marketing unless you’ve got great product—it doesn’t work like that. They say ‘Coke are masters at marketing Coke,’ or ‘Nike, they’re masters at marketing Nike.’ You know what? They’ve got the best drink and the best sneakers. Well, Donald develops the best buildings. It’s a fact of life. He’s a great developer. No one wants to give him credit for that.

Finally, I come across a postcard from my gorgeous daughter Ivanka and an old postcard from my parents. I miss them. I still have two-thirds of the box to go through, but I’m on for dinner with Eric and Melania and I don’t want to be late.

7:00 P.M. I pick up a large pile of documents to take with me, say good night to Norma, turn off the lights, leave my office, and head up to my apartment. It’s been a good day. Business tip: Keep a box by your desk for mementos of the people and events that matter in your life and career. Reviewing the contents every now and then will keep you aware of your good fortune.

THURSDAY