Following his graduation for college, Trump went home immediately and began working with his father and his company Elizabeth Trump and Son. Their business primarily focused on middle class rental housing in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. One of Trump’s first projects was the revitalization of the foreclosed Swifton Village apartment complex in Cincinnati, Ohio, which his father had purchased for $5.7 million in 1962. Trump became intimately involved in the project, personally flying in for a few days at a time to carry out landscaping and other low-level tasks. After $500,000 investment, Trump successfully turned a 1200-unit complex with a 66 percent vacancy rate to 100 percent occupancy within two years.
Trumps success certainly would not be his last. In 1971 Trump moved to Manhattan, where he became convinced of the economic opportunity in the city, specifically large building projects in Manhattan that would offer opportunities for earning high profits and utilizing attractive architectural design. Trump began by landing the rights to develop the old Penn Central yards on the West Side, then turned the bankrupt Commodore Hotel into a new Grand Hyatt and created The Trump Organization. Trumps innovative ideas earned him 60 million dollars in revenue after a few years and from that point on he added multiple projects to his schedule. With each new project he added his own flair and style which allowed him to demand top dollars prices for his services.
As I mentioned before, I never knew what Donald Trump did to earn his millions and I’m sure I’m not the only one. This was just a glimpse in the life of a billionaire. Donald Trump has seen many successes and many failures, but through it all he remained strong and determined to reach his goal. His story is inspirational and should be studied by our youth to let them know you can reach your dreams. One thing Trump stated in one of his books was that the key to success was to stay passionate about what you are doing. He stated that if you are in love with your business then it will never get old and you will always want to see it flourish. This is key to being successful and I plan to use this tip throughout my career.
