This is ridiculous. Donald Trump joined his father's business in 1968, and started running it in 1971. Much of the wealth his father accrued before his death in 1999 was a result of Donald growing the company exponentially from 1971 until his father's death.
[This is ridiculous. Donald Trump joined his father’s business in 1968, and started running it in 1971. Much of the wealth his father accrued before his death in 1999 was a result of Donald growing the company exponentially from 1971 until his father’s death.]
Trump’s first major deal in Manhattan[14] was the development of the Grand Hyatt Hotel in 1978 next to Grand Central Terminal. The aging brick facade of the Commodore Hotel was sheathed in glass, and the existing lobby of the hotel was replaced by an atrium.[15] The Commodore was thus presented as a remodeled Hyatt hotel at its opening in September 1980, helping to bring Trump to public prominence.[15][16] Part of this deal was a $1 million loan Fred Trump’s Village Construction Corp. made to help repay draws on a Chase Manhattan credit line Fred had arranged for Donald as he built the hotel, as well as a $70 million construction loan jointly guaranteed by Fred and the Hyatt hotel chain. Fred was a silent partner in the initiative, due to his reputation having been damaged in New York real estate circles, after investigations into windfall profits and other abuses in his real estate projects, making Donald the frontman in the deal. According to journalist Wayne Barrett, Fred’s two-decade friendship with a top Equitable officer, Ben Holloway, helped convince them to agree to the project.[14] Donald negotiated a 40-year tax abatement for the hotel with the city, in exchange for a share of the venture’s profits. The deal helped reduce the risk of the project and provided an incentive for investors to participate.[17]]