This excerpt from "The Self-Made Myth: The Truth About How Government Helps Individuals and Businesses Succeed" tells the real story about how Trump got so obscenely rich.
In March 2011 Forbes estimated Donald Trump's net worth to be
$2.7 billion, with a $60 million salary. Many praise and analyze his
“success” as if it were self-made, and they fail to attribute the proper
credit to others in society where it is deserved. Despite what Trump
may espouse, his success would have been in no way possible without his
father, the general public, and the US government. Unfortunately, Trump
decided to forget or selectively ignore these truths while forming his
political philosophy, a sentiment made particularly clear during his
brief bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.
Trump was born in New York City in 1946, the son of real estate tycoon
Fred Trump. Fred Trump’s business success not only provided Donald Trump
with a posh youth of private schools and economic security but
eventually blessed him with an inheritance worth an estimated $40
million to $200 million. It is critical to note, however, that his
father’s success, which granted Donald Trump such a great advantage, was
enabled and buffered by governmental financing programs. In 1934, while
struggling during the Great Depression, financing from the Federal
Housing Administration (FHA) allowed Fred Trump to revive his business
and begin building a multitude of homes in Brooklyn, selling at $6,000
apiece.
Furthermore, throughout World War II, Fred Trump constructed
FHA-backed housing for US naval personnel near major shipyards along the
East Coast.
In 1974 Donald Trump became president of his father’s organization.
During the 15 years following his ascension, he expanded and innovated
the corporation, buying and branding buildings, golf courses, hotels,
casinos, and other recreational facilities. In 1980 he established The
Trump Organization to oversee all of his real estate operations.
Trump eventually found himself in serious financial trouble. In 1990,
due to excessive leveraging, The Trump Organization revealed that it was
$5 billion in debt ($8.8 billion by some estimates), with $1 billion
personally guaranteed by Trump himself. The survival of the company was
made possible only by a bailout pact agreed upon in August of that same
year by some 70 banks, allowing Trump to defer on nearly $1 billion in
debt, as well as to take out second and third mortgages on almost all of
his properties. If it were not for the collective effort of all banks
and parties involved in that 1990 deal, Trump’s business would have gone
bankrupt and failed.
In 1995 Trump took Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Inc. public and
received a substantial financial boost from society and the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations that enable the market to
function. He initially sold 10 million shares at $14 per share and then
in 1996 sold 13.25 million shares at $32.50 a share. This initial public
offering granted Trump’s company a stability and legitimacy that would
have been impossible without millions of people around the world
trusting his organization and investing with the hope of shared success.
Despite the clear societal and governmental assistance described above,
Trump continues to be outspoken in his criticism of government. In his
book The America We Deserve, Trump explains that “the greatest
threat to the American Dream is the idea that dreamers need close
government scrutiny and control. Job one for us is to make sure the
public sector does a limited job, and no more.” This quote proves to be
particularly ironic when considering Trump’s feelings
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