I disagree.
The 1 Easy Way Donald Trump Could Have Been Even Richer: Doing Nothing (nationaljournal.com)
He's basically a toddler who never grew up, and his money is worth less than it would be IF he was SMART ENOUGH to play the system.
And here's the thing - he talks too damn much to ever be able to make it as any sort of REALLY RICH guy. He wants to brag about all the corners he's cut, the chicanery he is too stupid to know is illegal, you name it. The man is the closest thing to a psychotic I've seen outside of a serial killer, which is probably what he would have been had he been born to lesser means.
I'd be willing to wager you could take the dumbest Tidefans poster born with Trump's wealth,
92tide would have MANY TIMES more wealth than Trump ever has or will.
Trump is the manager of the small McDonald's in a small town next to Walmart and the decaying Blockbuster Video store who has a back and forth with a customer he's trying to squeeze a nickel out of because he wanted an extra sauce - and TRUMP makes it a scene. The SMART business guy who does what you're saying about playing the angles knows you take a step back, take the "not really a loss" now and the customer comes back.
This "business genius" has - among other things:
-
PAID to get Wrestlemania at the Trump Plaza when every other venue got money
from McMahon
- overpaid by ?? how much to get Doug Flutie to be his quarterback, a guy the NFL didn't even want
- overpaid for his USFL franchise to J Walter Duncan, who laughed all the way to the bank
I mean, I could go through the list but those 3 are next-level stupid right there. Most folks don't follow wrestling (certainly not like I did in the 80s - yes, I'm embarrassed), but after Wrestlemania 3 was a blockbuster smash on PPV and an inflated attendance number (but still impressive), Trump was there and ASKED VINCE MCMAHON how much the bidding was for Wrestlemania. You see - he is SO STUPID that instead of going back home to Queens and doing any due diligence, he ASSUMED "this is a sporting event like the Olympics or Final Four, where sites bid for the right to host it." McMahon didn't bother tell the doofus that "no, you see, I pay you" because he knew a sucker when he saw one. I'm sure he held Trump up for a million bucks or more and laughed all the way to the bank because his operating costs were suddenly not very expensive.
Trump was so stupid, he did it again the next year.
He paid far more than the NJ Generals were worth because he thought the USFL was the same as the NFL. The first NJ owner lost $4 million, would have been happy to sell them for $8 - and Dingle Drumpf gave him ten, because he wanted a football team.
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Let me drive home how dumb the guy is.
There was another narcissist named OJ Simpson, and I'm sure you know what he did. Trump is the kind of guy dumb enough to have done all that and been sitting there accused as the trial starts and said, "I've been looking all over for that glove!"