From real estate companies to politics/ Donald Trump's success story

2025-02-17 22:12:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Long before he campaigned for the US presidency, Donald Trump was America's most powerful billionaire.

The New York real estate mogul's life was splashed across tabloids and television in the decades leading up to his unlikely run for the White House in 2015-16.

His household name and unfiltered campaigning style helped him defeat experienced politicians - but a term filled with controversy saw him leave office after a single term.

From real estate companies to politics/ Donald Trump's success story

Trump is the fourth child of New York real estate mogul Fred Trump.

Despite the family's wealth, he was expected to work in lower-level jobs within his father's company and was sent to a military academy at the age of 13 when he began misbehaving at school.

After earning a degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, he was favored to succeed his father when his older brother, Fred, chose to become a pilot.

From real estate companies to politics/ Donald Trump's success story

Trump says he acquired real estate with a "small" $1 million loan from his father before joining the company.

He helped manage his father's vast portfolio of housing projects in New York City neighborhoods and took control of the company - which he named The Trump Organization - in 1971.

His father, whom Trump describes as "my inspiration," died in 1999.

From real estate companies to politics/ Donald Trump's success story

Under Trump, the family business moved from residential units in Brooklyn and Queens to the high-end projects of Manhattan.

The famous Fifth Avenue became home to Trump Tower, perhaps the tycoon's most famous property and his home for many years. The dilapidated Commodore Hotel was restored as the Grand Hyatt.

Other properties bearing the Trump brand name — casinos, condominiums, golf courses and hotels — also sprang up, from Atlantic City, Chicago and Las Vegas to India, Turkey and the Philippines.

His rise to stardom continued in the world of entertainment - first as the owner of the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA beauty pageants, then as the creator-host of the NBC reality show The Apprentice.

From real estate companies to politics/ Donald Trump's success story

Trump's personal life has received widespread publicity.

His first wife was Ivana Zelnickova, a Czech athlete and model. The couple had three children - Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric - before their divorce in 1990.

He married actress Marla Maples in 1993, two months after the birth of their only child, Tiffany. They divorced in 1999.

Trump's current wife is former Slovenian model Melania Knauss. They married in 2005 and have a son, Barron William Trump, who recently turned 18.

From real estate companies to politics/ Donald Trump's success story

In a 1980 interview, a 34-year-old Trump describes politics as "a very bad life" and says that "the most capable people" choose the business world.

However, in 1987, he began teasing a presidential bid. He briefly explored entering the 2000 race with the Reform Party, then again in 2012 as a Republican.

Trump was among the most vocal proponents of "birtherism," the conspiracy theory that questions whether Barack Obama was born in the U.S. He didn't admit it was a lie until 2016 and never apologized.

It was only in June 2015 that Trump officially announced a bid for the White House, declaring the American dream dead but promising to "bring it back bigger and better."

The free speech saw him flaunt his wealth and business success; accuse Mexico of sending drugs, crime and rapists to the US; and promise to make the country pay for a border wall.

Dominant performances on the debate stage and a political platform filled with controversy attracted adoring fans and harsh critics in equal measure, as well as a torrent of media attention.

From real estate companies to politics/ Donald Trump's success story

Under the campaign slogan 'Make America Great Again', he easily pushed past rivals in the Republican Party to face Democrat Hillary Clinton.

The initial campaign was marred by controversy, including a leaked audiotape in which he boasted about sexual abuse, and he lagged in opinion polls throughout the general election.

But Trump had the last laugh against pundits and pollsters with his stunning victory over a veteran politician. He was sworn in as the country's 45th president on January 20, 2017./CNA