🕷️ Crawler Inspector

URL Lookup

Direct Parameter Lookup

Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 62 (from laksa025)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa062.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fred-Trump\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fred-Trump\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Fred-Trump","crawl_time":1774830512,"first_indexed_time":1687299881,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,britannica!www,\/biography\/Fred-Trump s443","src_root_hash":"5455945239613777662","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"Fred Trump | Real Estate, New York City, KKK, Donald Trump, & Biography | Britannica","meta_descriptions":["Fred Trump was an enormously successful real estate developer in New York City, who changed the residential landscape of the city in the 20th century. He was also the father of Donald J. Trump, whom he groomed to take over the family business and who went on to become president of the United States."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Top Questions\nIn which case did the Supreme Court decide that President Donald Trump is not authorized to issue tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977?\nWhy did President Donald Trump order the bombing of Venezuelan civilian vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean?\nWhat criminal charges did Venezuelan president\nNicolás Maduro\nface following his capture by the U.S. military?\nCan President Donald Trump change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War?\nWhat is historically unusual about Donald Trump’s presidency?\nHow did Donald Trump’s business career begin?\nWhere and when was Donald Trump shot?\nWhat was the significance of Donald Trump’s military parade?\nPrior to 2025, when was the last major military parade in the U.S.?\nHow much does a military parade cost?\nWhat is a border czar?\nNews\n•\nDonald Trump\n(born June 14, 1946,\nNew York\n, New York, U.S.) is a former real estate mogul and\nreality TV star\nwho has served as the 45th and 47th\npresident\nof the\nUnited States\n. The scion of renowned New York real estate developer Fred Trump, Donald rose to eclipse his father in fame and fortune, moving through New York’s elite social circles in the 1980s to American TV fame in the 2000s and finally leveraging his name and wealth to become one of the most consequential leaders of the early 21st century.\nThroughout Trump’s long career in business and politics, one constant has been his\nbrazen\n,\npugnacious\n, and unrepentant style, which has led to unparalleled achievements while often sowing conflict and\nchaos\n. As a businessman, Trump flashed his name worldwide across buildings, casinos, airlines, universities, and even steaks, often while mired in lawsuits and weathering multiple bankruptcies. As a politician, Trump started the fiercely tribal Make America Great Again (\nMAGA\n) movement that came to dominate American politics in the second half of the 2010s and 2020s. His uncanny\nresilience\nto scandals led him to become one of two U.S. presidents to serve two nonconsecutive terms, even after leading a rally that resulted in a mob storming\nCongress\n(the\nJanuary 6 attack\n), two\nimpeachments\n, and being the only former U.S. president convicted in a criminal case. His willingness to push boundaries, test legal precedent, and discard conventional norms has reshaped much of American life and been embraced by many\ndisenfranchised\nvoters, but it has also eroded protections for millions, stoked\nxenophobia\n, and amplified political divisions to new heights. \nAfter being elected in 2024 for his second term, Trump swiftly moved to consolidate power under the\nexecutive\nbranch, upended\ninternational trade\n, and shook up America’s global footprint by discarding centuries-old alliances and igniting bombast with Canada, Venezuela, Greenland, and Iran. \nEarly life and business career\nDonald Trump\nDonald Trump speaking in front of Trump Tower, New York City, August 2008.\nTrump was the fourth of five children of\nFrederick (Fred) Christ Trump\n, a successful real estate developer, and Mary MacLeod. Donald’s eldest sister,\nMaryanne Trump Barry, eventually served as a U.S.\ndistrict court\njudge (1983–99) and later as a judge on the\nU.S. Court of Appeals\nfor the Third\nCircuit\nuntil her retirement in 2011. His elder brother, Frederick, Jr. (Freddy), worked briefly for their father’s business before becoming an airline pilot in the 1960s. Freddy’s\nalcoholism\nled to his early death in 1981, at the age of 43.\nBeginning in the late 1920s, Fred Trump built hundreds of single-family houses and row houses in the\nQueens\nand\nBrooklyn\nboroughs of\nNew York City\n, and from the late 1940s he built thousands of apartment units, mostly in Brooklyn, using federal loan guarantees designed to stimulate the construction of\naffordable housing\n. During\nWorld War II\nhe also built federally backed housing for naval personnel and shipyard workers in\nVirginia\nand\nPennsylvania\n. In 1954 Fred was investigated by the Senate Banking Committee for allegedly abusing the loan-guarantee program by deliberately overestimating the costs of his construction projects to secure larger loans from\ncommercial banks\n, enabling him to keep the difference between the loan amounts and his actual construction costs. In\ntestimony\nbefore the Senate committee in 1954, Fred admitted that he had built the Beach Haven apartment complex in Brooklyn for $3.7 million less than the amount of his government-insured loan. Although he was not charged with any crime, he was thereafter unable to obtain federal loan guarantees. A decade later a New York state investigation found that Fred had used his profit on a state-insured construction loan to build a shopping center that was entirely his own property. He eventually returned $1.2 million to the state but was thereafter unable to obtain state loan guarantees for residential projects in the\nConey Island\narea of Brooklyn.\nBritannica Quiz\nU.S. Presidents and Their Years in Office Quiz\nDonald Trump attended New York Military Academy (1959–64), a private boarding school;\nFordham University\nin the\nBronx\n(1964–66); and the\nUniversity of Pennsylvania\n’s Wharton School of Finance and Commerce (1966–68), where he graduated with a\nbachelor’s degree\nin\neconomics\n. In 1968, during the\nVietnam War\n, he secured a\ndiagnosis\nof bone spurs, which qualified him for a medical exemption from the\nmilitary draft\n(he had earlier received four draft deferments for education). Upon his graduation Trump began working full-time for his father’s business, helping to manage its holdings of rental housing, then estimated at between 10,000 and 22,000 units. In 1974 he became president of a conglomeration of Trump-owned corporations and partnerships, which he later named the\nTrump Organization.\nDuring the 1960s and early 1970s, Trump-owned housing developments in New York City,\nCincinnati\n,\nOhio\n, and\nNorfolk\n,\nVirginia\n, were the target of several complaints of racial\ndiscrimination\nagainst\nAfrican Americans\nand other minority groups. In 1973 Fred and Donald Trump, along with their company, were sued by the\nU.S. Justice Department\nfor allegedly violating the\nFair Housing Act\n(1968) in the operation of 39 apartment buildings in New York City. The Trumps initially countersued the\nJustice\nDepartment for $100 million, alleging harm to their reputations. The suit was settled two years later under an agreement that did not require the Trumps to admit guilt.\nSmart, reliable knowledge for professionals, students, and curious minds everywhere.\nSUBSCRIBE\nFather and son\nDonald Trump posing with his father, Fred Trump, at Trump Tower in 1987.\nIn the late 1970s and the 1980s, Donald Trump greatly expanded his father’s business by investing in luxury hotels and residential properties and by shifting its geographic focus to\nManhattan\nand later to\nAtlantic City\n,\nNew Jersey\n. In doing so, he relied heavily on loans, gifts, and other financial assistance from his father, as well as on his father’s political connections in New York City. In 1976 he purchased the decrepit Commodore Hotel near\nGrand Central Station\nunder a complex profit-sharing agreement with the city that included a 40-year\nproperty tax\nabatement, the first such tax break granted to a commercial property in New York City. Relying on a construction loan guaranteed by his father and the Hyatt Corporation, which became a partner in the project, Trump refurbished the building and reopened it in 1980 as the 1,400-room Grand Hyatt Hotel. In 1983 he opened\nTrump Tower\n, an office, retail, and residential complex constructed in partnership with the Equitable Life\nAssurance\nCompany. The 58-story building on 56th Street and Fifth Avenue eventually contained Trump’s Manhattan residence and the headquarters of the Trump Organization. Other Manhattan properties developed by Trump during the 1980s include the Trump Plaza residential cooperative (1984), the Trump Parc luxury\ncondominium\ncomplex (1986), and the 19-story Plaza Hotel (1988), a historic landmark for which Trump paid more than $400 million.\nIn the 1980s Trump invested heavily in the\ncasino\nbusiness in Atlantic City, where his properties eventually included Harrah’s at Trump Plaza (1984, later renamed Trump Plaza), Trump’s Castle Casino Resort (1985), and the Trump Taj Mahal (1990), then the largest casino in the world. During that period Trump also purchased the New Jersey Generals, a team in the short-lived U.S. Football League;\nMar-a-Lago\n, a 118-room mansion in\nPalm Beach\n, Florida, built in the 1920s by the cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post; a 282-foot\nyacht\n, then the world’s second largest, which he named the\nTrump Princess\n; and an East Coast air-shuttle service, which he called Trump Shuttle.\nIn 1977 Trump married\nIvana Zelníčková Winklmayr, a Czech model, with whom he had three children—\nDonald, Jr.\n,\nIvanka\n, and\nEric—before the couple divorced in 1992. Their married life, as well as Trump’s business affairs, were a\nstaple\nof the\ntabloid\npress in New York City during the 1980s. Trump married the American actress\nMarla Maples after she gave birth to Trump’s fourth child,\nTiffany, in 1993. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1999. In 2005 Trump married the Slovene model Melania Knauss, and their son, Barron, was born the following year.\nMelania Trump\nbecame the second foreign-born\nfirst lady\nof the United States upon Trump’s inauguration as president in 2017.\nWhen the U.S. economy fell into\nrecession\nin 1990, many of Trump’s businesses suffered, and he soon had trouble making payments on his approximately $5 billion debt, some $900 million of which he had personally guaranteed. Under a restructuring agreement with several banks, Trump was forced to\nsurrender\nhis airline, which was taken over by\nUS Airways\nin 1992; to sell the\nTrump Princess\n; to take out second or third mortgages on nearly all of his properties and to reduce his ownership stakes in them; and to commit himself to living on a personal budget of $450,000 a year. Despite those measures, the Trump Taj Mahal declared\nbankruptcy\nin 1991, and two other casinos owned by Trump, as well as his Plaza Hotel in New York City, went bankrupt in 1992. Following those setbacks, most major banks refused to do any further business with him. Estimates of Trump’s net\nworth\nduring this period ranged from $1.7 billion to minus $900 million.\nTrump’s fortunes rebounded with the stronger economy of the later 1990s and with the decision of the\nFrankfurt\n-based\nDeutsche Bank AG\nto establish a presence in the U.S. commercial real estate market. Deutsche Bank extended hundreds of millions of dollars in credit to Trump in the late 1990s and the 2000s for projects including Trump World Tower (2001) in New York and\nTrump International Hotel and Tower\n(2009) in\nChicago\n. In the early 1990s Trump had floated a plan to his creditors to convert his Mar-a-Lago estate into a luxury housing development consisting of several smaller mansions, but local opposition led him instead to turn it into a private club, which was opened in 1995. In 1996 Trump partnered with the\nNBC\ntelevision network to purchase the Miss Universe Organization, which produced the\nMiss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA beauty pageants. Trump’s casino businesses continued to struggle, however: in 2004 his company Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts filed for bankruptcy after several of its properties accumulated unmanageable debt, and the same company, renamed Trump Entertainment Resorts, went bankrupt again in 2009.\nBeginning in the mid-2000s, Trump enjoyed an enormous financial windfall from the success of\nThe Apprentice\n, a\nreality television\nseries in which he starred that directly earned him nearly $200 million over a 16-year period. The\nEmmy\n-nominated show, in each episode of which Trump “fired” one or more contestants competing for a lucrative one-year contract as a Trump employee, further\nenhanced\nhis reputation as a shrewd businessman and self-made billionaire. In 2008 the show was revamped as\nThe Celebrity Apprentice\n, which featured news makers and entertainers as contestants.\nTrump marketed his name as a brand in numerous other business ventures, including Trump Financial, a\nmortgage\ncompany, and the Trump\nEntrepreneur\nInitiative\n(formerly\nTrump University), an online education company focusing on real estate investment and entrepreneurialism. The latter firm, which ceased operating in 2011, was the target of\nclass-action\nlawsuits by former students and a separate action by the\nattorney general\nof New York state, alleging\nfraud\n. After initially denying the allegations, Trump settled the lawsuits for $25 million in November 2016. In 2019, more than two years into his presidency, Trump agreed to pay $2 million in damages and to admit guilt to settle another lawsuit by the attorney general of New York that had accused him of illegally using\nassets\nfrom his charity, the Trump Foundation, to fund his 2016 presidential campaign. As part of the settlement, the Trump Foundation was dissolved.\nIn 2018\nThe New York Times\npublished a lengthy investigative report that documented how Fred Trump had regularly transferred vast sums of money, ultimately amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars, to his children by means of strategies that involved tax, securities, and real estate fraud, as well as by legal means. According to the report, Donald Trump was the main beneficiary of the transfers, having received the equivalent (in 2018 dollars) of $413 million by the early 2000s. According to a later report by the\nTimes\n, based on\ndata\nfrom tax returns filed by Trump during an 18-year period starting in 2000, Trump paid no federal taxes in 11 years and only $750 in each of two years, 2016 and 2017. Trump was able to reduce his tax obligations to levels significantly below the average for the wealthiest Americans by claiming massive losses on many of his businesses; by deducting as business expenses costs associated with his residences and his personal aircraft; and by receiving, on the basis of business losses, a tentative refund from the\nInternal Revenue Service\n(IRS) of nearly $73 million, which more than covered the federal taxes Trump had paid on income he received from\nThe Apprentice\nin 2005–08. The refund became the subject of an IRS audit and a legally\nmandated\nreview by the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation.\nQuick Facts\nIn full:\nDonald John Trump\nNotable Family Members:\nspouse\nMelania Trump\nfather\nFred Trump\ndaughter\nIvanka Trump\nson\nDonald Trump, Jr.\nson of Frederick Christ Trump\nson of Mary MacLeod\nhusband of Melania Trump (January 22, 2005–present)\nhusband of Marla Maples (December 20, 1993–June 8, 1999)\nhusband of Ivana Trump (April 9, 1977–March 22, 1992)\nfather of Donald Trump, Jr. (b. 1977)\nfather of Ivanka Trump (b. 1981)\nfather of Eric Trump (b. 1984)\nfather of Tiffany Trump (b. 1993)\nfather of Barron Trump (b. 2006)\nbrother of Maryanne Trump Barry\nbrother of Frederick Trump, Jr.\nbrother of Elizabeth Trump Grau\nbrother of Robert Trump\nPublished Works:\n\"Trump: Think Like a Billionaire: Everything You Need to Know About Success, Real Estate, and Life\" (2004; with Meredith McIver)\n\"Think Big and Kick Ass in Business and Life\" (2007; with Bill Zanker)\n\"Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies\" (2006)\n\"The Best Golf Advice I Ever Received\" (2005)\n\"Trump: The Art of the Comeback\" (1997; with Kate Bohner)\n\"Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again\" (2015)\n\"Midas Touch: Why Some Entrepreneurs Get Rich—And Why Most Don't\" (2011; with Robert T. Kiyosaki)\n\"Think Like a Champion: An Informal Education in Business and Life\" (2009; with Meredith McIver)\n\"Trump: The Art of the Deal\" (1987; with Tony Schwartz)\n\"Time to Get Tough: Making America #1 Again\" (2011)\n\"Trump: Surviving at the Top\" (1990; with Charles Leerhsen)\n\"The Way to the Top: The Best Business Advice I Ever Received\" (2004)\n\"The America We Deserve\" (2000; with Dave Shiflett)\n\"Why We Want You to Be Rich: Two Men, One Message\" (2006; with Robert T. Kiyosaki)\n\"Trump: How to Get Rich\" (2004; with Meredith McIver)\n\"Trump Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges into Success\" (2008; with Meredith McIver)\n\"Trump 101: The Way to Success\" (2007; with Meredith McIver)\nMovies\/Tv Shows (Acted In):\n\"The Little Rascals\" (1994)\n\"Horrorween\" (2011)\n\"Eddie\" (1996)\n\"Marmalade\" (2004)\n\"Two Weeks Notice\" (2002)\n\"Across the Sea of Time\" (1995)\n\"54\" (1998)\n\"Zoolander\" (2001)\n\"Spin City\" (1998)\n\"The Drew Carey Show\" (1997)\n\"NightMan\" (1997)\n\"The Nanny\" (1996)\n\"Home Alone 2: Lost in New York\" (1992)\n\"Celebrity\" (1998)\n\"Suddenly Susan\" (1997)\n\"Ghosts Can't Do It\" (1989)\nTrump was credited as coauthor of a number of books on entrepreneurship and his business career, including\nTrump: The Art of the Deal\n(1987),\nTrump: The Art of the Comeback\n(1997),\nWhy We Want You to Be Rich\n(2006),\nTrump 101: The Way to Success\n(2006), and\nTrump Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges into Success\n(2008).\nAt a glance: the Trump presidency","attrs_markdown":"[![Encyclopedia Britannica](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/mendel\/eb-logo\/MendelNewThistleLogo.png)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/)\n\n[![Encyclopedia Britannica](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/mendel\/eb-logo\/MendelNewThistleLogo.png)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/)\n\n[SUBSCRIBE](https:\/\/premium.britannica.com\/premium-membership\/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=global-nav&utm_campaign=blue-evergreen)\n\n[SUBSCRIBE](https:\/\/premium.britannica.com\/premium-membership\/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=global-nav-mobile&utm_campaign=blue-evergreen)\n\nLogin\n\nhttps:\/\/premium.britannica.com\/premium-membership\/?utm\\_source=premium\\&utm\\_medium=nav-login-box\\&utm\\_campaign=evergreen\n\n[SUBSCRIBE](https:\/\/premium.britannica.com\/premium-membership\/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=hamburger-menu&utm_campaign=blue)\n\n[Ask the Chatbot](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/chatbot)\n\n[Games & Quizzes](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/browse) [History & Society](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/History-Society) [Science & Tech](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/Science-Tech) [Biographies](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/Biographies) [Animals & Nature](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/Animals-Nature) [Geography & Travel](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/Geography-Travel) [Arts & Culture](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/Arts-Culture) [ProCon](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/procon) [Money](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money) [Videos](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/videos)\n\n[Fred Trump](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Fred-Trump)\n\n- [Introduction & Top Questions](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Fred-Trump)\n- [Early years](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Fred-Trump#ref472261)\n- [Building boom and Depression](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Fred-Trump#ref472262)\n- [Father Fred](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Fred-Trump#ref472263)\n- [Later business empire](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Fred-Trump#ref472264)\n- [Donald Trump on his father](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Fred-Trump#ref472265)\n\n[References & Edit History](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Fred-Trump\/additional-info)  [Quick Facts & Related Topics](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/facts\/Fred-Trump)\n\n[Images](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Fred-Trump\/images-videos)\n\n[![Father and son](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/27\/283327-004-0E6B0F6A\/Donald-and-Fred-Trump-1987.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/27\/283327-050-780509F8\/Donald-and-Fred-Trump-1987.jpg)  [![Power couple](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/24\/283324-004-6CCFF561\/Fred-and-Mary-Anne-McLeod-Trump-Taj-Mahal-Casino-1990.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/24\/283324-050-E46E9796\/Fred-and-Mary-Anne-McLeod-Trump-Taj-Mahal-Casino-1990.jpg)\n\nRelated Questions\n\n- [What was Fred Trump’s approach to business?](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/question\/What-was-Fred-Trumps-approach-to-business)\n- [How did Fred Trump influence Donald Trump?](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/question\/How-did-Fred-Trump-influence-Donald-Trump)\n- [What controversies did Fred Trump face in his business practices?](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/question\/What-controversies-did-Fred-Trump-face-in-his-business-practices)\n- [Can President Donald Trump change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War?](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/question\/Can-President-Donald-Trump-change-the-name-of-the-Department-of-Defense-to-the-Department-of-War)\n- [What was the significance of Donald Trump’s military parade?](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/question\/What-was-the-significance-of-Donald-Trumps-military-parade)\n\n![Britannica AI Icon](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/mendel-resources\/3-178\/images\/chatbot\/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.2)\n\nContents\n\nAsk Anything\n\n[Politics, Law & Government](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/browse\/Politics-Law-Government)    [Businesspeople & Entrepreneurs](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/browse\/Businesspeople-Entrepreneurs)\n\nCITE\n\nShare\n\nFeedback\n\nExternal Websites\n\n# Fred Trump\nNew York developer, Donald Trump’s father\n\nHomework Help\n\nAlso known as: Frederick Christ Trump\n\nWritten by\n\n[Tracy Grant Tracy Grant is a senior editor at Encyclopaedia Britannica. She previously served as editor in chief, the first woman to hold that title.](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/editor\/tracy-grant\/12854611)\n\nTracy Grant\n\nFact-checked by\n\n[Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/editor\/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica\/4419)\n\nBritannica Editors\n\nLast updated\n\nFeb. 25, 2026\n\n•[History](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Fred-Trump\/additional-info#history)\n\n![Britannica AI Icon](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/mendel-resources\/3-178\/images\/chatbot\/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.2) Britannica AI\n\nAsk Anything\n\nTable of Contents\n\nTable of Contents\n\nAsk Anything\n\n[![Father and son](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/27\/283327-050-780509F8\/Donald-and-Fred-Trump-1987.jpg?w=1000)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/27\/283327-050-780509F8\/Donald-and-Fred-Trump-1987.jpg)\n\n[Father and son](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/27\/283327-050-780509F8\/Donald-and-Fred-Trump-1987.jpg)Donald Trump posing with his father, Fred Trump, at Trump Tower in 1987.\n\n(more)\n\nTop Questions\n\n### What was Fred Trump known for?\nFred Trump was a successful and wealthy real estate developer known for shaping the residential housing landscape in New York City with thousands of homes for the middle class in the 20th century. He groomed one of his sons, [Donald J. Trump](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump), to take over the family business.\n\n### What was Fred Trump’s approach to business?\nFred Trump was known for being a hard worker and notoriously cheap. He picked up nails to reuse them, mixed his own cleaning solutions, and built projects as cheaply as possible. He was also accused of inflating the costs of his projects built with government loans to allow him to pocket larger profits.\n\n### How did Fred Trump influence Donald Trump?\nFred Trump groomed [Donald Trump](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump) to take over his business empire, encouraging his rebellious streak and telling him he was a “king” and urging him to be a “killer.” During the summer before he went away to college, Donald Trump worked for his father, doing yard work and maintenance at properties.\n\n### What controversies did Fred Trump face in his business practices?\nFred Trump faced allegations in the 1950s and 1960s that he inflated construction costs to misuse government funds. He and [Donald Trump](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump) were the subject of a 1973 Justice Department lawsuit accusing the Trump company of practicing racial discrimination in its rental practices. The suit was settled two years later.\n\n### How did Fred Trump support his children financially?\nFred Trump set up trusts for his children and grandchildren, deposited \\$1 million into each, and creatively supported [Donald Trump](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump) by buying \\$3.5 million in casino chips to infuse cash into his business.\n\n**Fred Trump** was an enormously successful and wealthy real estate developer who played a pivotal role in shaping the 20th-century landscape of residential housing in [New York City](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/New-York-City) and its surrounding areas. His influence on the 21st century, however, may have been more profound, when the son he groomed to take over his business empire, [Donald J. Trump](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump), became president of the [United States](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/United-States).\n\n## Early years\nWho Was Fred Trump?\n\n- **Birth date and location:** October 11, 1905; New York City, [New York](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/New-York-state), U.S.\n- **Death date and location:** June 25, 1999; New York City\n- **Known for:** His *New York Times* [obituary](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/obituary) said that he “helped change the face of [Brooklyn](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Brooklyn-borough-New-York-City) and Queens with thousands of homes for the middle class in plain but sturdy brick rental towers.” He was also Donald Trump’s father.\n- **Family:** Married Mary MacLeod Trump in 1936; they remained married until his death in 1999. (She died in 2000.) They had five children: Maryanne Trump Barry (died 2023), Fred Trump, Jr. (died 1981), Elizabeth Trump Grau, Donald Trump, and Robert Trump.\n- **Quotation:** “There is no secret \\[to success\\].…You must like what you do.…Nine out of ten people don’t like what they do.…They go from job to job, and ultimately become a nothing.”\n\nFrederick Christ (pronounced with a short *i*) Trump was the middle child of Elizabeth and Friedrich Trump, who had settled in the United States after Friedrich Trump was ordered out of their native Germany on charges that an earlier [expedition](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/expedition) to the United States was a scheme to avoid [military service](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/armed-force). Elizabeth and Friedrich Trump ultimately settled in New York City in 1905; Frederick was born three months later.\n\nFriedrich Trump had originally come to the United States in the 1880s as a teenager who identified himself as Friedrich Trumpf and listed his occupation as a farmer. He built hotels during the [gold rush](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/gold-rush) of the 1890s, and by the time his family settled in New York he was a wealthy man and the final *f* had disappeared from his name. In 1918 Friedrich Trump was struck ill while walking through New York with his then 12-year-old son Frederick. He died shortly thereafter, a victim of the [global flu pandemic of 1918–19](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/influenza-pandemic-of-1918-1919). Friedrich Trump chafed at the anti-German [sentiment](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/sentiment) that arose in the country during [World War I](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/World-War-I). He would pass the concern on to his son, who would feel it more acutely as a businessman during [World War II](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/World-War-II). Fred Trump claimed repeatedly that the family was from Sweden, not Germany. (Donald Trump has, at times, repeated that falsehood.)\n\nFriedrich Trump left his widow a wealthy woman, and she created a company named E. Trump & Son, which would be the [precursor](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/precursor) to a building empire that would continue well into the next century. Her son—who would later remember his childhood passion for building, saying, “When I was a kid I used to play with blocks, erector sets and things like that”—built the first of his many homes when he was just 17 years old.\n\n## Building boom and Depression\nAs the boom years of the 1920s got underway, Fred Trump saw nothing but opportunity. He would focus his attention on the largely undeveloped New York City borough of [Queens](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Queens-New-York), which saw its population more than double in the decade to more than one million people, almost all of them white.\n\nIn 1927 Trump found himself in the middle of a [Memorial Day](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Memorial-Day) parade in his Queens neighborhood at which the [Ku Klux Klan](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Ku-Klux-Klan) (KKK) marched and stirred up anti-Catholic sentiment. When fighting broke out among police, the KKK, and those at the parade, Trump [wound](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/wound) up arrested for “refusing to disperse…when ordered to do so.” The charge was eventually dropped.\n\n[![Power couple](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/24\/283324-050-E46E9796\/Fred-and-Mary-Anne-McLeod-Trump-Taj-Mahal-Casino-1990.jpg?w=300)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/24\/283324-050-E46E9796\/Fred-and-Mary-Anne-McLeod-Trump-Taj-Mahal-Casino-1990.jpg)\n\n[Power couple](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/24\/283324-050-E46E9796\/Fred-and-Mary-Anne-McLeod-Trump-Taj-Mahal-Casino-1990.jpg)Fred and Mary Anne MacLeod Trump at the opening of their son Donald's Trump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1990.\n\n(more)\n\nAlthough the [stock market crash of 1929](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/stock-market-crash-of-1929) and resulting [Great Depression](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/Great-Depression) spelled doom for many New York businessmen, Trump saw nothing but opportunity, buying up vacant land, investing in grocery stores, and even building an upscale housing development. By the mid-1930s he was one of New York City’s most prominent young business leaders, with one local newspaper hailing him as “the [Henry Ford](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/Henry-Ford) of the home-building industry.” He had also just met a 23-year-old named Mary Anne MacLeod; they would marry in 1936 and remain together until Trump’s death in 1999.\n\nExplore Britannica Premium\\!\n\nTrusted knowledge for those who want to know more.\n\n[SUBSCRIBE](https:\/\/premium.britannica.com\/premium-membership\/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=shorter-2026)\n\n![Penguin, ship, mountain, atlas](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/marketing\/inline-left.webp)\n\n![shohei ohtani, plants, andy wharhol art](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/marketing\/inline-right.webp)\n\n![Mobile](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/marketing\/inline-mobile.webp?w=400)\n\nBy this time Trump’s approach to business had become legendary throughout New York. He was seen as a relentlessly hard worker, but he was also notoriously cheap. As he walked his building projects, he stopped to pick up nails from the ground so that they could be reused. He mixed his own cleaning solutions rather than buying them commercially. And his housing projects reflected his frugality. One development was called “Trump’s dumps on stumps” by some New Yorkers. His ability to see opportunities to make and save money—even when they were [dubious](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/dubious) in nature—would continue throughout his life.\n\n## Father Fred\nFred and Mary Trump would go on to have five children: Maryanne; Fred, Jr.; Elizabeth; Donald; and Robert. As the Trump family grew, so did the family business; Fred Trump correctly saw the return of veterans from World War II as an enormous housing opportunity. The family of seven lived in a 23-room mansion that Trump built and resembled a Southern plantation. The house, in an upscale neighborhood of professionals, boasted a limousine with a vanity license plate that read FCT.\n\nStill, by all accounts, Fred and Mary Trump were strict parents, raising their children with high expectations for upright behavior. Despite growing up in wealth, the Trump children were expected to do chores and earn money by delivering newspapers. (Fred Trump apparently drove them to make their deliveries in bad weather.)\n\nTrump initially saw his eldest son as the [heir apparent](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/heir-apparent) to the family business, but Fred Trump, Jr., had dreams of becoming a pilot, and so the paternal attention turned to Donald, who was a bit of a rebel and [chafed](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/chafed) at the parental rules. Still Fred Trump seemed to encourage that streak in his son, telling him that he was a “king” and urging him to become a “killer” in anything that he pursued. Soon Donald Trump was working for his father, including the summer between [high school](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/high-school) and college when his father had him do yard work and maintenance at a Cincinnati, Ohio, apartment complex Fred Trump had purchased.\n\n## Later business empire\nIn the early 1960s Trump embarked on the largest construction project of his career, a 3,800-apartment complex in [Coney Island](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Coney-Island-amusement-area). Called Trump Village, it was one of the very few projects in his career that Trump put his name on. As was his nature, he ordered it built as cheaply as possible and was the recipient of a state grant to help build it. But when he recorded a profit of \\$1.8 million on the project, he was accused of inflating the costs he reported to the government. It was not the first time Trump had been accused of misusing government funds to pad his profits.\n\n“Most smart men and women paid attention to the ball; Fred Trump focused on the shadow of the ball.” —real estate executive Edward Gordon on Fred Trump’s [acumen](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/acumen)\n\nIn 1954 Trump was investigated by the Senate Banking Committee for allegedly abusing the loan-guarantee program by deliberately overestimating the costs of his construction projects to secure larger loans, allowing him to keep the difference between the loan amounts and his construction costs. In testimony before the Senate committee, Trump admitted that he had built a Brooklyn apartment complex for \\$3.7 million less than the amount of his government-insured loan. In both instances Trump denied wrongdoing, and no charges were filed.\n\nThat was not the only controversy that Trump faced regarding how he operated his business. As early as the 1950s Trump was accused—by no less than the legendary [Woody Guthrie](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Woody-Guthrie)—of discouraging Black residents from living at Trump properties. Guthrie penned lyrics accusing “old man Trump” of stirring up “racial hate…when he drawed that color line.”\n\nLater, in the early 1970s, after Donald Trump had become the president of the Trump company with Fred Trump as chair, the company faced additional allegations of racial [discrimination](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/discrimination) in its rental practices. Two former Trump employees told the [Justice Department](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/US-Department-of-Justice) that “Fred Trump and other agents” had “discouraged rental to blacks” and outlined a numbering system for identifying Black tenants. The result was a federal lawsuit, *United States of America v. Fred C. Trump, Donald Trump, and Trump Management, Inc.* On October 16, 1973, *The New York Times* ran a front-page story about the case headlined, “Major Landlord Accused of Antiblack [Bias](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/Bias) in City.” The suit was settled two years later with no admission of wrongdoing on the part of the Trumps but with the agreement that they would publish advertisements in newspapers making clear they welcomed Black tenants at their properties.\n\nIn 1976 Fred Trump set up eight trusts, one for each of his children and grandchildren. He deposited \\$1 million into each of the accounts. This was not the only time Trump had helped out his children financially. Perhaps none was more creative than when he bought \\$3.5 million in chips at a Donald Trump-owned casino and then never gambled with them. The 1990 purchase came at a time when his son had missed loan payments on the casino, and the chips served as an under-the-table infusion of cash to the business.\n\nFred Trump remained involved on varying levels in the Trump organization until 1997, when the family took control of the [vast](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/vast) majority of Fred Trump’s holdings in a move that *The New York Times* reported in 2018 was hugely advantageous in terms of tax payments. By that time he had been diagnosed with [Alzheimer disease](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/Alzheimer-disease) and could not recognize family members. He would not live to see the son he had called a king be elected president. When he died in 1999, at the age of 93, his net worth was estimated at between \\$250 million and \\$300 million.\n\n## Donald Trump on his father\nDonald Trump called his father’s funeral “by far the toughest day of my life” and described himself as being “really close to my father.” In fact, in his offices—both at [Trump Tower](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Trump-Tower) and in the White House—the family photo that was displayed prominently was of Fred Trump.\n\nBut the two had notable and noticeable differences. In his book *The Art of the Deal*, Donald Trump wrote of his relationship with his father, “I was never intimidated by my father, the way most people were. I stood up to him, and he respected that.” And Trump came to [loathe](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/loathe) his father’s business strategy of building cheaply in New York’s outer boroughs; Trump wanted to build glass and steel skyscrapers in [Manhattan](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Manhattan-New-York-City).\n\nQuick Facts\n\nNotable Family Members:\n\nson [Donald Trump](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump)\n\n*(Show more)*\n\n[See all related content](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/facts\/Fred-Trump)\n\nBut despite the stylistic differences, Fred Trump seemed to acknowledge the merit of his son’s desire for glitz and glitter. In 1983, as he overlooked one of his son’s gleaming projects, Trump said:\n\n> I told Donald to stay out of Manhattan and now look at him.\n\n[Tracy Grant](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/editor\/tracy-grant\/12854611)\n\n![Britannica AI Icon](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/mendel-resources\/3-178\/images\/chatbot\/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.2)Britannica AI\n\n*chevron\\_right*\n\nFred Trump\n\n*close*\n\n[AI-generated answers](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/about-britannica-ai) from Britannica articles. AI makes mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.\n\n[Donald Trump](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump)\n\n- [Introduction & Top Questions](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump)\n- [Early life and business career](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump#ref332843)\n- [At a glance: the Trump presidency](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump#ref384379)\n- [Presidential election of 2016](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Presidential-election-of-2016)\n- [Trump’s first presidential term](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Presidential-election-of-2016#ref397483)\n  - [Immigration](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Presidential-election-of-2016#ref337765)\n  \n  - [Emoluments clause](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Presidential-election-of-2016#ref337766)\n  \n  - [Supreme Court](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Supreme-Court)\n  \n  - [Cabinet appointments](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Supreme-Court#ref337768)\n  \n  - [Russia investigation](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Russia-investigation)\n  \n  - [Other investigations](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Russia-investigation#ref344664)\n  \n  - [Health care](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Health-care)\n  \n  - [Environmental policy](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Health-care#ref337771)\n  \n  - [Foreign relations](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Foreign-relations)\n  \n  - [Ukraine scandal](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Foreign-relations#ref344665)\n  \n  - [COVID-19 pandemic](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Foreign-relations#ref347168)\n- [Presidential election of 2020](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Foreign-relations#ref397484)\n  - [Campaigns and litigation](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Foreign-relations#ref397485)\n  \n  - [Aftermath](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Foreign-relations#ref397486)\n- [Later indictments, civil suits, and trials](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Foreign-relations#ref356152)\n- [Presidential election of 2024](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Foreign-relations#ref397487)\n- [Trump’s second presidential term](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Foreign-relations#ref405239)\n  - [Executive orders](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Foreign-relations#ref466049)\n  \n  - [DOGE](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Foreign-relations#ref466050)\n  \n  - [ICE raids and deportations](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Foreign-relations#ref466051)\n  \n  - [Trump’s direction of traditionally independent departments and agencies](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Foreign-relations#ref466052)\n  \n  - [Partisan redistricting](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Foreign-relations#ref466053)\n  \n  - [Trump’s elimination of climate change regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Foreign-relations#ref470717)\n  \n  - [Trump’s emergency petitions to the Supreme Court](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Foreign-relations#ref466054)\n  \n  - [Epstein files](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Foreign-relations#ref466055)\n  \n  - [Venezuela, Greenland, and Iran](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Foreign-relations#ref466056)\n  \n  - [Return of the emoluments clause controversy](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Foreign-relations#ref466057)\n- [Style and rhetoric](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/Foreign-relations#ref356153)\n\n[References & Edit History](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/additional-info)  [Quick Facts & Related Topics](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/facts\/Donald-Trump)\n\n[Images, Videos & Interactives](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/images-videos)\n\n[![Donald Trump](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/18\/273318-004-6D8A21E3\/President-Donald-J-Trump-portrait-2025.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/18\/273318-050-9DE2F788\/President-Donald-J-Trump-portrait-2025.jpg)  [![Donald Trump](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/45\/193845-004-8CF3BFB5\/Donald-Trump-front-Tower-New-York-City-August-2008.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/45\/193845-050-A7905463\/Donald-Trump-front-Tower-New-York-City-August-2008.jpg)  [![Father and son](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/27\/283327-004-0E6B0F6A\/Donald-and-Fred-Trump-1987.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/27\/283327-050-780509F8\/Donald-and-Fred-Trump-1987.jpg)  [![Presidency of Donald Trump](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/42\/254742-049-EF77F565\/Donald-Trump-45th-president-of-the-United-States-US-2017-21-Republican-Party-Infogram-interactive.jpg)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Fred-Trump)  [![Donald Trump](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/41\/189141-004-B3B6F5A9\/Donald-Trump-campaign-rally-Fountain-Hills-Arizona-March-2016.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/41\/189141-050-591D6D00\/Donald-Trump-campaign-rally-Fountain-Hills-Arizona-March-2016.jpg)  [![Donald Trump](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/88\/190788-004-9B9F64AD\/Donald-Trump-2016.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/88\/190788-050-4F6F73F2\/Donald-Trump-2016.jpg)  [![Donald Trump campaigning in 2016](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/80\/193280-004-7F5FC4CA\/Donald-Trump-rally-Akron-Ohio-August-2016.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/80\/193280-050-B6A67D54\/Donald-Trump-rally-Akron-Ohio-August-2016.jpg)  [![Donald Trump and Barack Obama](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/65\/193465-004-7A3FF128\/Pres-Donald-Trump-Barack-Obama-Oval-Office-November-10-2016.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/65\/193465-050-F2AF7705\/Pres-Donald-Trump-Barack-Obama-Oval-Office-November-10-2016.jpg)  [![Donald Trump](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/21\/197021-004-743A1CB5\/portrait-Donald-Trump.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/21\/197021-050-D0AC3E38\/portrait-Donald-Trump.jpg)  [![Donald Trump](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/68\/216668-004-779A3247\/United-States-President-Donald-Trump-2017.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/68\/216668-050-DD3A9D0A\/United-States-President-Donald-Trump-2017.jpg)\n\nAt a Glance\n\n[![Donald Trump](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/31\/149831-050-83A0E45B\/Donald-J-Trump-2010.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/summary\/Donald-Trump)\n\n[Donald Trump summary](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/summary\/Donald-Trump)\n\nQuizzes\n\n[![Richard M. Nixon. Richard Nixon during a 1968 campaign stop. President Nixon](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/44\/164744-131-7A6008A3\/Richard-M-Nixon-campaign-stop-crowd-gesture-1968.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/us-presidents-and-their-years-in-office-quiz)\n\n[U.S. Presidents and Their Years in Office Quiz](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/us-presidents-and-their-years-in-office-quiz)\n\n[![Washington Monument. Washington Monument and fireworks, Washington DC. The Monument was built as an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington.](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/09\/153009-131-58881A36\/Washington-Monument-George-fireworks-obelisk-end-DC.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/all-american-history-quiz)\n\n[All-American History Quiz](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/all-american-history-quiz)\n\n[![South portico of the White House, Washington, D.C.](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/39\/126139-131-A64CBAE4\/portico-side-White-House.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/us-presidents-facts)\n\n[U.S. Presidents Facts](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/us-presidents-facts)\n\n[![Richard M. Nixon. Richard Nixon during a 1968 campaign stop. President Nixon](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/44\/164744-131-7A6008A3\/Richard-M-Nixon-campaign-stop-crowd-gesture-1968.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/us-presidential-nicknames)\n\n[U.S. Presidential Nicknames](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/us-presidential-nicknames)\n\n[![President Theodore Roosevelt delivering a speech, September 2, 1902. Teddy Roosevelt.](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/33\/181733-131-CAA9FEAA\/Theodore-Roosevelt-speech-September-2-1902.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/us-presidential-firsts)\n\n[U.S. Presidential Firsts](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/us-presidential-firsts)\n\nRelated Questions\n\n- [Can President Donald Trump change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War?](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/question\/Can-President-Donald-Trump-change-the-name-of-the-Department-of-Defense-to-the-Department-of-War)\n- [What was the significance of Donald Trump’s military parade?](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/question\/What-was-the-significance-of-Donald-Trumps-military-parade)\n- [What is a border czar?](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/question\/What-is-a-border-czar)\n- [Who are historically the U.S.’s allies?](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/question\/Who-are-historically-the-U-S-s-allies)\n- [What are the two major political parties in the U.S.?](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/question\/What-are-the-two-major-political-parties-in-the-U-S)\n\n![Britannica AI Icon](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/mendel-resources\/3-178\/images\/chatbot\/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.2)\n\nContents\n\nAsk Anything\n\n[Politics, Law & Government](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/browse\/Politics-Law-Government)    [World Leaders](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/browse\/World-Leaders)    [Presidents & Heads of States](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/browse\/Presidents)\n\nCITE\n\nShare\n\nFeedback\n\nExternal Websites\n\n[![Donald Trump](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/18\/273318-050-9DE2F788\/President-Donald-J-Trump-portrait-2025.jpg?w=400&h=300&c=crop)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/18\/273318-050-9DE2F788\/President-Donald-J-Trump-portrait-2025.jpg)\n\n[Donald Trump](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/18\/273318-050-9DE2F788\/President-Donald-J-Trump-portrait-2025.jpg) U.S. Pres. Donald Trump's official portrait, 2025.\n\n(more)\n\n# Donald Trump\n45th and 47th president of the United States\n\nHomework Help\n\nAlso known as: Donald John Trump\n\nWritten by\n\n[Brian Duignan Brian Duignan is a senior editor at Encyclopædia Britannica. His subject areas include philosophy, law, social science, politics, political theory, and religion.](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/editor\/brian-duignan\/6469)\n\nBrian Duignan\n\nFact-checked by\n\n[Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/editor\/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica\/4419)\n\nBritannica Editors\n\nLast updated\n\nMar. 27, 2026\n\n•[History](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump\/additional-info#history)\n\n![Britannica AI Icon](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/mendel-resources\/3-178\/images\/chatbot\/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.2) Britannica AI\n\nAsk Anything\n\nTable of Contents\n\nTable of Contents\n\nAsk Anything\n\nTop Questions\n\n### In which case did the Supreme Court decide that President Donald Trump is not authorized to issue tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977?\nThe case in which the [Supreme Court](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Supreme-Court-of-the-United-States) decided that President Donald Trump is not authorized to issue tariffs under the [International Emergency Economic Powers Act](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/International-Emergency-Economic-Powers-Act) (IEEPA) of 1977 is [*Learning Resources* v. *Trump*](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Major-Supreme-Court-Cases-from-the-2025-26-Term#ref448652) (2026).\n\n### Why did President Donald Trump order the bombing of Venezuelan civilian vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean?\nPresident Donald Trump ordered the bombing of Venezuelan civilian vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific because he believed that the targeted boats were smuggling illegal drugs into the United States.\n\n### What criminal charges did Venezuelan president [Nicolás Maduro](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Nicolas-Maduro) face following his capture by the U.S. military?\nVenezuelan president [Nicolás Maduro](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Nicolas-Maduro) faced criminal charges related to drug trafficking.\n\n### Can President Donald Trump change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War?\nIn 1947 the U.S. Congress passed the [National Security Act](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/National-Security-Act), which reorganized and renamed the Department of War, established in 1789, as the National Military Establishment. An amendment to the Act in 1949 changed the name of the National Military Establishment to the [Department of Defense](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/US-Department-of-Defense). Because the Constitution gives Congress the power to create executive departments and agencies, and because the Department of Defense was so named under Congressional legislation, President Donald Trump cannot legally reinstate the department’s official name under an [executive order](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/executive-order). In apparent recognition of that fact, the order eventually signed by Trump presents the new name as a “secondary title” of the department, though it also requires other federal departments and agencies to use the new name in official correspondence and nonstatutory documents.\n\n### What is historically unusual about Donald Trump’s presidency?\nDonald Trump is the only [U.S. president](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Presidents-of-the-United-States-1846696) to be impeached twice and the first convicted felon to be elected president. He is also one of only two presidents to serve two nonconsecutive terms, the other being [Grover Cleveland](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Grover-Cleveland) (1885–89; 1893–97).\n\n### How did Donald Trump’s business career begin?\nTrump began working for his father’s real estate business after graduating from the [University of Pennsylvania](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/University-of-Pennsylvania)’s Wharton School in 1968. He expanded the business by investing in luxury properties and casinos.\n\n### Where and when was Donald Trump shot?\nDonald Trump was shot during a campaign rally in Butler, [Pennsylvania](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Pennsylvania-state) on July 13, 2024.\n\n### What was the significance of Donald Trump’s military parade?\nThe official purpose of Donald Trump’s military parade on June 14, 2025, in [Washington, D.C.](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Washington-DC), was to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the [U.S. Army](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-United-States-Army). The parade, which took place on [Flag Day](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Flag-Day) (June 14) and Trump’s 79th birthday, was also intended to showcase American military strength.\n\n### Prior to 2025, when was the last major military parade in the U.S.?\nThe last major military parade in the [United States](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/United-States), which commemorated the end of the [Persian Gulf War](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/Persian-Gulf-War), took place in [Washington, D.C.](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Washington-DC), on June 18, 1991.\n\n### How much does a military parade cost?\nThe cost of a military parade varies based on its scale, location, logistics, and security needs and includes post-parade work, such as clean-up and repair of roads. The parade celebrating the end of the [Persian Gulf War](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/Persian-Gulf-War) cost \\$12 million, and [Donald Trump](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump)’s military parade cost \\$30 million.\n\n### What is a border czar?\nThe border czar is an informal title used to describe a U.S. government official who oversees or coordinates policies related to immigration and border security, including deportation. The individual is appointed by the president and implements his policies. The post does not require [Senate](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Senate-United-States-government) approval, which has raised questions about its authority, accountability, and constitutionality. Supporters argue that such appointments allow the president to act quickly and to coordinate policy across multiple agencies.\n\nIn 2021 Pres. [Joe Biden](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Joe-Biden) tapped Vice Pres. [Kamala Harris](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Kamala-Harris) to look into the root causes of immigration from Latin American countries. The media and critics dubbed her “border czar,” though the Biden administration never used that title. In 2025, during his second term, Pres. [Donald Trump](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump) selected Tom Homan to serve as border czar. He notably sent Homan to Minnesota in early 2026 amid unrest after [ICE](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/United-States-Immigration-and-Customs-Enforcement) agents fatally shot several people.\n\n## News •\n[Midnight train from Georgia: A view of America from the tracks as airports struggle in the shutdown](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/news\/607230\/e4d8ea591b3b036142c2bf2dee7dff5a)\n\n• Mar. 29, 2026, 4:15 PM ET (AP)\n\n...(Show more)\n\n['No Kings' rallies draw crowds across US, in Europe. Springsteen headlines Minnesota demonstration](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/news\/607230\/2fab6b3a64e5275bcf111e8dd6d2e075)  • Mar. 28, 2026, 11:01 PM ET (AP)\n\n[CPAC activists embrace Paxton as MAGA's choice for Senate over Cornyn](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/news\/607230\/075d6eff33890921319ac73bd853986b)  • Mar. 28, 2026, 6:54 PM ET (AP)\n\n[The top moments from this year's CPAC conference in Texas](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/news\/607230\/9826e2fe25fe7446072be91b4f880ee3)  • Mar. 28, 2026, 5:49 PM ET (AP)\n\n[Iranian attack on Saudi base injures US troops. More American forces arrive in the Middle East](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/news\/607230\/ea713e7850053d8670b062e6b11a6e39)  • Mar. 28, 2026, 4:13 PM ET (AP)\n\nShow less\n\n**Donald Trump** (born June 14, 1946, [New York](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/New-York-state), New York, U.S.) is a former real estate mogul and [reality TV star](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/reality-TV) who has served as the 45th and 47th [president](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/president-government-official) of the [United States](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/United-States). The scion of renowned New York real estate developer Fred Trump, Donald rose to eclipse his father in fame and fortune, moving through New York’s elite social circles in the 1980s to American TV fame in the 2000s and finally leveraging his name and wealth to become one of the most consequential leaders of the early 21st century.\n\nThroughout Trump’s long career in business and politics, one constant has been his [brazen](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/brazen), [pugnacious](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/pugnacious), and unrepentant style, which has led to unparalleled achievements while often sowing conflict and [chaos](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/chaos). As a businessman, Trump flashed his name worldwide across buildings, casinos, airlines, universities, and even steaks, often while mired in lawsuits and weathering multiple bankruptcies. As a politician, Trump started the fiercely tribal Make America Great Again ([MAGA](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/MAGA-movement)) movement that came to dominate American politics in the second half of the 2010s and 2020s. His uncanny [resilience](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/resilience) to scandals led him to become one of two U.S. presidents to serve two nonconsecutive terms, even after leading a rally that resulted in a mob storming [Congress](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Congress-of-the-United-States) (the [January 6 attack](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/January-6-U-S-Capitol-attack)), two [impeachments](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/impeachment), and being the only former U.S. president convicted in a criminal case. His willingness to push boundaries, test legal precedent, and discard conventional norms has reshaped much of American life and been embraced by many [disenfranchised](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/disenfranchised) voters, but it has also eroded protections for millions, stoked [xenophobia](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/xenophobia), and amplified political divisions to new heights.\n\nAfter being elected in 2024 for his second term, Trump swiftly moved to consolidate power under the [executive](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/executive-government) branch, upended [international trade](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/international-trade), and shook up America’s global footprint by discarding centuries-old alliances and igniting bombast with Canada, Venezuela, Greenland, and Iran.\n\n## Early life and business career\n[![Donald Trump](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/45\/193845-050-A7905463\/Donald-Trump-front-Tower-New-York-City-August-2008.jpg?w=300)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/45\/193845-050-A7905463\/Donald-Trump-front-Tower-New-York-City-August-2008.jpg)\n\n[Donald Trump](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/45\/193845-050-A7905463\/Donald-Trump-front-Tower-New-York-City-August-2008.jpg)Donald Trump speaking in front of Trump Tower, New York City, August 2008.\n\n(more)\n\nTrump was the fourth of five children of [Frederick (Fred) Christ Trump](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Fred-Trump), a successful real estate developer, and Mary MacLeod. Donald’s eldest sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, eventually served as a U.S. [district court](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/United-States-District-Court) judge (1983–99) and later as a judge on the [U.S. Court of Appeals](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/United-States-Court-of-Appeals) for the Third [Circuit](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/Circuit) until her retirement in 2011. His elder brother, Frederick, Jr. (Freddy), worked briefly for their father’s business before becoming an airline pilot in the 1960s. Freddy’s [alcoholism](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/alcoholism) led to his early death in 1981, at the age of 43.\n\nBeginning in the late 1920s, Fred Trump built hundreds of single-family houses and row houses in the [Queens](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Queens-New-York) and [Brooklyn](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Brooklyn-borough-New-York-City) boroughs of [New York City](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/New-York-City), and from the late 1940s he built thousands of apartment units, mostly in Brooklyn, using federal loan guarantees designed to stimulate the construction of [affordable housing](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/affordable-housing). During [World War II](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/World-War-II) he also built federally backed housing for naval personnel and shipyard workers in [Virginia](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Virginia-state) and [Pennsylvania](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Pennsylvania-state). In 1954 Fred was investigated by the Senate Banking Committee for allegedly abusing the loan-guarantee program by deliberately overestimating the costs of his construction projects to secure larger loans from [commercial banks](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/commercial-bank), enabling him to keep the difference between the loan amounts and his actual construction costs. In [testimony](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/testimony) before the Senate committee in 1954, Fred admitted that he had built the Beach Haven apartment complex in Brooklyn for \\$3.7 million less than the amount of his government-insured loan. Although he was not charged with any crime, he was thereafter unable to obtain federal loan guarantees. A decade later a New York state investigation found that Fred had used his profit on a state-insured construction loan to build a shopping center that was entirely his own property. He eventually returned \\$1.2 million to the state but was thereafter unable to obtain state loan guarantees for residential projects in the [Coney Island](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Coney-Island-amusement-area) area of Brooklyn.\n\n[![Richard M. Nixon. Richard Nixon during a 1968 campaign stop. President Nixon](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/44\/164744-131-7A6008A3\/Richard-M-Nixon-campaign-stop-crowd-gesture-1968.jpg) Britannica Quiz U.S. Presidents and Their Years in Office Quiz](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/us-presidents-and-their-years-in-office-quiz)\n\nDonald Trump attended New York Military Academy (1959–64), a private boarding school; [Fordham University](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Fordham-University) in the [Bronx](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Bronx-borough-New-York-City) (1964–66); and the [University of Pennsylvania](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/University-of-Pennsylvania)’s Wharton School of Finance and Commerce (1966–68), where he graduated with a [bachelor’s degree](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/bachelors-degree) in [economics](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/economics). In 1968, during the [Vietnam War](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/Vietnam-War), he secured a [diagnosis](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/diagnosis) of bone spurs, which qualified him for a medical exemption from the [military draft](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/conscription) (he had earlier received four draft deferments for education). Upon his graduation Trump began working full-time for his father’s business, helping to manage its holdings of rental housing, then estimated at between 10,000 and 22,000 units. In 1974 he became president of a conglomeration of Trump-owned corporations and partnerships, which he later named the Trump Organization.\n\nDuring the 1960s and early 1970s, Trump-owned housing developments in New York City, [Cincinnati](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Cincinnati), [Ohio](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Ohio-state), and [Norfolk](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Norfolk-Virginia), [Virginia](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Virginia-state), were the target of several complaints of racial [discrimination](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/discrimination-society) against [African Americans](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/African-Americans) and other minority groups. In 1973 Fred and Donald Trump, along with their company, were sued by the [U.S. Justice Department](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/US-Department-of-Justice) for allegedly violating the [Fair Housing Act](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Fair-Housing-Act) (1968) in the operation of 39 apartment buildings in New York City. The Trumps initially countersued the [Justice](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/Justice) Department for \\$100 million, alleging harm to their reputations. The suit was settled two years later under an agreement that did not require the Trumps to admit guilt.\n\nExplore Britannica Premium\\!\n\nSmart, reliable knowledge for professionals, students, and curious minds everywhere.\n\n[SUBSCRIBE](https:\/\/premium.britannica.com\/premium-membership\/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=smart-2026)\n\n![Penguin, ship, mountain, atlas](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/marketing\/inline-left.webp)\n\n![shohei ohtani, plants, andy wharhol art](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/marketing\/inline-right.webp)\n\n![Mobile](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/marketing\/inline-mobile.webp?w=400)\n\n[![Father and son](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/27\/283327-050-780509F8\/Donald-and-Fred-Trump-1987.jpg?w=300)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/27\/283327-050-780509F8\/Donald-and-Fred-Trump-1987.jpg)\n\n[Father and son](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/27\/283327-050-780509F8\/Donald-and-Fred-Trump-1987.jpg)Donald Trump posing with his father, Fred Trump, at Trump Tower in 1987.\n\n(more)\n\nIn the late 1970s and the 1980s, Donald Trump greatly expanded his father’s business by investing in luxury hotels and residential properties and by shifting its geographic focus to [Manhattan](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Manhattan-New-York-City) and later to [Atlantic City](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Atlantic-City-New-Jersey), [New Jersey](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/New-Jersey). In doing so, he relied heavily on loans, gifts, and other financial assistance from his father, as well as on his father’s political connections in New York City. In 1976 he purchased the decrepit Commodore Hotel near [Grand Central Station](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Grand-Central-Station) under a complex profit-sharing agreement with the city that included a 40-year [property tax](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/property-tax) abatement, the first such tax break granted to a commercial property in New York City. Relying on a construction loan guaranteed by his father and the Hyatt Corporation, which became a partner in the project, Trump refurbished the building and reopened it in 1980 as the 1,400-room Grand Hyatt Hotel. In 1983 he opened [Trump Tower](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Trump-Tower), an office, retail, and residential complex constructed in partnership with the Equitable Life [Assurance](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/Assurance) Company. The 58-story building on 56th Street and Fifth Avenue eventually contained Trump’s Manhattan residence and the headquarters of the Trump Organization. Other Manhattan properties developed by Trump during the 1980s include the Trump Plaza residential cooperative (1984), the Trump Parc luxury [condominium](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/condominium-building) complex (1986), and the 19-story Plaza Hotel (1988), a historic landmark for which Trump paid more than \\$400 million.\n\nIn the 1980s Trump invested heavily in the [casino](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/casino-gambling-house) business in Atlantic City, where his properties eventually included Harrah’s at Trump Plaza (1984, later renamed Trump Plaza), Trump’s Castle Casino Resort (1985), and the Trump Taj Mahal (1990), then the largest casino in the world. During that period Trump also purchased the New Jersey Generals, a team in the short-lived U.S. Football League; [Mar-a-Lago](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Mar-a-Lago), a 118-room mansion in [Palm Beach](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Palm-Beach-Florida), Florida, built in the 1920s by the cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post; a 282-foot [yacht](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/yacht), then the world’s second largest, which he named the *Trump Princess*; and an East Coast air-shuttle service, which he called Trump Shuttle.\n\nIn 1977 Trump married Ivana Zelníčková Winklmayr, a Czech model, with whom he had three children—[Donald, Jr.](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump-Jr), [Ivanka](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Ivanka-Trump), and Eric—before the couple divorced in 1992. Their married life, as well as Trump’s business affairs, were a [staple](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/staple) of the [tabloid](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/tabloid-journalism) press in New York City during the 1980s. Trump married the American actress Marla Maples after she gave birth to Trump’s fourth child, Tiffany, in 1993. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1999. In 2005 Trump married the Slovene model Melania Knauss, and their son, Barron, was born the following year. [Melania Trump](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Melania-Trump) became the second foreign-born [first lady](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/first-lady-United-States-title) of the United States upon Trump’s inauguration as president in 2017.\n\nWhen the U.S. economy fell into [recession](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/recession) in 1990, many of Trump’s businesses suffered, and he soon had trouble making payments on his approximately \\$5 billion debt, some \\$900 million of which he had personally guaranteed. Under a restructuring agreement with several banks, Trump was forced to [surrender](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/surrender) his airline, which was taken over by [US Airways](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/US-Airways) in 1992; to sell the *Trump Princess*; to take out second or third mortgages on nearly all of his properties and to reduce his ownership stakes in them; and to commit himself to living on a personal budget of \\$450,000 a year. Despite those measures, the Trump Taj Mahal declared [bankruptcy](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/bankruptcy) in 1991, and two other casinos owned by Trump, as well as his Plaza Hotel in New York City, went bankrupt in 1992. Following those setbacks, most major banks refused to do any further business with him. Estimates of Trump’s net [worth](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/worth) during this period ranged from \\$1.7 billion to minus \\$900 million.\n\nTrump’s fortunes rebounded with the stronger economy of the later 1990s and with the decision of the [Frankfurt](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Frankfurt-am-Main)\\-based [Deutsche Bank AG](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/Deutsche-Bank-AG) to establish a presence in the U.S. commercial real estate market. Deutsche Bank extended hundreds of millions of dollars in credit to Trump in the late 1990s and the 2000s for projects including Trump World Tower (2001) in New York and [Trump International Hotel and Tower](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Trump-International-Hotel-and-Tower-Chicago) (2009) in [Chicago](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Chicago). In the early 1990s Trump had floated a plan to his creditors to convert his Mar-a-Lago estate into a luxury housing development consisting of several smaller mansions, but local opposition led him instead to turn it into a private club, which was opened in 1995. In 1996 Trump partnered with the [NBC](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/National-Broadcasting-Co-Inc) television network to purchase the Miss Universe Organization, which produced the Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA beauty pageants. Trump’s casino businesses continued to struggle, however: in 2004 his company Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts filed for bankruptcy after several of its properties accumulated unmanageable debt, and the same company, renamed Trump Entertainment Resorts, went bankrupt again in 2009.\n\nBeginning in the mid-2000s, Trump enjoyed an enormous financial windfall from the success of *[The Apprentice](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Apprentice)*, a [reality television](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/television-in-the-United-States\/Reality-TV#ref283656) series in which he starred that directly earned him nearly \\$200 million over a 16-year period. The [Emmy](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/Emmy-Award)\\-nominated show, in each episode of which Trump “fired” one or more contestants competing for a lucrative one-year contract as a Trump employee, further [enhanced](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/enhanced) his reputation as a shrewd businessman and self-made billionaire. In 2008 the show was revamped as *[The Celebrity Apprentice](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Celebrity-Apprentice)*, which featured news makers and entertainers as contestants.\n\nTrump marketed his name as a brand in numerous other business ventures, including Trump Financial, a [mortgage](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/mortgage) company, and the Trump [Entrepreneur](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/Entrepreneur) [Initiative](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/Initiative) (formerly Trump University), an online education company focusing on real estate investment and entrepreneurialism. The latter firm, which ceased operating in 2011, was the target of [class-action](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/class-action) lawsuits by former students and a separate action by the [attorney general](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/attorney-general) of New York state, alleging [fraud](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/fraud). After initially denying the allegations, Trump settled the lawsuits for \\$25 million in November 2016. In 2019, more than two years into his presidency, Trump agreed to pay \\$2 million in damages and to admit guilt to settle another lawsuit by the attorney general of New York that had accused him of illegally using [assets](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/assets) from his charity, the Trump Foundation, to fund his 2016 presidential campaign. As part of the settlement, the Trump Foundation was dissolved.\n\nIn 2018 *The New York Times* published a lengthy investigative report that documented how Fred Trump had regularly transferred vast sums of money, ultimately amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars, to his children by means of strategies that involved tax, securities, and real estate fraud, as well as by legal means. According to the report, Donald Trump was the main beneficiary of the transfers, having received the equivalent (in 2018 dollars) of \\$413 million by the early 2000s. According to a later report by the *Times*, based on [data](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/data) from tax returns filed by Trump during an 18-year period starting in 2000, Trump paid no federal taxes in 11 years and only \\$750 in each of two years, 2016 and 2017. Trump was able to reduce his tax obligations to levels significantly below the average for the wealthiest Americans by claiming massive losses on many of his businesses; by deducting as business expenses costs associated with his residences and his personal aircraft; and by receiving, on the basis of business losses, a tentative refund from the [Internal Revenue Service](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/Internal-Revenue-Service) (IRS) of nearly \\$73 million, which more than covered the federal taxes Trump had paid on income he received from *The Apprentice* in 2005–08. The refund became the subject of an IRS audit and a legally [mandated](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/mandated) review by the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation.\n\nQuick Facts\n\nIn full:\n\nDonald John Trump\n\n*(Show more)*\n\nBorn:\n\nJune 14, 1946, [New York](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/New-York-City), [New York](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/New-York-state), [U.S.](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/United-States) (age 79)\n\n*(Show more)*\n\nTitle \/ Office:\n\n[presidency of the United States of America (2025-)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/presidency-of-the-United-States-of-America), [United States](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/United-States)\n\n[presidency of the United States of America (2017-2021)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/presidency-of-the-United-States-of-America), [United States](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/United-States)\n\n*(Show more)*\n\nFounder:\n\n[Truth Social](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Truth-Social)\n\n*(Show more)*\n\nPolitical Affiliation:\n\n[Republican Party](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Republican-Party)\n\n*(Show more)*\n\nNotable Works:\n\n[“Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Crippled-America-How-to-Make-America-Great-Again)\n\n[“The America We Deserve”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-America-We-Deserve)\n\n[“Trump: The Art of the Deal”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Trump-The-Art-of-the-Deal)\n\n*(Show more)*\n\nNotable Family Members:\n\nspouse [Melania Trump](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Melania-Trump)\n\nfather [Fred Trump](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Fred-Trump)\n\ndaughter [Ivanka Trump](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Ivanka-Trump)\n\nson [Donald Trump, Jr.](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump-Jr)\n\nson of Frederick Christ Trump\n\nson of Mary MacLeod\n\nhusband of Melania Trump (January 22, 2005–present)\n\nhusband of Marla Maples (December 20, 1993–June 8, 1999)\n\nhusband of Ivana Trump (April 9, 1977–March 22, 1992)\n\nfather of Donald Trump, Jr. (b. 1977)\n\nfather of Ivanka Trump (b. 1981)\n\nfather of Eric Trump (b. 1984)\n\nfather of Tiffany Trump (b. 1993)\n\nfather of Barron Trump (b. 2006)\n\nbrother of Maryanne Trump Barry\n\nbrother of Frederick Trump, Jr.\n\nbrother of Elizabeth Trump Grau\n\nbrother of Robert Trump\n\n*(Show more)*\n\nRole In:\n\n[12-Day War](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/12-Day-War)\n\n[2025–26 Minnesota ICE Deployment](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/2025-26-Minnesota-ICE-Deployment)\n\n[2026 Iran War](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/2026-Iran-War)\n\n[January 6 U.S. Capitol attack](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/January-6-U-S-Capitol-attack)\n\n[Ukraine scandal](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/Ukraine-scandal)\n\n[United States presidential election of 2020](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/United-States-presidential-election-of-2020)\n\n[United States presidential election of 2024](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/United-States-presidential-election-of-2024)\n\n[United States presidential election of 2016](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/United-States-presidential-election-of-2016)\n\n*(Show more)*\n\nEducation:\n\n[Fordham University (1964–1966)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Fordham-University)\n\n[University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School (B.S., 1968)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/University-of-Pennsylvania)\n\nNew York Military Academy (Cornwall, New York)\n\n*(Show more)*\n\nPublished Works:\n\n\"Trump: Think Like a Billionaire: Everything You Need to Know About Success, Real Estate, and Life\" (2004; with Meredith McIver)\n\n\"Think Big and Kick Ass in Business and Life\" (2007; with Bill Zanker)\n\n\"Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies\" (2006)\n\n\"The Best Golf Advice I Ever Received\" (2005)\n\n\"Trump: The Art of the Comeback\" (1997; with Kate Bohner)\n\n\"Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again\" (2015)\n\n\"Midas Touch: Why Some Entrepreneurs Get Rich—And Why Most Don't\" (2011; with Robert T. Kiyosaki)\n\n\"Think Like a Champion: An Informal Education in Business and Life\" (2009; with Meredith McIver)\n\n\"Trump: The Art of the Deal\" (1987; with Tony Schwartz)\n\n\"Time to Get Tough: Making America \\#1 Again\" (2011)\n\n\"Trump: Surviving at the Top\" (1990; with Charles Leerhsen)\n\n\"The Way to the Top: The Best Business Advice I Ever Received\" (2004)\n\n\"The America We Deserve\" (2000; with Dave Shiflett)\n\n\"Why We Want You to Be Rich: Two Men, One Message\" (2006; with Robert T. Kiyosaki)\n\n\"Trump: How to Get Rich\" (2004; with Meredith McIver)\n\n\"Trump Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges into Success\" (2008; with Meredith McIver)\n\n\"Trump 101: The Way to Success\" (2007; with Meredith McIver)\n\n*(Show more)*\n\nMovies\/Tv Shows (Acted In):\n\n\"The Little Rascals\" (1994)\n\n\"Horrorween\" (2011)\n\n\"Eddie\" (1996)\n\n\"Marmalade\" (2004)\n\n\"Two Weeks Notice\" (2002)\n\n\"Across the Sea of Time\" (1995)\n\n\"54\" (1998)\n\n[\"Zoolander\" (2001)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Zoolander)\n\n\"Spin City\" (1998)\n\n\"The Drew Carey Show\" (1997)\n\n\"NightMan\" (1997)\n\n\"The Nanny\" (1996)\n\n\"Home Alone 2: Lost in New York\" (1992)\n\n\"Celebrity\" (1998)\n\n\"Suddenly Susan\" (1997)\n\n\"Ghosts Can't Do It\" (1989)\n\n*(Show more)*\n\n[See all related content](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/facts\/Donald-Trump)\n\nShow More\n\nTrump was credited as coauthor of a number of books on entrepreneurship and his business career, including *Trump: The Art of the Deal* (1987), *Trump: The Art of the Comeback* (1997), *Why We Want You to Be Rich* (2006), *Trump 101: The Way to Success* (2006), and *Trump Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges into Success* (2008).\n## At a glance: the Trump presidency\n\n![Britannica AI Icon](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/mendel-resources\/3-178\/images\/chatbot\/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.2)Britannica AI\n\n*chevron\\_right*\n\nDonald Trump\n\n*close*\n\n[AI-generated answers](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/about-britannica-ai) from Britannica articles. AI makes mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.\n\nLoad Next Page\n\nFeedback\n\nThank you for your feedback\n\nOur editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.\n\n*print* Print\n\nPlease select which sections you would like to print:\n\n*verified*Cite\n\nWhile every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.\n\nSelect Citation Style\n\nGrant, Tracy. \"Fred Trump\". *Encyclopedia Britannica*, 25 Feb. 2026, https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Fred-Trump. Accessed 30 March 2026.\n\nCopy Citation\n\nShare\n\nShare to social media\n\n[Facebook](https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BRITANNICA\/) [X](https:\/\/x.com\/britannica)\n\nURL\n\n<https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Fred-Trump>\n\n![](https:\/\/sb.scorecardresearch.com\/p?c1=2&c2=6035486&cj=1)\n\nFeedback\n\nThank you for your feedback\n\nOur editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.\n\n*print* Print\n\nPlease select which sections you would like to print:\n\n*verified*Cite\n\nWhile every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.\n\nSelect Citation Style\n\nDuignan, Brian. \"Donald Trump\". *Encyclopedia Britannica*, 27 Mar. 2026, https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump. Accessed 30 March 2026.\n\nCopy Citation\n\nShare\n\nShare to social media\n\n[Facebook](https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BRITANNICA\/) [X](https:\/\/x.com\/britannica)\n\nURL\n\n<https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump>\n\nExternal Websites\n\n- [Miller Center - Donald Trump](https:\/\/millercenter.org\/president\/trump)\n- [Donald J. Trump Presidential Library - Biography of President Donald J. Trump](https:\/\/www.trumplibrary.gov\/trumps\/president-donald-j-trump)\n\nBritannica Websites\n\nArticles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.\n\n- [Donald Trump - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/kids\/article\/Donald-Trump\/628383)\n- [Donald Trump - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Donald-Trump\/313895)","attrs_readable_markdown":"Top Questions\n\n### In which case did the Supreme Court decide that President Donald Trump is not authorized to issue tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977?\n### Why did President Donald Trump order the bombing of Venezuelan civilian vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean?\n### What criminal charges did Venezuelan president [Nicolás Maduro](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Nicolas-Maduro) face following his capture by the U.S. military?\n### Can President Donald Trump change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War?\n### What is historically unusual about Donald Trump’s presidency?\n### How did Donald Trump’s business career begin?\n### Where and when was Donald Trump shot?\n### What was the significance of Donald Trump’s military parade?\n### Prior to 2025, when was the last major military parade in the U.S.?\n### How much does a military parade cost?\n### What is a border czar?\n## News •\n**Donald Trump** (born June 14, 1946, [New York](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/New-York-state), New York, U.S.) is a former real estate mogul and [reality TV star](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/reality-TV) who has served as the 45th and 47th [president](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/president-government-official) of the [United States](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/United-States). The scion of renowned New York real estate developer Fred Trump, Donald rose to eclipse his father in fame and fortune, moving through New York’s elite social circles in the 1980s to American TV fame in the 2000s and finally leveraging his name and wealth to become one of the most consequential leaders of the early 21st century.\n\nThroughout Trump’s long career in business and politics, one constant has been his [brazen](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/brazen), [pugnacious](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/pugnacious), and unrepentant style, which has led to unparalleled achievements while often sowing conflict and [chaos](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/chaos). As a businessman, Trump flashed his name worldwide across buildings, casinos, airlines, universities, and even steaks, often while mired in lawsuits and weathering multiple bankruptcies. As a politician, Trump started the fiercely tribal Make America Great Again ([MAGA](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/MAGA-movement)) movement that came to dominate American politics in the second half of the 2010s and 2020s. His uncanny [resilience](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/resilience) to scandals led him to become one of two U.S. presidents to serve two nonconsecutive terms, even after leading a rally that resulted in a mob storming [Congress](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Congress-of-the-United-States) (the [January 6 attack](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/January-6-U-S-Capitol-attack)), two [impeachments](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/impeachment), and being the only former U.S. president convicted in a criminal case. His willingness to push boundaries, test legal precedent, and discard conventional norms has reshaped much of American life and been embraced by many [disenfranchised](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/disenfranchised) voters, but it has also eroded protections for millions, stoked [xenophobia](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/xenophobia), and amplified political divisions to new heights.\n\nAfter being elected in 2024 for his second term, Trump swiftly moved to consolidate power under the [executive](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/executive-government) branch, upended [international trade](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/international-trade), and shook up America’s global footprint by discarding centuries-old alliances and igniting bombast with Canada, Venezuela, Greenland, and Iran.\n\n## Early life and business career\n[Donald Trump](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/45\/193845-050-A7905463\/Donald-Trump-front-Tower-New-York-City-August-2008.jpg)Donald Trump speaking in front of Trump Tower, New York City, August 2008.\n\nTrump was the fourth of five children of [Frederick (Fred) Christ Trump](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Fred-Trump), a successful real estate developer, and Mary MacLeod. Donald’s eldest sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, eventually served as a U.S. [district court](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/United-States-District-Court) judge (1983–99) and later as a judge on the [U.S. Court of Appeals](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/United-States-Court-of-Appeals) for the Third [Circuit](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/Circuit) until her retirement in 2011. His elder brother, Frederick, Jr. (Freddy), worked briefly for their father’s business before becoming an airline pilot in the 1960s. Freddy’s [alcoholism](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/alcoholism) led to his early death in 1981, at the age of 43.\n\nBeginning in the late 1920s, Fred Trump built hundreds of single-family houses and row houses in the [Queens](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Queens-New-York) and [Brooklyn](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Brooklyn-borough-New-York-City) boroughs of [New York City](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/New-York-City), and from the late 1940s he built thousands of apartment units, mostly in Brooklyn, using federal loan guarantees designed to stimulate the construction of [affordable housing](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/affordable-housing). During [World War II](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/World-War-II) he also built federally backed housing for naval personnel and shipyard workers in [Virginia](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Virginia-state) and [Pennsylvania](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Pennsylvania-state). In 1954 Fred was investigated by the Senate Banking Committee for allegedly abusing the loan-guarantee program by deliberately overestimating the costs of his construction projects to secure larger loans from [commercial banks](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/commercial-bank), enabling him to keep the difference between the loan amounts and his actual construction costs. In [testimony](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/testimony) before the Senate committee in 1954, Fred admitted that he had built the Beach Haven apartment complex in Brooklyn for \\$3.7 million less than the amount of his government-insured loan. Although he was not charged with any crime, he was thereafter unable to obtain federal loan guarantees. A decade later a New York state investigation found that Fred had used his profit on a state-insured construction loan to build a shopping center that was entirely his own property. He eventually returned \\$1.2 million to the state but was thereafter unable to obtain state loan guarantees for residential projects in the [Coney Island](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Coney-Island-amusement-area) area of Brooklyn.\n\n[![Richard M. Nixon. Richard Nixon during a 1968 campaign stop. President Nixon](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/44\/164744-131-7A6008A3\/Richard-M-Nixon-campaign-stop-crowd-gesture-1968.jpg) Britannica Quiz U.S. Presidents and Their Years in Office Quiz](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/us-presidents-and-their-years-in-office-quiz)\n\nDonald Trump attended New York Military Academy (1959–64), a private boarding school; [Fordham University](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Fordham-University) in the [Bronx](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Bronx-borough-New-York-City) (1964–66); and the [University of Pennsylvania](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/University-of-Pennsylvania)’s Wharton School of Finance and Commerce (1966–68), where he graduated with a [bachelor’s degree](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/bachelors-degree) in [economics](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/economics). In 1968, during the [Vietnam War](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/Vietnam-War), he secured a [diagnosis](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/diagnosis) of bone spurs, which qualified him for a medical exemption from the [military draft](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/conscription) (he had earlier received four draft deferments for education). Upon his graduation Trump began working full-time for his father’s business, helping to manage its holdings of rental housing, then estimated at between 10,000 and 22,000 units. In 1974 he became president of a conglomeration of Trump-owned corporations and partnerships, which he later named the Trump Organization.\n\nDuring the 1960s and early 1970s, Trump-owned housing developments in New York City, [Cincinnati](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Cincinnati), [Ohio](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Ohio-state), and [Norfolk](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Norfolk-Virginia), [Virginia](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Virginia-state), were the target of several complaints of racial [discrimination](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/discrimination-society) against [African Americans](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/African-Americans) and other minority groups. In 1973 Fred and Donald Trump, along with their company, were sued by the [U.S. Justice Department](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/US-Department-of-Justice) for allegedly violating the [Fair Housing Act](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Fair-Housing-Act) (1968) in the operation of 39 apartment buildings in New York City. The Trumps initially countersued the [Justice](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/Justice) Department for \\$100 million, alleging harm to their reputations. The suit was settled two years later under an agreement that did not require the Trumps to admit guilt.\n\nSmart, reliable knowledge for professionals, students, and curious minds everywhere.\n\n[SUBSCRIBE](https:\/\/premium.britannica.com\/premium-membership\/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=smart-2026)\n\n![Penguin, ship, mountain, atlas](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/marketing\/inline-left.webp)\n\n![shohei ohtani, plants, andy wharhol art](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/marketing\/inline-right.webp)\n\n![Mobile](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/marketing\/inline-mobile.webp?w=400)\n\n[Father and son](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/27\/283327-050-780509F8\/Donald-and-Fred-Trump-1987.jpg)Donald Trump posing with his father, Fred Trump, at Trump Tower in 1987.\n\nIn the late 1970s and the 1980s, Donald Trump greatly expanded his father’s business by investing in luxury hotels and residential properties and by shifting its geographic focus to [Manhattan](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Manhattan-New-York-City) and later to [Atlantic City](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Atlantic-City-New-Jersey), [New Jersey](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/New-Jersey). In doing so, he relied heavily on loans, gifts, and other financial assistance from his father, as well as on his father’s political connections in New York City. In 1976 he purchased the decrepit Commodore Hotel near [Grand Central Station](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Grand-Central-Station) under a complex profit-sharing agreement with the city that included a 40-year [property tax](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/property-tax) abatement, the first such tax break granted to a commercial property in New York City. Relying on a construction loan guaranteed by his father and the Hyatt Corporation, which became a partner in the project, Trump refurbished the building and reopened it in 1980 as the 1,400-room Grand Hyatt Hotel. In 1983 he opened [Trump Tower](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Trump-Tower), an office, retail, and residential complex constructed in partnership with the Equitable Life [Assurance](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/Assurance) Company. The 58-story building on 56th Street and Fifth Avenue eventually contained Trump’s Manhattan residence and the headquarters of the Trump Organization. Other Manhattan properties developed by Trump during the 1980s include the Trump Plaza residential cooperative (1984), the Trump Parc luxury [condominium](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/condominium-building) complex (1986), and the 19-story Plaza Hotel (1988), a historic landmark for which Trump paid more than \\$400 million.\n\nIn the 1980s Trump invested heavily in the [casino](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/casino-gambling-house) business in Atlantic City, where his properties eventually included Harrah’s at Trump Plaza (1984, later renamed Trump Plaza), Trump’s Castle Casino Resort (1985), and the Trump Taj Mahal (1990), then the largest casino in the world. During that period Trump also purchased the New Jersey Generals, a team in the short-lived U.S. Football League; [Mar-a-Lago](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Mar-a-Lago), a 118-room mansion in [Palm Beach](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Palm-Beach-Florida), Florida, built in the 1920s by the cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post; a 282-foot [yacht](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/yacht), then the world’s second largest, which he named the *Trump Princess*; and an East Coast air-shuttle service, which he called Trump Shuttle.\n\nIn 1977 Trump married Ivana Zelníčková Winklmayr, a Czech model, with whom he had three children—[Donald, Jr.](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump-Jr), [Ivanka](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Ivanka-Trump), and Eric—before the couple divorced in 1992. Their married life, as well as Trump’s business affairs, were a [staple](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/staple) of the [tabloid](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/tabloid-journalism) press in New York City during the 1980s. Trump married the American actress Marla Maples after she gave birth to Trump’s fourth child, Tiffany, in 1993. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1999. In 2005 Trump married the Slovene model Melania Knauss, and their son, Barron, was born the following year. [Melania Trump](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Melania-Trump) became the second foreign-born [first lady](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/first-lady-United-States-title) of the United States upon Trump’s inauguration as president in 2017.\n\nWhen the U.S. economy fell into [recession](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/recession) in 1990, many of Trump’s businesses suffered, and he soon had trouble making payments on his approximately \\$5 billion debt, some \\$900 million of which he had personally guaranteed. Under a restructuring agreement with several banks, Trump was forced to [surrender](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/surrender) his airline, which was taken over by [US Airways](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/US-Airways) in 1992; to sell the *Trump Princess*; to take out second or third mortgages on nearly all of his properties and to reduce his ownership stakes in them; and to commit himself to living on a personal budget of \\$450,000 a year. Despite those measures, the Trump Taj Mahal declared [bankruptcy](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/bankruptcy) in 1991, and two other casinos owned by Trump, as well as his Plaza Hotel in New York City, went bankrupt in 1992. Following those setbacks, most major banks refused to do any further business with him. Estimates of Trump’s net [worth](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/worth) during this period ranged from \\$1.7 billion to minus \\$900 million.\n\nTrump’s fortunes rebounded with the stronger economy of the later 1990s and with the decision of the [Frankfurt](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Frankfurt-am-Main)\\-based [Deutsche Bank AG](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/Deutsche-Bank-AG) to establish a presence in the U.S. commercial real estate market. Deutsche Bank extended hundreds of millions of dollars in credit to Trump in the late 1990s and the 2000s for projects including Trump World Tower (2001) in New York and [Trump International Hotel and Tower](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Trump-International-Hotel-and-Tower-Chicago) (2009) in [Chicago](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Chicago). In the early 1990s Trump had floated a plan to his creditors to convert his Mar-a-Lago estate into a luxury housing development consisting of several smaller mansions, but local opposition led him instead to turn it into a private club, which was opened in 1995. In 1996 Trump partnered with the [NBC](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/National-Broadcasting-Co-Inc) television network to purchase the Miss Universe Organization, which produced the Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA beauty pageants. Trump’s casino businesses continued to struggle, however: in 2004 his company Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts filed for bankruptcy after several of its properties accumulated unmanageable debt, and the same company, renamed Trump Entertainment Resorts, went bankrupt again in 2009.\n\nBeginning in the mid-2000s, Trump enjoyed an enormous financial windfall from the success of *[The Apprentice](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Apprentice)*, a [reality television](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/television-in-the-United-States\/Reality-TV#ref283656) series in which he starred that directly earned him nearly \\$200 million over a 16-year period. The [Emmy](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/Emmy-Award)\\-nominated show, in each episode of which Trump “fired” one or more contestants competing for a lucrative one-year contract as a Trump employee, further [enhanced](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/enhanced) his reputation as a shrewd businessman and self-made billionaire. In 2008 the show was revamped as *[The Celebrity Apprentice](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Celebrity-Apprentice)*, which featured news makers and entertainers as contestants.\n\nTrump marketed his name as a brand in numerous other business ventures, including Trump Financial, a [mortgage](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/mortgage) company, and the Trump [Entrepreneur](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/Entrepreneur) [Initiative](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/Initiative) (formerly Trump University), an online education company focusing on real estate investment and entrepreneurialism. The latter firm, which ceased operating in 2011, was the target of [class-action](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/class-action) lawsuits by former students and a separate action by the [attorney general](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/attorney-general) of New York state, alleging [fraud](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/fraud). After initially denying the allegations, Trump settled the lawsuits for \\$25 million in November 2016. In 2019, more than two years into his presidency, Trump agreed to pay \\$2 million in damages and to admit guilt to settle another lawsuit by the attorney general of New York that had accused him of illegally using [assets](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/assets) from his charity, the Trump Foundation, to fund his 2016 presidential campaign. As part of the settlement, the Trump Foundation was dissolved.\n\nIn 2018 *The New York Times* published a lengthy investigative report that documented how Fred Trump had regularly transferred vast sums of money, ultimately amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars, to his children by means of strategies that involved tax, securities, and real estate fraud, as well as by legal means. According to the report, Donald Trump was the main beneficiary of the transfers, having received the equivalent (in 2018 dollars) of \\$413 million by the early 2000s. According to a later report by the *Times*, based on [data](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/data) from tax returns filed by Trump during an 18-year period starting in 2000, Trump paid no federal taxes in 11 years and only \\$750 in each of two years, 2016 and 2017. Trump was able to reduce his tax obligations to levels significantly below the average for the wealthiest Americans by claiming massive losses on many of his businesses; by deducting as business expenses costs associated with his residences and his personal aircraft; and by receiving, on the basis of business losses, a tentative refund from the [Internal Revenue Service](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/Internal-Revenue-Service) (IRS) of nearly \\$73 million, which more than covered the federal taxes Trump had paid on income he received from *The Apprentice* in 2005–08. The refund became the subject of an IRS audit and a legally [mandated](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/mandated) review by the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation.\n\nQuick Facts\n\nIn full:\n\nDonald John Trump\n\nNotable Family Members:\n\nspouse [Melania Trump](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Melania-Trump)\n\nfather [Fred Trump](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Fred-Trump)\n\ndaughter [Ivanka Trump](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Ivanka-Trump)\n\nson [Donald Trump, Jr.](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Donald-Trump-Jr)\n\nson of Frederick Christ Trump\n\nson of Mary MacLeod\n\nhusband of Melania Trump (January 22, 2005–present)\n\nhusband of Marla Maples (December 20, 1993–June 8, 1999)\n\nhusband of Ivana Trump (April 9, 1977–March 22, 1992)\n\nfather of Donald Trump, Jr. (b. 1977)\n\nfather of Ivanka Trump (b. 1981)\n\nfather of Eric Trump (b. 1984)\n\nfather of Tiffany Trump (b. 1993)\n\nfather of Barron Trump (b. 2006)\n\nbrother of Maryanne Trump Barry\n\nbrother of Frederick Trump, Jr.\n\nbrother of Elizabeth Trump Grau\n\nbrother of Robert Trump\n\nPublished Works:\n\n\"Trump: Think Like a Billionaire: Everything You Need to Know About Success, Real Estate, and Life\" (2004; with Meredith McIver)\n\n\"Think Big and Kick Ass in Business and Life\" (2007; with Bill Zanker)\n\n\"Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies\" (2006)\n\n\"The Best Golf Advice I Ever Received\" (2005)\n\n\"Trump: The Art of the Comeback\" (1997; with Kate Bohner)\n\n\"Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again\" (2015)\n\n\"Midas Touch: Why Some Entrepreneurs Get Rich—And Why Most Don't\" (2011; with Robert T. Kiyosaki)\n\n\"Think Like a Champion: An Informal Education in Business and Life\" (2009; with Meredith McIver)\n\n\"Trump: The Art of the Deal\" (1987; with Tony Schwartz)\n\n\"Time to Get Tough: Making America \\#1 Again\" (2011)\n\n\"Trump: Surviving at the Top\" (1990; with Charles Leerhsen)\n\n\"The Way to the Top: The Best Business Advice I Ever Received\" (2004)\n\n\"The America We Deserve\" (2000; with Dave Shiflett)\n\n\"Why We Want You to Be Rich: Two Men, One Message\" (2006; with Robert T. Kiyosaki)\n\n\"Trump: How to Get Rich\" (2004; with Meredith McIver)\n\n\"Trump Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges into Success\" (2008; with Meredith McIver)\n\n\"Trump 101: The Way to Success\" (2007; with Meredith McIver)\n\nMovies\/Tv Shows (Acted In):\n\n\"The Little Rascals\" (1994)\n\n\"Horrorween\" (2011)\n\n\"Eddie\" (1996)\n\n\"Marmalade\" (2004)\n\n\"Two Weeks Notice\" (2002)\n\n\"Across the Sea of Time\" (1995)\n\n\"54\" (1998)\n\n[\"Zoolander\" (2001)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Zoolander)\n\n\"Spin City\" (1998)\n\n\"The Drew Carey Show\" (1997)\n\n\"NightMan\" (1997)\n\n\"The Nanny\" (1996)\n\n\"Home Alone 2: Lost in New York\" (1992)\n\n\"Celebrity\" (1998)\n\n\"Suddenly Susan\" (1997)\n\n\"Ghosts Can't Do It\" (1989)\n\nTrump was credited as coauthor of a number of books on entrepreneurship and his business career, including *Trump: The Art of the Deal* (1987), *Trump: The Art of the Comeback* (1997), *Why We Want You to Be Rich* (2006), *Trump 101: The Way to Success* (2006), and *Trump Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges into Success* (2008).\n## At a glance: the Trump presidency","meta_canonical":null}

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URL	https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fred-Trump
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Meta Title	Fred Trump \| Real Estate, New York City, KKK, Donald Trump, & Biography \| Britannica
Meta Description	Fred Trump was an enormously successful real estate developer in New York City, who changed the residential landscape of the city in the 20th century. He was also the father of Donald J. Trump, whom he groomed to take over the family business and who went on to become president of the United States.
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Boilerpipe Text	Top Questions In which case did the Supreme Court decide that President Donald Trump is not authorized to issue tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977? Why did President Donald Trump order the bombing of Venezuelan civilian vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean? What criminal charges did Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro face following his capture by the U.S. military? Can President Donald Trump change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War? What is historically unusual about Donald Trump’s presidency? How did Donald Trump’s business career begin? Where and when was Donald Trump shot? What was the significance of Donald Trump’s military parade? Prior to 2025, when was the last major military parade in the U.S.? How much does a military parade cost? What is a border czar? News • Donald Trump (born June 14, 1946, New York , New York, U.S.) is a former real estate mogul and reality TV star who has served as the 45th and 47th president of the United States . The scion of renowned New York real estate developer Fred Trump, Donald rose to eclipse his father in fame and fortune, moving through New York’s elite social circles in the 1980s to American TV fame in the 2000s and finally leveraging his name and wealth to become one of the most consequential leaders of the early 21st century. Throughout Trump’s long career in business and politics, one constant has been his brazen , pugnacious , and unrepentant style, which has led to unparalleled achievements while often sowing conflict and chaos . As a businessman, Trump flashed his name worldwide across buildings, casinos, airlines, universities, and even steaks, often while mired in lawsuits and weathering multiple bankruptcies. As a politician, Trump started the fiercely tribal Make America Great Again ( MAGA ) movement that came to dominate American politics in the second half of the 2010s and 2020s. His uncanny resilience to scandals led him to become one of two U.S. presidents to serve two nonconsecutive terms, even after leading a rally that resulted in a mob storming Congress (the January 6 attack ), two impeachments , and being the only former U.S. president convicted in a criminal case. His willingness to push boundaries, test legal precedent, and discard conventional norms has reshaped much of American life and been embraced by many disenfranchised voters, but it has also eroded protections for millions, stoked xenophobia , and amplified political divisions to new heights. After being elected in 2024 for his second term, Trump swiftly moved to consolidate power under the executive branch, upended international trade , and shook up America’s global footprint by discarding centuries-old alliances and igniting bombast with Canada, Venezuela, Greenland, and Iran. Early life and business career Donald Trump Donald Trump speaking in front of Trump Tower, New York City, August 2008. Trump was the fourth of five children of Frederick (Fred) Christ Trump , a successful real estate developer, and Mary MacLeod. Donald’s eldest sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, eventually served as a U.S. district court judge (1983–99) and later as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit until her retirement in 2011. His elder brother, Frederick, Jr. (Freddy), worked briefly for their father’s business before becoming an airline pilot in the 1960s. Freddy’s alcoholism led to his early death in 1981, at the age of 43. Beginning in the late 1920s, Fred Trump built hundreds of single-family houses and row houses in the Queens and Brooklyn boroughs of New York City , and from the late 1940s he built thousands of apartment units, mostly in Brooklyn, using federal loan guarantees designed to stimulate the construction of affordable housing . During World War II he also built federally backed housing for naval personnel and shipyard workers in Virginia and Pennsylvania . In 1954 Fred was investigated by the Senate Banking Committee for allegedly abusing the loan-guarantee program by deliberately overestimating the costs of his construction projects to secure larger loans from commercial banks , enabling him to keep the difference between the loan amounts and his actual construction costs. In testimony before the Senate committee in 1954, Fred admitted that he had built the Beach Haven apartment complex in Brooklyn for $3.7 million less than the amount of his government-insured loan. Although he was not charged with any crime, he was thereafter unable to obtain federal loan guarantees. A decade later a New York state investigation found that Fred had used his profit on a state-insured construction loan to build a shopping center that was entirely his own property. He eventually returned $1.2 million to the state but was thereafter unable to obtain state loan guarantees for residential projects in the Coney Island area of Brooklyn. Britannica Quiz U.S. Presidents and Their Years in Office Quiz Donald Trump attended New York Military Academy (1959–64), a private boarding school; Fordham University in the Bronx (1964–66); and the University of Pennsylvania ’s Wharton School of Finance and Commerce (1966–68), where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics . In 1968, during the Vietnam War , he secured a diagnosis of bone spurs, which qualified him for a medical exemption from the military draft (he had earlier received four draft deferments for education). Upon his graduation Trump began working full-time for his father’s business, helping to manage its holdings of rental housing, then estimated at between 10,000 and 22,000 units. In 1974 he became president of a conglomeration of Trump-owned corporations and partnerships, which he later named the Trump Organization. During the 1960s and early 1970s, Trump-owned housing developments in New York City, Cincinnati , Ohio , and Norfolk , Virginia , were the target of several complaints of racial discrimination against African Americans and other minority groups. In 1973 Fred and Donald Trump, along with their company, were sued by the U.S. Justice Department for allegedly violating the Fair Housing Act (1968) in the operation of 39 apartment buildings in New York City. The Trumps initially countersued the Justice Department for $100 million, alleging harm to their reputations. The suit was settled two years later under an agreement that did not require the Trumps to admit guilt. Smart, reliable knowledge for professionals, students, and curious minds everywhere. SUBSCRIBE Father and son Donald Trump posing with his father, Fred Trump, at Trump Tower in 1987. In the late 1970s and the 1980s, Donald Trump greatly expanded his father’s business by investing in luxury hotels and residential properties and by shifting its geographic focus to Manhattan and later to Atlantic City , New Jersey . In doing so, he relied heavily on loans, gifts, and other financial assistance from his father, as well as on his father’s political connections in New York City. In 1976 he purchased the decrepit Commodore Hotel near Grand Central Station under a complex profit-sharing agreement with the city that included a 40-year property tax abatement, the first such tax break granted to a commercial property in New York City. Relying on a construction loan guaranteed by his father and the Hyatt Corporation, which became a partner in the project, Trump refurbished the building and reopened it in 1980 as the 1,400-room Grand Hyatt Hotel. In 1983 he opened Trump Tower , an office, retail, and residential complex constructed in partnership with the Equitable Life Assurance Company. The 58-story building on 56th Street and Fifth Avenue eventually contained Trump’s Manhattan residence and the headquarters of the Trump Organization. Other Manhattan properties developed by Trump during the 1980s include the Trump Plaza residential cooperative (1984), the Trump Parc luxury condominium complex (1986), and the 19-story Plaza Hotel (1988), a historic landmark for which Trump paid more than $400 million. In the 1980s Trump invested heavily in the casino business in Atlantic City, where his properties eventually included Harrah’s at Trump Plaza (1984, later renamed Trump Plaza), Trump’s Castle Casino Resort (1985), and the Trump Taj Mahal (1990), then the largest casino in the world. During that period Trump also purchased the New Jersey Generals, a team in the short-lived U.S. Football League; Mar-a-Lago , a 118-room mansion in Palm Beach , Florida, built in the 1920s by the cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post; a 282-foot yacht , then the world’s second largest, which he named the Trump Princess ; and an East Coast air-shuttle service, which he called Trump Shuttle. In 1977 Trump married Ivana Zelníčková Winklmayr, a Czech model, with whom he had three children— Donald, Jr. , Ivanka , and Eric—before the couple divorced in 1992. Their married life, as well as Trump’s business affairs, were a staple of the tabloid press in New York City during the 1980s. Trump married the American actress Marla Maples after she gave birth to Trump’s fourth child, Tiffany, in 1993. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1999. In 2005 Trump married the Slovene model Melania Knauss, and their son, Barron, was born the following year. Melania Trump became the second foreign-born first lady of the United States upon Trump’s inauguration as president in 2017. When the U.S. economy fell into recession in 1990, many of Trump’s businesses suffered, and he soon had trouble making payments on his approximately $5 billion debt, some $900 million of which he had personally guaranteed. Under a restructuring agreement with several banks, Trump was forced to surrender his airline, which was taken over by US Airways in 1992; to sell the Trump Princess ; to take out second or third mortgages on nearly all of his properties and to reduce his ownership stakes in them; and to commit himself to living on a personal budget of $450,000 a year. Despite those measures, the Trump Taj Mahal declared bankruptcy in 1991, and two other casinos owned by Trump, as well as his Plaza Hotel in New York City, went bankrupt in 1992. Following those setbacks, most major banks refused to do any further business with him. Estimates of Trump’s net worth during this period ranged from $1.7 billion to minus $900 million. Trump’s fortunes rebounded with the stronger economy of the later 1990s and with the decision of the Frankfurt -based Deutsche Bank AG to establish a presence in the U.S. commercial real estate market. Deutsche Bank extended hundreds of millions of dollars in credit to Trump in the late 1990s and the 2000s for projects including Trump World Tower (2001) in New York and Trump International Hotel and Tower (2009) in Chicago . In the early 1990s Trump had floated a plan to his creditors to convert his Mar-a-Lago estate into a luxury housing development consisting of several smaller mansions, but local opposition led him instead to turn it into a private club, which was opened in 1995. In 1996 Trump partnered with the NBC television network to purchase the Miss Universe Organization, which produced the Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA beauty pageants. Trump’s casino businesses continued to struggle, however: in 2004 his company Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts filed for bankruptcy after several of its properties accumulated unmanageable debt, and the same company, renamed Trump Entertainment Resorts, went bankrupt again in 2009. Beginning in the mid-2000s, Trump enjoyed an enormous financial windfall from the success of The Apprentice , a reality television series in which he starred that directly earned him nearly $200 million over a 16-year period. The Emmy -nominated show, in each episode of which Trump “fired” one or more contestants competing for a lucrative one-year contract as a Trump employee, further enhanced his reputation as a shrewd businessman and self-made billionaire. In 2008 the show was revamped as The Celebrity Apprentice , which featured news makers and entertainers as contestants. Trump marketed his name as a brand in numerous other business ventures, including Trump Financial, a mortgage company, and the Trump Entrepreneur Initiative (formerly Trump University), an online education company focusing on real estate investment and entrepreneurialism. The latter firm, which ceased operating in 2011, was the target of class-action lawsuits by former students and a separate action by the attorney general of New York state, alleging fraud . After initially denying the allegations, Trump settled the lawsuits for $25 million in November 2016. In 2019, more than two years into his presidency, Trump agreed to pay $2 million in damages and to admit guilt to settle another lawsuit by the attorney general of New York that had accused him of illegally using assets from his charity, the Trump Foundation, to fund his 2016 presidential campaign. As part of the settlement, the Trump Foundation was dissolved. In 2018 The New York Times published a lengthy investigative report that documented how Fred Trump had regularly transferred vast sums of money, ultimately amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars, to his children by means of strategies that involved tax, securities, and real estate fraud, as well as by legal means. According to the report, Donald Trump was the main beneficiary of the transfers, having received the equivalent (in 2018 dollars) of $413 million by the early 2000s. According to a later report by the Times , based on data from tax returns filed by Trump during an 18-year period starting in 2000, Trump paid no federal taxes in 11 years and only $750 in each of two years, 2016 and 2017. Trump was able to reduce his tax obligations to levels significantly below the average for the wealthiest Americans by claiming massive losses on many of his businesses; by deducting as business expenses costs associated with his residences and his personal aircraft; and by receiving, on the basis of business losses, a tentative refund from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of nearly $73 million, which more than covered the federal taxes Trump had paid on income he received from The Apprentice in 2005–08. The refund became the subject of an IRS audit and a legally mandated review by the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. Quick Facts In full: Donald John Trump Notable Family Members: spouse Melania Trump father Fred Trump daughter Ivanka Trump son Donald Trump, Jr. son of Frederick Christ Trump son of Mary MacLeod husband of Melania Trump (January 22, 2005–present) husband of Marla Maples (December 20, 1993–June 8, 1999) husband of Ivana Trump (April 9, 1977–March 22, 1992) father of Donald Trump, Jr. (b. 1977) father of Ivanka Trump (b. 1981) father of Eric Trump (b. 1984) father of Tiffany Trump (b. 1993) father of Barron Trump (b. 2006) brother of Maryanne Trump Barry brother of Frederick Trump, Jr. brother of Elizabeth Trump Grau brother of Robert Trump Published Works: "Trump: Think Like a Billionaire: Everything You Need to Know About Success, Real Estate, and Life" (2004; with Meredith McIver) "Think Big and Kick Ass in Business and Life" (2007; with Bill Zanker) "Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies" (2006) "The Best Golf Advice I Ever Received" (2005) "Trump: The Art of the Comeback" (1997; with Kate Bohner) "Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again" (2015) "Midas Touch: Why Some Entrepreneurs Get Rich—And Why Most Don't" (2011; with Robert T. Kiyosaki) "Think Like a Champion: An Informal Education in Business and Life" (2009; with Meredith McIver) "Trump: The Art of the Deal" (1987; with Tony Schwartz) "Time to Get Tough: Making America #1 Again" (2011) "Trump: Surviving at the Top" (1990; with Charles Leerhsen) "The Way to the Top: The Best Business Advice I Ever Received" (2004) "The America We Deserve" (2000; with Dave Shiflett) "Why We Want You to Be Rich: Two Men, One Message" (2006; with Robert T. Kiyosaki) "Trump: How to Get Rich" (2004; with Meredith McIver) "Trump Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges into Success" (2008; with Meredith McIver) "Trump 101: The Way to Success" (2007; with Meredith McIver) Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In): "The Little Rascals" (1994) "Horrorween" (2011) "Eddie" (1996) "Marmalade" (2004) "Two Weeks Notice" (2002) "Across the Sea of Time" (1995) "54" (1998) "Zoolander" (2001) "Spin City" (1998) "The Drew Carey Show" (1997) "NightMan" (1997) "The Nanny" (1996) "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" (1992) "Celebrity" (1998) "Suddenly Susan" (1997) "Ghosts Can't Do It" (1989) Trump was credited as coauthor of a number of books on entrepreneurship and his business career, including Trump: The Art of the Deal (1987), Trump: The Art of the Comeback (1997), Why We Want You to Be Rich (2006), Trump 101: The Way to Success (2006), and Trump Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges into Success (2008). At a glance: the Trump presidency
Markdown	[![Encyclopedia Britannica](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel/eb-logo/MendelNewThistleLogo.png)](https://www.britannica.com/) [![Encyclopedia Britannica](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel/eb-logo/MendelNewThistleLogo.png)](https://www.britannica.com/) [SUBSCRIBE](https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=global-nav&utm_campaign=blue-evergreen) [SUBSCRIBE](https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=global-nav-mobile&utm_campaign=blue-evergreen) Login https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm\_source=premium\&utm\_medium=nav-login-box\&utm\_campaign=evergreen [SUBSCRIBE](https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=hamburger-menu&utm_campaign=blue) [Ask the Chatbot](https://www.britannica.com/chatbot) [Games & Quizzes](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/browse) [History & Society](https://www.britannica.com/History-Society) [Science & Tech](https://www.britannica.com/Science-Tech) [Biographies](https://www.britannica.com/Biographies) [Animals & Nature](https://www.britannica.com/Animals-Nature) [Geography & Travel](https://www.britannica.com/Geography-Travel) [Arts & Culture](https://www.britannica.com/Arts-Culture) [ProCon](https://www.britannica.com/procon) [Money](https://www.britannica.com/money) [Videos](https://www.britannica.com/videos) [Fred Trump](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fred-Trump) - [Introduction & Top Questions](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fred-Trump) - [Early years](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fred-Trump#ref472261) - [Building boom and Depression](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fred-Trump#ref472262) - [Father Fred](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fred-Trump#ref472263) - [Later business empire](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fred-Trump#ref472264) - [Donald Trump on his father](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fred-Trump#ref472265) [References & Edit History](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fred-Trump/additional-info) [Quick Facts & Related Topics](https://www.britannica.com/facts/Fred-Trump) [Images](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fred-Trump/images-videos) [![Father and son](https://cdn.britannica.com/27/283327-004-0E6B0F6A/Donald-and-Fred-Trump-1987.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/27/283327-050-780509F8/Donald-and-Fred-Trump-1987.jpg) [![Power couple](https://cdn.britannica.com/24/283324-004-6CCFF561/Fred-and-Mary-Anne-McLeod-Trump-Taj-Mahal-Casino-1990.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/24/283324-050-E46E9796/Fred-and-Mary-Anne-McLeod-Trump-Taj-Mahal-Casino-1990.jpg) Related Questions - [What was Fred Trump’s approach to business?](https://www.britannica.com/question/What-was-Fred-Trumps-approach-to-business) - [How did Fred Trump influence Donald Trump?](https://www.britannica.com/question/How-did-Fred-Trump-influence-Donald-Trump) - [What controversies did Fred Trump face in his business practices?](https://www.britannica.com/question/What-controversies-did-Fred-Trump-face-in-his-business-practices) - [Can President Donald Trump change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War?](https://www.britannica.com/question/Can-President-Donald-Trump-change-the-name-of-the-Department-of-Defense-to-the-Department-of-War) - [What was the significance of Donald Trump’s military parade?](https://www.britannica.com/question/What-was-the-significance-of-Donald-Trumps-military-parade) ![Britannica AI Icon](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-178/images/chatbot/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.2) Contents Ask Anything [Politics, Law & Government](https://www.britannica.com/browse/Politics-Law-Government) [Businesspeople & Entrepreneurs](https://www.britannica.com/browse/Businesspeople-Entrepreneurs) CITE Share Feedback External Websites # Fred Trump New York developer, Donald Trump’s father Homework Help Also known as: Frederick Christ Trump Written by [Tracy Grant Tracy Grant is a senior editor at Encyclopaedia Britannica. She previously served as editor in chief, the first woman to hold that title.](https://www.britannica.com/editor/tracy-grant/12854611) Tracy Grant Fact-checked by [Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....](https://www.britannica.com/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419) Britannica Editors Last updated Feb. 25, 2026 •[History](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fred-Trump/additional-info#history) ![Britannica AI Icon](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-178/images/chatbot/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.2) Britannica AI Ask Anything Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything [![Father and son](https://cdn.britannica.com/27/283327-050-780509F8/Donald-and-Fred-Trump-1987.jpg?w=1000)](https://cdn.britannica.com/27/283327-050-780509F8/Donald-and-Fred-Trump-1987.jpg) [Father and son](https://cdn.britannica.com/27/283327-050-780509F8/Donald-and-Fred-Trump-1987.jpg)Donald Trump posing with his father, Fred Trump, at Trump Tower in 1987. (more) Top Questions ### What was Fred Trump known for? Fred Trump was a successful and wealthy real estate developer known for shaping the residential housing landscape in New York City with thousands of homes for the middle class in the 20th century. He groomed one of his sons, [Donald J. Trump](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump), to take over the family business. ### What was Fred Trump’s approach to business? Fred Trump was known for being a hard worker and notoriously cheap. He picked up nails to reuse them, mixed his own cleaning solutions, and built projects as cheaply as possible. He was also accused of inflating the costs of his projects built with government loans to allow him to pocket larger profits. ### How did Fred Trump influence Donald Trump? Fred Trump groomed [Donald Trump](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump) to take over his business empire, encouraging his rebellious streak and telling him he was a “king” and urging him to be a “killer.” During the summer before he went away to college, Donald Trump worked for his father, doing yard work and maintenance at properties. ### What controversies did Fred Trump face in his business practices? Fred Trump faced allegations in the 1950s and 1960s that he inflated construction costs to misuse government funds. He and [Donald Trump](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump) were the subject of a 1973 Justice Department lawsuit accusing the Trump company of practicing racial discrimination in its rental practices. The suit was settled two years later. ### How did Fred Trump support his children financially? Fred Trump set up trusts for his children and grandchildren, deposited \$1 million into each, and creatively supported [Donald Trump](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump) by buying \$3.5 million in casino chips to infuse cash into his business. Fred Trump was an enormously successful and wealthy real estate developer who played a pivotal role in shaping the 20th-century landscape of residential housing in [New York City](https://www.britannica.com/place/New-York-City) and its surrounding areas. His influence on the 21st century, however, may have been more profound, when the son he groomed to take over his business empire, [Donald J. Trump](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump), became president of the [United States](https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States). ## Early years Who Was Fred Trump? - Birth date and location: October 11, 1905; New York City, [New York](https://www.britannica.com/place/New-York-state), U.S. - Death date and location: June 25, 1999; New York City - Known for: His New York Times [obituary](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/obituary) said that he “helped change the face of [Brooklyn](https://www.britannica.com/place/Brooklyn-borough-New-York-City) and Queens with thousands of homes for the middle class in plain but sturdy brick rental towers.” He was also Donald Trump’s father. - Family: Married Mary MacLeod Trump in 1936; they remained married until his death in 1999. (She died in 2000.) They had five children: Maryanne Trump Barry (died 2023), Fred Trump, Jr. (died 1981), Elizabeth Trump Grau, Donald Trump, and Robert Trump. - Quotation: “There is no secret \[to success\].…You must like what you do.…Nine out of ten people don’t like what they do.…They go from job to job, and ultimately become a nothing.” Frederick Christ (pronounced with a short i) Trump was the middle child of Elizabeth and Friedrich Trump, who had settled in the United States after Friedrich Trump was ordered out of their native Germany on charges that an earlier [expedition](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/expedition) to the United States was a scheme to avoid [military service](https://www.britannica.com/topic/armed-force). Elizabeth and Friedrich Trump ultimately settled in New York City in 1905; Frederick was born three months later. Friedrich Trump had originally come to the United States in the 1880s as a teenager who identified himself as Friedrich Trumpf and listed his occupation as a farmer. He built hotels during the [gold rush](https://www.britannica.com/money/gold-rush) of the 1890s, and by the time his family settled in New York he was a wealthy man and the final f had disappeared from his name. In 1918 Friedrich Trump was struck ill while walking through New York with his then 12-year-old son Frederick. He died shortly thereafter, a victim of the [global flu pandemic of 1918–19](https://www.britannica.com/event/influenza-pandemic-of-1918-1919). Friedrich Trump chafed at the anti-German [sentiment](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sentiment) that arose in the country during [World War I](https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-I). He would pass the concern on to his son, who would feel it more acutely as a businessman during [World War II](https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-II). Fred Trump claimed repeatedly that the family was from Sweden, not Germany. (Donald Trump has, at times, repeated that falsehood.) Friedrich Trump left his widow a wealthy woman, and she created a company named E. Trump & Son, which would be the [precursor](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/precursor) to a building empire that would continue well into the next century. Her son—who would later remember his childhood passion for building, saying, “When I was a kid I used to play with blocks, erector sets and things like that”—built the first of his many homes when he was just 17 years old. ## Building boom and Depression As the boom years of the 1920s got underway, Fred Trump saw nothing but opportunity. He would focus his attention on the largely undeveloped New York City borough of [Queens](https://www.britannica.com/place/Queens-New-York), which saw its population more than double in the decade to more than one million people, almost all of them white. In 1927 Trump found himself in the middle of a [Memorial Day](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Memorial-Day) parade in his Queens neighborhood at which the [Ku Klux Klan](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ku-Klux-Klan) (KKK) marched and stirred up anti-Catholic sentiment. When fighting broke out among police, the KKK, and those at the parade, Trump [wound](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/wound) up arrested for “refusing to disperse…when ordered to do so.” The charge was eventually dropped. [![Power couple](https://cdn.britannica.com/24/283324-050-E46E9796/Fred-and-Mary-Anne-McLeod-Trump-Taj-Mahal-Casino-1990.jpg?w=300)](https://cdn.britannica.com/24/283324-050-E46E9796/Fred-and-Mary-Anne-McLeod-Trump-Taj-Mahal-Casino-1990.jpg) [Power couple](https://cdn.britannica.com/24/283324-050-E46E9796/Fred-and-Mary-Anne-McLeod-Trump-Taj-Mahal-Casino-1990.jpg)Fred and Mary Anne MacLeod Trump at the opening of their son Donald's Trump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1990. (more) Although the [stock market crash of 1929](https://www.britannica.com/event/stock-market-crash-of-1929) and resulting [Great Depression](https://www.britannica.com/event/Great-Depression) spelled doom for many New York businessmen, Trump saw nothing but opportunity, buying up vacant land, investing in grocery stores, and even building an upscale housing development. By the mid-1930s he was one of New York City’s most prominent young business leaders, with one local newspaper hailing him as “the [Henry Ford](https://www.britannica.com/money/Henry-Ford) of the home-building industry.” He had also just met a 23-year-old named Mary Anne MacLeod; they would marry in 1936 and remain together until Trump’s death in 1999. Explore Britannica Premium\! Trusted knowledge for those who want to know more. [SUBSCRIBE](https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=shorter-2026) ![Penguin, ship, mountain, atlas](https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/inline-left.webp) ![shohei ohtani, plants, andy wharhol art](https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/inline-right.webp) ![Mobile](https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/inline-mobile.webp?w=400) By this time Trump’s approach to business had become legendary throughout New York. He was seen as a relentlessly hard worker, but he was also notoriously cheap. As he walked his building projects, he stopped to pick up nails from the ground so that they could be reused. He mixed his own cleaning solutions rather than buying them commercially. And his housing projects reflected his frugality. One development was called “Trump’s dumps on stumps” by some New Yorkers. His ability to see opportunities to make and save money—even when they were [dubious](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/dubious) in nature—would continue throughout his life. ## Father Fred Fred and Mary Trump would go on to have five children: Maryanne; Fred, Jr.; Elizabeth; Donald; and Robert. As the Trump family grew, so did the family business; Fred Trump correctly saw the return of veterans from World War II as an enormous housing opportunity. The family of seven lived in a 23-room mansion that Trump built and resembled a Southern plantation. The house, in an upscale neighborhood of professionals, boasted a limousine with a vanity license plate that read FCT. Still, by all accounts, Fred and Mary Trump were strict parents, raising their children with high expectations for upright behavior. Despite growing up in wealth, the Trump children were expected to do chores and earn money by delivering newspapers. (Fred Trump apparently drove them to make their deliveries in bad weather.) Trump initially saw his eldest son as the [heir apparent](https://www.britannica.com/topic/heir-apparent) to the family business, but Fred Trump, Jr., had dreams of becoming a pilot, and so the paternal attention turned to Donald, who was a bit of a rebel and [chafed](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/chafed) at the parental rules. Still Fred Trump seemed to encourage that streak in his son, telling him that he was a “king” and urging him to become a “killer” in anything that he pursued. Soon Donald Trump was working for his father, including the summer between [high school](https://www.britannica.com/topic/high-school) and college when his father had him do yard work and maintenance at a Cincinnati, Ohio, apartment complex Fred Trump had purchased. ## Later business empire In the early 1960s Trump embarked on the largest construction project of his career, a 3,800-apartment complex in [Coney Island](https://www.britannica.com/place/Coney-Island-amusement-area). Called Trump Village, it was one of the very few projects in his career that Trump put his name on. As was his nature, he ordered it built as cheaply as possible and was the recipient of a state grant to help build it. But when he recorded a profit of \$1.8 million on the project, he was accused of inflating the costs he reported to the government. It was not the first time Trump had been accused of misusing government funds to pad his profits. “Most smart men and women paid attention to the ball; Fred Trump focused on the shadow of the ball.” —real estate executive Edward Gordon on Fred Trump’s [acumen](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acumen) In 1954 Trump was investigated by the Senate Banking Committee for allegedly abusing the loan-guarantee program by deliberately overestimating the costs of his construction projects to secure larger loans, allowing him to keep the difference between the loan amounts and his construction costs. In testimony before the Senate committee, Trump admitted that he had built a Brooklyn apartment complex for \$3.7 million less than the amount of his government-insured loan. In both instances Trump denied wrongdoing, and no charges were filed. That was not the only controversy that Trump faced regarding how he operated his business. As early as the 1950s Trump was accused—by no less than the legendary [Woody Guthrie](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Woody-Guthrie)—of discouraging Black residents from living at Trump properties. Guthrie penned lyrics accusing “old man Trump” of stirring up “racial hate…when he drawed that color line.” Later, in the early 1970s, after Donald Trump had become the president of the Trump company with Fred Trump as chair, the company faced additional allegations of racial [discrimination](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discrimination) in its rental practices. Two former Trump employees told the [Justice Department](https://www.britannica.com/topic/US-Department-of-Justice) that “Fred Trump and other agents” had “discouraged rental to blacks” and outlined a numbering system for identifying Black tenants. The result was a federal lawsuit, United States of America v. Fred C. Trump, Donald Trump, and Trump Management, Inc. On October 16, 1973, The New York Times ran a front-page story about the case headlined, “Major Landlord Accused of Antiblack [Bias](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/Bias) in City.” The suit was settled two years later with no admission of wrongdoing on the part of the Trumps but with the agreement that they would publish advertisements in newspapers making clear they welcomed Black tenants at their properties. In 1976 Fred Trump set up eight trusts, one for each of his children and grandchildren. He deposited \$1 million into each of the accounts. This was not the only time Trump had helped out his children financially. Perhaps none was more creative than when he bought \$3.5 million in chips at a Donald Trump-owned casino and then never gambled with them. The 1990 purchase came at a time when his son had missed loan payments on the casino, and the chips served as an under-the-table infusion of cash to the business. Fred Trump remained involved on varying levels in the Trump organization until 1997, when the family took control of the [vast](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/vast) majority of Fred Trump’s holdings in a move that The New York Times reported in 2018 was hugely advantageous in terms of tax payments. By that time he had been diagnosed with [Alzheimer disease](https://www.britannica.com/science/Alzheimer-disease) and could not recognize family members. He would not live to see the son he had called a king be elected president. When he died in 1999, at the age of 93, his net worth was estimated at between \$250 million and \$300 million. ## Donald Trump on his father Donald Trump called his father’s funeral “by far the toughest day of my life” and described himself as being “really close to my father.” In fact, in his offices—both at [Trump Tower](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Trump-Tower) and in the White House—the family photo that was displayed prominently was of Fred Trump. But the two had notable and noticeable differences. In his book The Art of the Deal, Donald Trump wrote of his relationship with his father, “I was never intimidated by my father, the way most people were. I stood up to him, and he respected that.” And Trump came to [loathe](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/loathe) his father’s business strategy of building cheaply in New York’s outer boroughs; Trump wanted to build glass and steel skyscrapers in [Manhattan](https://www.britannica.com/place/Manhattan-New-York-City). Quick Facts Notable Family Members: son [Donald Trump](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump) (Show more) [See all related content](https://www.britannica.com/facts/Fred-Trump) But despite the stylistic differences, Fred Trump seemed to acknowledge the merit of his son’s desire for glitz and glitter. In 1983, as he overlooked one of his son’s gleaming projects, Trump said: > I told Donald to stay out of Manhattan and now look at him. [Tracy Grant](https://www.britannica.com/editor/tracy-grant/12854611) ![Britannica AI Icon](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-178/images/chatbot/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.2)Britannica AI chevron\_right Fred Trump close [AI-generated answers](https://www.britannica.com/about-britannica-ai) from Britannica articles. AI makes mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. [Donald Trump](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump) - [Introduction & Top Questions](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump) - [Early life and business career](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump#ref332843) - [At a glance: the Trump presidency](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump#ref384379) - [Presidential election of 2016](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Presidential-election-of-2016) - [Trump’s first presidential term](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Presidential-election-of-2016#ref397483) - [Immigration](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Presidential-election-of-2016#ref337765) - [Emoluments clause](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Presidential-election-of-2016#ref337766) - [Supreme Court](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Supreme-Court) - [Cabinet appointments](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Supreme-Court#ref337768) - [Russia investigation](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Russia-investigation) - [Other investigations](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Russia-investigation#ref344664) - [Health care](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Health-care) - [Environmental policy](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Health-care#ref337771) - [Foreign relations](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Foreign-relations) - [Ukraine scandal](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Foreign-relations#ref344665) - [COVID-19 pandemic](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Foreign-relations#ref347168) - [Presidential election of 2020](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Foreign-relations#ref397484) - [Campaigns and litigation](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Foreign-relations#ref397485) - [Aftermath](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Foreign-relations#ref397486) - [Later indictments, civil suits, and trials](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Foreign-relations#ref356152) - [Presidential election of 2024](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Foreign-relations#ref397487) - [Trump’s second presidential term](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Foreign-relations#ref405239) - [Executive orders](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Foreign-relations#ref466049) - [DOGE](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Foreign-relations#ref466050) - [ICE raids and deportations](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Foreign-relations#ref466051) - [Trump’s direction of traditionally independent departments and agencies](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Foreign-relations#ref466052) - [Partisan redistricting](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Foreign-relations#ref466053) - [Trump’s elimination of climate change regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Foreign-relations#ref470717) - [Trump’s emergency petitions to the Supreme Court](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Foreign-relations#ref466054) - [Epstein files](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Foreign-relations#ref466055) - [Venezuela, Greenland, and Iran](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Foreign-relations#ref466056) - [Return of the emoluments clause controversy](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Foreign-relations#ref466057) - [Style and rhetoric](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/Foreign-relations#ref356153) [References & Edit History](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/additional-info) [Quick Facts & Related Topics](https://www.britannica.com/facts/Donald-Trump) [Images, Videos & Interactives](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/images-videos) [![Donald Trump](https://cdn.britannica.com/18/273318-004-6D8A21E3/President-Donald-J-Trump-portrait-2025.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/18/273318-050-9DE2F788/President-Donald-J-Trump-portrait-2025.jpg) [![Donald Trump](https://cdn.britannica.com/45/193845-004-8CF3BFB5/Donald-Trump-front-Tower-New-York-City-August-2008.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/45/193845-050-A7905463/Donald-Trump-front-Tower-New-York-City-August-2008.jpg) [![Father and son](https://cdn.britannica.com/27/283327-004-0E6B0F6A/Donald-and-Fred-Trump-1987.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/27/283327-050-780509F8/Donald-and-Fred-Trump-1987.jpg) [![Presidency of Donald Trump](https://cdn.britannica.com/42/254742-049-EF77F565/Donald-Trump-45th-president-of-the-United-States-US-2017-21-Republican-Party-Infogram-interactive.jpg)](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fred-Trump) [![Donald Trump](https://cdn.britannica.com/41/189141-004-B3B6F5A9/Donald-Trump-campaign-rally-Fountain-Hills-Arizona-March-2016.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/41/189141-050-591D6D00/Donald-Trump-campaign-rally-Fountain-Hills-Arizona-March-2016.jpg) [![Donald Trump](https://cdn.britannica.com/88/190788-004-9B9F64AD/Donald-Trump-2016.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/88/190788-050-4F6F73F2/Donald-Trump-2016.jpg) [![Donald Trump campaigning in 2016](https://cdn.britannica.com/80/193280-004-7F5FC4CA/Donald-Trump-rally-Akron-Ohio-August-2016.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/80/193280-050-B6A67D54/Donald-Trump-rally-Akron-Ohio-August-2016.jpg) [![Donald Trump and Barack Obama](https://cdn.britannica.com/65/193465-004-7A3FF128/Pres-Donald-Trump-Barack-Obama-Oval-Office-November-10-2016.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/65/193465-050-F2AF7705/Pres-Donald-Trump-Barack-Obama-Oval-Office-November-10-2016.jpg) [![Donald Trump](https://cdn.britannica.com/21/197021-004-743A1CB5/portrait-Donald-Trump.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/21/197021-050-D0AC3E38/portrait-Donald-Trump.jpg) [![Donald Trump](https://cdn.britannica.com/68/216668-004-779A3247/United-States-President-Donald-Trump-2017.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/68/216668-050-DD3A9D0A/United-States-President-Donald-Trump-2017.jpg) At a Glance [![Donald Trump](https://cdn.britannica.com/31/149831-050-83A0E45B/Donald-J-Trump-2010.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https://www.britannica.com/summary/Donald-Trump) [Donald Trump summary](https://www.britannica.com/summary/Donald-Trump) Quizzes [![Richard M. Nixon. Richard Nixon during a 1968 campaign stop. President Nixon](https://cdn.britannica.com/44/164744-131-7A6008A3/Richard-M-Nixon-campaign-stop-crowd-gesture-1968.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/us-presidents-and-their-years-in-office-quiz) [U.S. Presidents and Their Years in Office Quiz](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/us-presidents-and-their-years-in-office-quiz) [![Washington Monument. Washington Monument and fireworks, Washington DC. The Monument was built as an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington.](https://cdn.britannica.com/09/153009-131-58881A36/Washington-Monument-George-fireworks-obelisk-end-DC.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/all-american-history-quiz) [All-American History Quiz](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/all-american-history-quiz) [![South portico of the White House, Washington, D.C.](https://cdn.britannica.com/39/126139-131-A64CBAE4/portico-side-White-House.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/us-presidents-facts) [U.S. Presidents Facts](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/us-presidents-facts) [![Richard M. Nixon. Richard Nixon during a 1968 campaign stop. President Nixon](https://cdn.britannica.com/44/164744-131-7A6008A3/Richard-M-Nixon-campaign-stop-crowd-gesture-1968.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/us-presidential-nicknames) [U.S. Presidential Nicknames](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/us-presidential-nicknames) [![President Theodore Roosevelt delivering a speech, September 2, 1902. Teddy Roosevelt.](https://cdn.britannica.com/33/181733-131-CAA9FEAA/Theodore-Roosevelt-speech-September-2-1902.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/us-presidential-firsts) [U.S. Presidential Firsts](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/us-presidential-firsts) Related Questions - [Can President Donald Trump change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War?](https://www.britannica.com/question/Can-President-Donald-Trump-change-the-name-of-the-Department-of-Defense-to-the-Department-of-War) - [What was the significance of Donald Trump’s military parade?](https://www.britannica.com/question/What-was-the-significance-of-Donald-Trumps-military-parade) - [What is a border czar?](https://www.britannica.com/question/What-is-a-border-czar) - [Who are historically the U.S.’s allies?](https://www.britannica.com/question/Who-are-historically-the-U-S-s-allies) - [What are the two major political parties in the U.S.?](https://www.britannica.com/question/What-are-the-two-major-political-parties-in-the-U-S) ![Britannica AI Icon](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-178/images/chatbot/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.2) Contents Ask Anything [Politics, Law & Government](https://www.britannica.com/browse/Politics-Law-Government) [World Leaders](https://www.britannica.com/browse/World-Leaders) [Presidents & Heads of States](https://www.britannica.com/browse/Presidents) CITE Share Feedback External Websites [![Donald Trump](https://cdn.britannica.com/18/273318-050-9DE2F788/President-Donald-J-Trump-portrait-2025.jpg?w=400&h=300&c=crop)](https://cdn.britannica.com/18/273318-050-9DE2F788/President-Donald-J-Trump-portrait-2025.jpg) [Donald Trump](https://cdn.britannica.com/18/273318-050-9DE2F788/President-Donald-J-Trump-portrait-2025.jpg) U.S. Pres. Donald Trump's official portrait, 2025. (more) # Donald Trump 45th and 47th president of the United States Homework Help Also known as: Donald John Trump Written by [Brian Duignan Brian Duignan is a senior editor at Encyclopædia Britannica. His subject areas include philosophy, law, social science, politics, political theory, and religion.](https://www.britannica.com/editor/brian-duignan/6469) Brian Duignan Fact-checked by [Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....](https://www.britannica.com/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419) Britannica Editors Last updated Mar. 27, 2026 •[History](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump/additional-info#history) ![Britannica AI Icon](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-178/images/chatbot/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.2) Britannica AI Ask Anything Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything Top Questions ### In which case did the Supreme Court decide that President Donald Trump is not authorized to issue tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977? The case in which the [Supreme Court](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Supreme-Court-of-the-United-States) decided that President Donald Trump is not authorized to issue tariffs under the [International Emergency Economic Powers Act](https://www.britannica.com/topic/International-Emergency-Economic-Powers-Act) (IEEPA) of 1977 is [Learning Resources v. Trump](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Major-Supreme-Court-Cases-from-the-2025-26-Term#ref448652) (2026). ### Why did President Donald Trump order the bombing of Venezuelan civilian vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean? President Donald Trump ordered the bombing of Venezuelan civilian vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific because he believed that the targeted boats were smuggling illegal drugs into the United States. ### What criminal charges did Venezuelan president [Nicolás Maduro](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nicolas-Maduro) face following his capture by the U.S. military? Venezuelan president [Nicolás Maduro](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nicolas-Maduro) faced criminal charges related to drug trafficking. ### Can President Donald Trump change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War? In 1947 the U.S. Congress passed the [National Security Act](https://www.britannica.com/topic/National-Security-Act), which reorganized and renamed the Department of War, established in 1789, as the National Military Establishment. An amendment to the Act in 1949 changed the name of the National Military Establishment to the [Department of Defense](https://www.britannica.com/topic/US-Department-of-Defense). Because the Constitution gives Congress the power to create executive departments and agencies, and because the Department of Defense was so named under Congressional legislation, President Donald Trump cannot legally reinstate the department’s official name under an [executive order](https://www.britannica.com/topic/executive-order). In apparent recognition of that fact, the order eventually signed by Trump presents the new name as a “secondary title” of the department, though it also requires other federal departments and agencies to use the new name in official correspondence and nonstatutory documents. ### What is historically unusual about Donald Trump’s presidency? Donald Trump is the only [U.S. president](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Presidents-of-the-United-States-1846696) to be impeached twice and the first convicted felon to be elected president. He is also one of only two presidents to serve two nonconsecutive terms, the other being [Grover Cleveland](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Grover-Cleveland) (1885–89; 1893–97). ### How did Donald Trump’s business career begin? Trump began working for his father’s real estate business after graduating from the [University of Pennsylvania](https://www.britannica.com/topic/University-of-Pennsylvania)’s Wharton School in 1968. He expanded the business by investing in luxury properties and casinos. ### Where and when was Donald Trump shot? Donald Trump was shot during a campaign rally in Butler, [Pennsylvania](https://www.britannica.com/place/Pennsylvania-state) on July 13, 2024. ### What was the significance of Donald Trump’s military parade? The official purpose of Donald Trump’s military parade on June 14, 2025, in [Washington, D.C.](https://www.britannica.com/place/Washington-DC), was to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the [U.S. Army](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-United-States-Army). The parade, which took place on [Flag Day](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Flag-Day) (June 14) and Trump’s 79th birthday, was also intended to showcase American military strength. ### Prior to 2025, when was the last major military parade in the U.S.? The last major military parade in the [United States](https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States), which commemorated the end of the [Persian Gulf War](https://www.britannica.com/event/Persian-Gulf-War), took place in [Washington, D.C.](https://www.britannica.com/place/Washington-DC), on June 18, 1991. ### How much does a military parade cost? The cost of a military parade varies based on its scale, location, logistics, and security needs and includes post-parade work, such as clean-up and repair of roads. The parade celebrating the end of the [Persian Gulf War](https://www.britannica.com/event/Persian-Gulf-War) cost \$12 million, and [Donald Trump](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump)’s military parade cost \$30 million. ### What is a border czar? The border czar is an informal title used to describe a U.S. government official who oversees or coordinates policies related to immigration and border security, including deportation. The individual is appointed by the president and implements his policies. The post does not require [Senate](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Senate-United-States-government) approval, which has raised questions about its authority, accountability, and constitutionality. Supporters argue that such appointments allow the president to act quickly and to coordinate policy across multiple agencies. In 2021 Pres. [Joe Biden](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joe-Biden) tapped Vice Pres. [Kamala Harris](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kamala-Harris) to look into the root causes of immigration from Latin American countries. The media and critics dubbed her “border czar,” though the Biden administration never used that title. In 2025, during his second term, Pres. [Donald Trump](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump) selected Tom Homan to serve as border czar. He notably sent Homan to Minnesota in early 2026 amid unrest after [ICE](https://www.britannica.com/topic/United-States-Immigration-and-Customs-Enforcement) agents fatally shot several people. ## News • [Midnight train from Georgia: A view of America from the tracks as airports struggle in the shutdown](https://www.britannica.com/news/607230/e4d8ea591b3b036142c2bf2dee7dff5a) • Mar. 29, 2026, 4:15 PM ET (AP) ...(Show more) ['No Kings' rallies draw crowds across US, in Europe. Springsteen headlines Minnesota demonstration](https://www.britannica.com/news/607230/2fab6b3a64e5275bcf111e8dd6d2e075) • Mar. 28, 2026, 11:01 PM ET (AP) [CPAC activists embrace Paxton as MAGA's choice for Senate over Cornyn](https://www.britannica.com/news/607230/075d6eff33890921319ac73bd853986b) • Mar. 28, 2026, 6:54 PM ET (AP) [The top moments from this year's CPAC conference in Texas](https://www.britannica.com/news/607230/9826e2fe25fe7446072be91b4f880ee3) • Mar. 28, 2026, 5:49 PM ET (AP) [Iranian attack on Saudi base injures US troops. More American forces arrive in the Middle East](https://www.britannica.com/news/607230/ea713e7850053d8670b062e6b11a6e39) • Mar. 28, 2026, 4:13 PM ET (AP) Show less Donald Trump (born June 14, 1946, [New York](https://www.britannica.com/place/New-York-state), New York, U.S.) is a former real estate mogul and [reality TV star](https://www.britannica.com/topic/reality-TV) who has served as the 45th and 47th [president](https://www.britannica.com/topic/president-government-official) of the [United States](https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States). The scion of renowned New York real estate developer Fred Trump, Donald rose to eclipse his father in fame and fortune, moving through New York’s elite social circles in the 1980s to American TV fame in the 2000s and finally leveraging his name and wealth to become one of the most consequential leaders of the early 21st century. Throughout Trump’s long career in business and politics, one constant has been his [brazen](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brazen), [pugnacious](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pugnacious), and unrepentant style, which has led to unparalleled achievements while often sowing conflict and [chaos](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chaos). As a businessman, Trump flashed his name worldwide across buildings, casinos, airlines, universities, and even steaks, often while mired in lawsuits and weathering multiple bankruptcies. As a politician, Trump started the fiercely tribal Make America Great Again ([MAGA](https://www.britannica.com/topic/MAGA-movement)) movement that came to dominate American politics in the second half of the 2010s and 2020s. His uncanny [resilience](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resilience) to scandals led him to become one of two U.S. presidents to serve two nonconsecutive terms, even after leading a rally that resulted in a mob storming [Congress](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Congress-of-the-United-States) (the [January 6 attack](https://www.britannica.com/event/January-6-U-S-Capitol-attack)), two [impeachments](https://www.britannica.com/topic/impeachment), and being the only former U.S. president convicted in a criminal case. His willingness to push boundaries, test legal precedent, and discard conventional norms has reshaped much of American life and been embraced by many [disenfranchised](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disenfranchised) voters, but it has also eroded protections for millions, stoked [xenophobia](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/xenophobia), and amplified political divisions to new heights. After being elected in 2024 for his second term, Trump swiftly moved to consolidate power under the [executive](https://www.britannica.com/topic/executive-government) branch, upended [international trade](https://www.britannica.com/money/international-trade), and shook up America’s global footprint by discarding centuries-old alliances and igniting bombast with Canada, Venezuela, Greenland, and Iran. ## Early life and business career [![Donald Trump](https://cdn.britannica.com/45/193845-050-A7905463/Donald-Trump-front-Tower-New-York-City-August-2008.jpg?w=300)](https://cdn.britannica.com/45/193845-050-A7905463/Donald-Trump-front-Tower-New-York-City-August-2008.jpg) [Donald Trump](https://cdn.britannica.com/45/193845-050-A7905463/Donald-Trump-front-Tower-New-York-City-August-2008.jpg)Donald Trump speaking in front of Trump Tower, New York City, August 2008. (more) Trump was the fourth of five children of [Frederick (Fred) Christ Trump](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fred-Trump), a successful real estate developer, and Mary MacLeod. Donald’s eldest sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, eventually served as a U.S. [district court](https://www.britannica.com/topic/United-States-District-Court) judge (1983–99) and later as a judge on the [U.S. Court of Appeals](https://www.britannica.com/topic/United-States-Court-of-Appeals) for the Third [Circuit](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/Circuit) until her retirement in 2011. His elder brother, Frederick, Jr. (Freddy), worked briefly for their father’s business before becoming an airline pilot in the 1960s. Freddy’s [alcoholism](https://www.britannica.com/science/alcoholism) led to his early death in 1981, at the age of 43. Beginning in the late 1920s, Fred Trump built hundreds of single-family houses and row houses in the [Queens](https://www.britannica.com/place/Queens-New-York) and [Brooklyn](https://www.britannica.com/place/Brooklyn-borough-New-York-City) boroughs of [New York City](https://www.britannica.com/place/New-York-City), and from the late 1940s he built thousands of apartment units, mostly in Brooklyn, using federal loan guarantees designed to stimulate the construction of [affordable housing](https://www.britannica.com/topic/affordable-housing). During [World War II](https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-II) he also built federally backed housing for naval personnel and shipyard workers in [Virginia](https://www.britannica.com/place/Virginia-state) and [Pennsylvania](https://www.britannica.com/place/Pennsylvania-state). In 1954 Fred was investigated by the Senate Banking Committee for allegedly abusing the loan-guarantee program by deliberately overestimating the costs of his construction projects to secure larger loans from [commercial banks](https://www.britannica.com/money/commercial-bank), enabling him to keep the difference between the loan amounts and his actual construction costs. In [testimony](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/testimony) before the Senate committee in 1954, Fred admitted that he had built the Beach Haven apartment complex in Brooklyn for \$3.7 million less than the amount of his government-insured loan. Although he was not charged with any crime, he was thereafter unable to obtain federal loan guarantees. A decade later a New York state investigation found that Fred had used his profit on a state-insured construction loan to build a shopping center that was entirely his own property. He eventually returned \$1.2 million to the state but was thereafter unable to obtain state loan guarantees for residential projects in the [Coney Island](https://www.britannica.com/place/Coney-Island-amusement-area) area of Brooklyn. [![Richard M. Nixon. Richard Nixon during a 1968 campaign stop. President Nixon](https://cdn.britannica.com/44/164744-131-7A6008A3/Richard-M-Nixon-campaign-stop-crowd-gesture-1968.jpg) Britannica Quiz U.S. Presidents and Their Years in Office Quiz](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/us-presidents-and-their-years-in-office-quiz) Donald Trump attended New York Military Academy (1959–64), a private boarding school; [Fordham University](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fordham-University) in the [Bronx](https://www.britannica.com/place/Bronx-borough-New-York-City) (1964–66); and the [University of Pennsylvania](https://www.britannica.com/topic/University-of-Pennsylvania)’s Wharton School of Finance and Commerce (1966–68), where he graduated with a [bachelor’s degree](https://www.britannica.com/topic/bachelors-degree) in [economics](https://www.britannica.com/money/economics). In 1968, during the [Vietnam War](https://www.britannica.com/event/Vietnam-War), he secured a [diagnosis](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diagnosis) of bone spurs, which qualified him for a medical exemption from the [military draft](https://www.britannica.com/topic/conscription) (he had earlier received four draft deferments for education). Upon his graduation Trump began working full-time for his father’s business, helping to manage its holdings of rental housing, then estimated at between 10,000 and 22,000 units. In 1974 he became president of a conglomeration of Trump-owned corporations and partnerships, which he later named the Trump Organization. During the 1960s and early 1970s, Trump-owned housing developments in New York City, [Cincinnati](https://www.britannica.com/place/Cincinnati), [Ohio](https://www.britannica.com/place/Ohio-state), and [Norfolk](https://www.britannica.com/place/Norfolk-Virginia), [Virginia](https://www.britannica.com/place/Virginia-state), were the target of several complaints of racial [discrimination](https://www.britannica.com/topic/discrimination-society) against [African Americans](https://www.britannica.com/topic/African-Americans) and other minority groups. In 1973 Fred and Donald Trump, along with their company, were sued by the [U.S. Justice Department](https://www.britannica.com/topic/US-Department-of-Justice) for allegedly violating the [Fair Housing Act](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fair-Housing-Act) (1968) in the operation of 39 apartment buildings in New York City. The Trumps initially countersued the [Justice](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Justice) Department for \$100 million, alleging harm to their reputations. The suit was settled two years later under an agreement that did not require the Trumps to admit guilt. Explore Britannica Premium\! Smart, reliable knowledge for professionals, students, and curious minds everywhere. [SUBSCRIBE](https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=smart-2026) ![Penguin, ship, mountain, atlas](https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/inline-left.webp) ![shohei ohtani, plants, andy wharhol art](https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/inline-right.webp) ![Mobile](https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/inline-mobile.webp?w=400) [![Father and son](https://cdn.britannica.com/27/283327-050-780509F8/Donald-and-Fred-Trump-1987.jpg?w=300)](https://cdn.britannica.com/27/283327-050-780509F8/Donald-and-Fred-Trump-1987.jpg) [Father and son](https://cdn.britannica.com/27/283327-050-780509F8/Donald-and-Fred-Trump-1987.jpg)Donald Trump posing with his father, Fred Trump, at Trump Tower in 1987. (more) In the late 1970s and the 1980s, Donald Trump greatly expanded his father’s business by investing in luxury hotels and residential properties and by shifting its geographic focus to [Manhattan](https://www.britannica.com/place/Manhattan-New-York-City) and later to [Atlantic City](https://www.britannica.com/place/Atlantic-City-New-Jersey), [New Jersey](https://www.britannica.com/place/New-Jersey). In doing so, he relied heavily on loans, gifts, and other financial assistance from his father, as well as on his father’s political connections in New York City. In 1976 he purchased the decrepit Commodore Hotel near [Grand Central Station](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Grand-Central-Station) under a complex profit-sharing agreement with the city that included a 40-year [property tax](https://www.britannica.com/money/property-tax) abatement, the first such tax break granted to a commercial property in New York City. Relying on a construction loan guaranteed by his father and the Hyatt Corporation, which became a partner in the project, Trump refurbished the building and reopened it in 1980 as the 1,400-room Grand Hyatt Hotel. In 1983 he opened [Trump Tower](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Trump-Tower), an office, retail, and residential complex constructed in partnership with the Equitable Life [Assurance](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Assurance) Company. The 58-story building on 56th Street and Fifth Avenue eventually contained Trump’s Manhattan residence and the headquarters of the Trump Organization. Other Manhattan properties developed by Trump during the 1980s include the Trump Plaza residential cooperative (1984), the Trump Parc luxury [condominium](https://www.britannica.com/topic/condominium-building) complex (1986), and the 19-story Plaza Hotel (1988), a historic landmark for which Trump paid more than \$400 million. In the 1980s Trump invested heavily in the [casino](https://www.britannica.com/topic/casino-gambling-house) business in Atlantic City, where his properties eventually included Harrah’s at Trump Plaza (1984, later renamed Trump Plaza), Trump’s Castle Casino Resort (1985), and the Trump Taj Mahal (1990), then the largest casino in the world. During that period Trump also purchased the New Jersey Generals, a team in the short-lived U.S. Football League; [Mar-a-Lago](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mar-a-Lago), a 118-room mansion in [Palm Beach](https://www.britannica.com/place/Palm-Beach-Florida), Florida, built in the 1920s by the cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post; a 282-foot [yacht](https://www.britannica.com/technology/yacht), then the world’s second largest, which he named the Trump Princess; and an East Coast air-shuttle service, which he called Trump Shuttle. In 1977 Trump married Ivana Zelníčková Winklmayr, a Czech model, with whom he had three children—[Donald, Jr.](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump-Jr), [Ivanka](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ivanka-Trump), and Eric—before the couple divorced in 1992. Their married life, as well as Trump’s business affairs, were a [staple](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/staple) of the [tabloid](https://www.britannica.com/topic/tabloid-journalism) press in New York City during the 1980s. Trump married the American actress Marla Maples after she gave birth to Trump’s fourth child, Tiffany, in 1993. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1999. In 2005 Trump married the Slovene model Melania Knauss, and their son, Barron, was born the following year. [Melania Trump](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Melania-Trump) became the second foreign-born [first lady](https://www.britannica.com/topic/first-lady-United-States-title) of the United States upon Trump’s inauguration as president in 2017. When the U.S. economy fell into [recession](https://www.britannica.com/money/recession) in 1990, many of Trump’s businesses suffered, and he soon had trouble making payments on his approximately \$5 billion debt, some \$900 million of which he had personally guaranteed. Under a restructuring agreement with several banks, Trump was forced to [surrender](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/surrender) his airline, which was taken over by [US Airways](https://www.britannica.com/money/US-Airways) in 1992; to sell the Trump Princess; to take out second or third mortgages on nearly all of his properties and to reduce his ownership stakes in them; and to commit himself to living on a personal budget of \$450,000 a year. Despite those measures, the Trump Taj Mahal declared [bankruptcy](https://www.britannica.com/money/bankruptcy) in 1991, and two other casinos owned by Trump, as well as his Plaza Hotel in New York City, went bankrupt in 1992. Following those setbacks, most major banks refused to do any further business with him. Estimates of Trump’s net [worth](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/worth) during this period ranged from \$1.7 billion to minus \$900 million. Trump’s fortunes rebounded with the stronger economy of the later 1990s and with the decision of the [Frankfurt](https://www.britannica.com/place/Frankfurt-am-Main)\-based [Deutsche Bank AG](https://www.britannica.com/money/Deutsche-Bank-AG) to establish a presence in the U.S. commercial real estate market. Deutsche Bank extended hundreds of millions of dollars in credit to Trump in the late 1990s and the 2000s for projects including Trump World Tower (2001) in New York and [Trump International Hotel and Tower](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Trump-International-Hotel-and-Tower-Chicago) (2009) in [Chicago](https://www.britannica.com/place/Chicago). In the early 1990s Trump had floated a plan to his creditors to convert his Mar-a-Lago estate into a luxury housing development consisting of several smaller mansions, but local opposition led him instead to turn it into a private club, which was opened in 1995. In 1996 Trump partnered with the [NBC](https://www.britannica.com/money/National-Broadcasting-Co-Inc) television network to purchase the Miss Universe Organization, which produced the Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA beauty pageants. Trump’s casino businesses continued to struggle, however: in 2004 his company Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts filed for bankruptcy after several of its properties accumulated unmanageable debt, and the same company, renamed Trump Entertainment Resorts, went bankrupt again in 2009. Beginning in the mid-2000s, Trump enjoyed an enormous financial windfall from the success of [The Apprentice](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Apprentice), a [reality television](https://www.britannica.com/art/television-in-the-United-States/Reality-TV#ref283656) series in which he starred that directly earned him nearly \$200 million over a 16-year period. The [Emmy](https://www.britannica.com/art/Emmy-Award)\-nominated show, in each episode of which Trump “fired” one or more contestants competing for a lucrative one-year contract as a Trump employee, further [enhanced](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enhanced) his reputation as a shrewd businessman and self-made billionaire. In 2008 the show was revamped as [The Celebrity Apprentice](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Celebrity-Apprentice), which featured news makers and entertainers as contestants. Trump marketed his name as a brand in numerous other business ventures, including Trump Financial, a [mortgage](https://www.britannica.com/money/mortgage) company, and the Trump [Entrepreneur](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Entrepreneur) [Initiative](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Initiative) (formerly Trump University), an online education company focusing on real estate investment and entrepreneurialism. The latter firm, which ceased operating in 2011, was the target of [class-action](https://www.britannica.com/topic/class-action) lawsuits by former students and a separate action by the [attorney general](https://www.britannica.com/topic/attorney-general) of New York state, alleging [fraud](https://www.britannica.com/topic/fraud). After initially denying the allegations, Trump settled the lawsuits for \$25 million in November 2016. In 2019, more than two years into his presidency, Trump agreed to pay \$2 million in damages and to admit guilt to settle another lawsuit by the attorney general of New York that had accused him of illegally using [assets](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/assets) from his charity, the Trump Foundation, to fund his 2016 presidential campaign. As part of the settlement, the Trump Foundation was dissolved. In 2018 The New York Times published a lengthy investigative report that documented how Fred Trump had regularly transferred vast sums of money, ultimately amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars, to his children by means of strategies that involved tax, securities, and real estate fraud, as well as by legal means. According to the report, Donald Trump was the main beneficiary of the transfers, having received the equivalent (in 2018 dollars) of \$413 million by the early 2000s. According to a later report by the Times, based on [data](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/data) from tax returns filed by Trump during an 18-year period starting in 2000, Trump paid no federal taxes in 11 years and only \$750 in each of two years, 2016 and 2017. Trump was able to reduce his tax obligations to levels significantly below the average for the wealthiest Americans by claiming massive losses on many of his businesses; by deducting as business expenses costs associated with his residences and his personal aircraft; and by receiving, on the basis of business losses, a tentative refund from the [Internal Revenue Service](https://www.britannica.com/money/Internal-Revenue-Service) (IRS) of nearly \$73 million, which more than covered the federal taxes Trump had paid on income he received from The Apprentice in 2005–08. The refund became the subject of an IRS audit and a legally [mandated](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mandated) review by the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. Quick Facts In full: Donald John Trump (Show more) Born: June 14, 1946, [New York](https://www.britannica.com/place/New-York-City), [New York](https://www.britannica.com/place/New-York-state), [U.S.](https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States) (age 79) (Show more) Title / Office: [presidency of the United States of America (2025-)](https://www.britannica.com/topic/presidency-of-the-United-States-of-America), [United States](https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States) [presidency of the United States of America (2017-2021)](https://www.britannica.com/topic/presidency-of-the-United-States-of-America), [United States](https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States) (Show more) Founder: [Truth Social](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Truth-Social) (Show more) Political Affiliation: [Republican Party](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Republican-Party) (Show more) Notable Works: [“Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Crippled-America-How-to-Make-America-Great-Again) [“The America We Deserve”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-America-We-Deserve) [“Trump: The Art of the Deal”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Trump-The-Art-of-the-Deal) (Show more) Notable Family Members: spouse [Melania Trump](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Melania-Trump) father [Fred Trump](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fred-Trump) daughter [Ivanka Trump](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ivanka-Trump) son [Donald Trump, Jr.](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump-Jr) son of Frederick Christ Trump son of Mary MacLeod husband of Melania Trump (January 22, 2005–present) husband of Marla Maples (December 20, 1993–June 8, 1999) husband of Ivana Trump (April 9, 1977–March 22, 1992) father of Donald Trump, Jr. (b. 1977) father of Ivanka Trump (b. 1981) father of Eric Trump (b. 1984) father of Tiffany Trump (b. 1993) father of Barron Trump (b. 2006) brother of Maryanne Trump Barry brother of Frederick Trump, Jr. brother of Elizabeth Trump Grau brother of Robert Trump (Show more) Role In: [12-Day War](https://www.britannica.com/event/12-Day-War) [2025–26 Minnesota ICE Deployment](https://www.britannica.com/event/2025-26-Minnesota-ICE-Deployment) [2026 Iran War](https://www.britannica.com/event/2026-Iran-War) [January 6 U.S. Capitol attack](https://www.britannica.com/event/January-6-U-S-Capitol-attack) [Ukraine scandal](https://www.britannica.com/event/Ukraine-scandal) [United States presidential election of 2020](https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-2020) [United States presidential election of 2024](https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-2024) [United States presidential election of 2016](https://www.britannica.com/topic/United-States-presidential-election-of-2016) (Show more) Education: [Fordham University (1964–1966)](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fordham-University) [University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School (B.S., 1968)](https://www.britannica.com/topic/University-of-Pennsylvania) New York Military Academy (Cornwall, New York) (Show more) Published Works: "Trump: Think Like a Billionaire: Everything You Need to Know About Success, Real Estate, and Life" (2004; with Meredith McIver) "Think Big and Kick Ass in Business and Life" (2007; with Bill Zanker) "Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies" (2006) "The Best Golf Advice I Ever Received" (2005) "Trump: The Art of the Comeback" (1997; with Kate Bohner) "Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again" (2015) "Midas Touch: Why Some Entrepreneurs Get Rich—And Why Most Don't" (2011; with Robert T. Kiyosaki) "Think Like a Champion: An Informal Education in Business and Life" (2009; with Meredith McIver) "Trump: The Art of the Deal" (1987; with Tony Schwartz) "Time to Get Tough: Making America \#1 Again" (2011) "Trump: Surviving at the Top" (1990; with Charles Leerhsen) "The Way to the Top: The Best Business Advice I Ever Received" (2004) "The America We Deserve" (2000; with Dave Shiflett) "Why We Want You to Be Rich: Two Men, One Message" (2006; with Robert T. Kiyosaki) "Trump: How to Get Rich" (2004; with Meredith McIver) "Trump Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges into Success" (2008; with Meredith McIver) "Trump 101: The Way to Success" (2007; with Meredith McIver) (Show more) Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In): "The Little Rascals" (1994) "Horrorween" (2011) "Eddie" (1996) "Marmalade" (2004) "Two Weeks Notice" (2002) "Across the Sea of Time" (1995) "54" (1998) ["Zoolander" (2001)](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Zoolander) "Spin City" (1998) "The Drew Carey Show" (1997) "NightMan" (1997) "The Nanny" (1996) "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" (1992) "Celebrity" (1998) "Suddenly Susan" (1997) "Ghosts Can't Do It" (1989) (Show more) [See all related content](https://www.britannica.com/facts/Donald-Trump) Show More Trump was credited as coauthor of a number of books on entrepreneurship and his business career, including Trump: The Art of the Deal (1987), Trump: The Art of the Comeback (1997), Why We Want You to Be Rich (2006), Trump 101: The Way to Success (2006), and Trump Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges into Success (2008). ## At a glance: the Trump presidency ![Britannica AI Icon](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-178/images/chatbot/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.2)Britannica AI chevron\_right Donald Trump close [AI-generated answers](https://www.britannica.com/about-britannica-ai) from Britannica articles. AI makes mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. Load Next Page Feedback Thank you for your feedback Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. print Print Please select which sections you would like to print: verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style Grant, Tracy. "Fred Trump". Encyclopedia Britannica, 25 Feb. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fred-Trump. Accessed 30 March 2026. Copy Citation Share Share to social media [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/BRITANNICA/) [X](https://x.com/britannica) URL <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fred-Trump> ![](https://sb.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&c2=6035486&cj=1) Feedback Thank you for your feedback Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. print Print Please select which sections you would like to print: verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style Duignan, Brian. "Donald Trump". Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Mar. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump. Accessed 30 March 2026. Copy Citation Share Share to social media [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/BRITANNICA/) [X](https://x.com/britannica) URL <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump> External Websites - [Miller Center - Donald Trump](https://millercenter.org/president/trump) - [Donald J. Trump Presidential Library - Biography of President Donald J. Trump](https://www.trumplibrary.gov/trumps/president-donald-j-trump) Britannica Websites Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. - [Donald Trump - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)](https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Donald-Trump/628383) - [Donald Trump - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)](https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Donald-Trump/313895)
Readable Markdown	Top Questions ### In which case did the Supreme Court decide that President Donald Trump is not authorized to issue tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977? ### Why did President Donald Trump order the bombing of Venezuelan civilian vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean? ### What criminal charges did Venezuelan president [Nicolás Maduro](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nicolas-Maduro) face following his capture by the U.S. military? ### Can President Donald Trump change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War? ### What is historically unusual about Donald Trump’s presidency? ### How did Donald Trump’s business career begin? ### Where and when was Donald Trump shot? ### What was the significance of Donald Trump’s military parade? ### Prior to 2025, when was the last major military parade in the U.S.? ### How much does a military parade cost? ### What is a border czar? ## News • Donald Trump (born June 14, 1946, [New York](https://www.britannica.com/place/New-York-state), New York, U.S.) is a former real estate mogul and [reality TV star](https://www.britannica.com/topic/reality-TV) who has served as the 45th and 47th [president](https://www.britannica.com/topic/president-government-official) of the [United States](https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States). The scion of renowned New York real estate developer Fred Trump, Donald rose to eclipse his father in fame and fortune, moving through New York’s elite social circles in the 1980s to American TV fame in the 2000s and finally leveraging his name and wealth to become one of the most consequential leaders of the early 21st century. Throughout Trump’s long career in business and politics, one constant has been his [brazen](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brazen), [pugnacious](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pugnacious), and unrepentant style, which has led to unparalleled achievements while often sowing conflict and [chaos](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chaos). As a businessman, Trump flashed his name worldwide across buildings, casinos, airlines, universities, and even steaks, often while mired in lawsuits and weathering multiple bankruptcies. As a politician, Trump started the fiercely tribal Make America Great Again ([MAGA](https://www.britannica.com/topic/MAGA-movement)) movement that came to dominate American politics in the second half of the 2010s and 2020s. His uncanny [resilience](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resilience) to scandals led him to become one of two U.S. presidents to serve two nonconsecutive terms, even after leading a rally that resulted in a mob storming [Congress](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Congress-of-the-United-States) (the [January 6 attack](https://www.britannica.com/event/January-6-U-S-Capitol-attack)), two [impeachments](https://www.britannica.com/topic/impeachment), and being the only former U.S. president convicted in a criminal case. His willingness to push boundaries, test legal precedent, and discard conventional norms has reshaped much of American life and been embraced by many [disenfranchised](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disenfranchised) voters, but it has also eroded protections for millions, stoked [xenophobia](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/xenophobia), and amplified political divisions to new heights. After being elected in 2024 for his second term, Trump swiftly moved to consolidate power under the [executive](https://www.britannica.com/topic/executive-government) branch, upended [international trade](https://www.britannica.com/money/international-trade), and shook up America’s global footprint by discarding centuries-old alliances and igniting bombast with Canada, Venezuela, Greenland, and Iran. ## Early life and business career [Donald Trump](https://cdn.britannica.com/45/193845-050-A7905463/Donald-Trump-front-Tower-New-York-City-August-2008.jpg)Donald Trump speaking in front of Trump Tower, New York City, August 2008. Trump was the fourth of five children of [Frederick (Fred) Christ Trump](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fred-Trump), a successful real estate developer, and Mary MacLeod. Donald’s eldest sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, eventually served as a U.S. [district court](https://www.britannica.com/topic/United-States-District-Court) judge (1983–99) and later as a judge on the [U.S. Court of Appeals](https://www.britannica.com/topic/United-States-Court-of-Appeals) for the Third [Circuit](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/Circuit) until her retirement in 2011. His elder brother, Frederick, Jr. (Freddy), worked briefly for their father’s business before becoming an airline pilot in the 1960s. Freddy’s [alcoholism](https://www.britannica.com/science/alcoholism) led to his early death in 1981, at the age of 43. Beginning in the late 1920s, Fred Trump built hundreds of single-family houses and row houses in the [Queens](https://www.britannica.com/place/Queens-New-York) and [Brooklyn](https://www.britannica.com/place/Brooklyn-borough-New-York-City) boroughs of [New York City](https://www.britannica.com/place/New-York-City), and from the late 1940s he built thousands of apartment units, mostly in Brooklyn, using federal loan guarantees designed to stimulate the construction of [affordable housing](https://www.britannica.com/topic/affordable-housing). During [World War II](https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-II) he also built federally backed housing for naval personnel and shipyard workers in [Virginia](https://www.britannica.com/place/Virginia-state) and [Pennsylvania](https://www.britannica.com/place/Pennsylvania-state). In 1954 Fred was investigated by the Senate Banking Committee for allegedly abusing the loan-guarantee program by deliberately overestimating the costs of his construction projects to secure larger loans from [commercial banks](https://www.britannica.com/money/commercial-bank), enabling him to keep the difference between the loan amounts and his actual construction costs. In [testimony](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/testimony) before the Senate committee in 1954, Fred admitted that he had built the Beach Haven apartment complex in Brooklyn for \$3.7 million less than the amount of his government-insured loan. Although he was not charged with any crime, he was thereafter unable to obtain federal loan guarantees. A decade later a New York state investigation found that Fred had used his profit on a state-insured construction loan to build a shopping center that was entirely his own property. He eventually returned \$1.2 million to the state but was thereafter unable to obtain state loan guarantees for residential projects in the [Coney Island](https://www.britannica.com/place/Coney-Island-amusement-area) area of Brooklyn. [![Richard M. Nixon. Richard Nixon during a 1968 campaign stop. President Nixon](https://cdn.britannica.com/44/164744-131-7A6008A3/Richard-M-Nixon-campaign-stop-crowd-gesture-1968.jpg) Britannica Quiz U.S. Presidents and Their Years in Office Quiz](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/us-presidents-and-their-years-in-office-quiz) Donald Trump attended New York Military Academy (1959–64), a private boarding school; [Fordham University](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fordham-University) in the [Bronx](https://www.britannica.com/place/Bronx-borough-New-York-City) (1964–66); and the [University of Pennsylvania](https://www.britannica.com/topic/University-of-Pennsylvania)’s Wharton School of Finance and Commerce (1966–68), where he graduated with a [bachelor’s degree](https://www.britannica.com/topic/bachelors-degree) in [economics](https://www.britannica.com/money/economics). In 1968, during the [Vietnam War](https://www.britannica.com/event/Vietnam-War), he secured a [diagnosis](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diagnosis) of bone spurs, which qualified him for a medical exemption from the [military draft](https://www.britannica.com/topic/conscription) (he had earlier received four draft deferments for education). Upon his graduation Trump began working full-time for his father’s business, helping to manage its holdings of rental housing, then estimated at between 10,000 and 22,000 units. In 1974 he became president of a conglomeration of Trump-owned corporations and partnerships, which he later named the Trump Organization. During the 1960s and early 1970s, Trump-owned housing developments in New York City, [Cincinnati](https://www.britannica.com/place/Cincinnati), [Ohio](https://www.britannica.com/place/Ohio-state), and [Norfolk](https://www.britannica.com/place/Norfolk-Virginia), [Virginia](https://www.britannica.com/place/Virginia-state), were the target of several complaints of racial [discrimination](https://www.britannica.com/topic/discrimination-society) against [African Americans](https://www.britannica.com/topic/African-Americans) and other minority groups. In 1973 Fred and Donald Trump, along with their company, were sued by the [U.S. Justice Department](https://www.britannica.com/topic/US-Department-of-Justice) for allegedly violating the [Fair Housing Act](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fair-Housing-Act) (1968) in the operation of 39 apartment buildings in New York City. The Trumps initially countersued the [Justice](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Justice) Department for \$100 million, alleging harm to their reputations. The suit was settled two years later under an agreement that did not require the Trumps to admit guilt. Smart, reliable knowledge for professionals, students, and curious minds everywhere. [SUBSCRIBE](https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=smart-2026) ![Penguin, ship, mountain, atlas](https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/inline-left.webp) ![shohei ohtani, plants, andy wharhol art](https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/inline-right.webp) ![Mobile](https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/inline-mobile.webp?w=400) [Father and son](https://cdn.britannica.com/27/283327-050-780509F8/Donald-and-Fred-Trump-1987.jpg)Donald Trump posing with his father, Fred Trump, at Trump Tower in 1987. In the late 1970s and the 1980s, Donald Trump greatly expanded his father’s business by investing in luxury hotels and residential properties and by shifting its geographic focus to [Manhattan](https://www.britannica.com/place/Manhattan-New-York-City) and later to [Atlantic City](https://www.britannica.com/place/Atlantic-City-New-Jersey), [New Jersey](https://www.britannica.com/place/New-Jersey). In doing so, he relied heavily on loans, gifts, and other financial assistance from his father, as well as on his father’s political connections in New York City. In 1976 he purchased the decrepit Commodore Hotel near [Grand Central Station](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Grand-Central-Station) under a complex profit-sharing agreement with the city that included a 40-year [property tax](https://www.britannica.com/money/property-tax) abatement, the first such tax break granted to a commercial property in New York City. Relying on a construction loan guaranteed by his father and the Hyatt Corporation, which became a partner in the project, Trump refurbished the building and reopened it in 1980 as the 1,400-room Grand Hyatt Hotel. In 1983 he opened [Trump Tower](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Trump-Tower), an office, retail, and residential complex constructed in partnership with the Equitable Life [Assurance](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Assurance) Company. The 58-story building on 56th Street and Fifth Avenue eventually contained Trump’s Manhattan residence and the headquarters of the Trump Organization. Other Manhattan properties developed by Trump during the 1980s include the Trump Plaza residential cooperative (1984), the Trump Parc luxury [condominium](https://www.britannica.com/topic/condominium-building) complex (1986), and the 19-story Plaza Hotel (1988), a historic landmark for which Trump paid more than \$400 million. In the 1980s Trump invested heavily in the [casino](https://www.britannica.com/topic/casino-gambling-house) business in Atlantic City, where his properties eventually included Harrah’s at Trump Plaza (1984, later renamed Trump Plaza), Trump’s Castle Casino Resort (1985), and the Trump Taj Mahal (1990), then the largest casino in the world. During that period Trump also purchased the New Jersey Generals, a team in the short-lived U.S. Football League; [Mar-a-Lago](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mar-a-Lago), a 118-room mansion in [Palm Beach](https://www.britannica.com/place/Palm-Beach-Florida), Florida, built in the 1920s by the cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post; a 282-foot [yacht](https://www.britannica.com/technology/yacht), then the world’s second largest, which he named the Trump Princess; and an East Coast air-shuttle service, which he called Trump Shuttle. In 1977 Trump married Ivana Zelníčková Winklmayr, a Czech model, with whom he had three children—[Donald, Jr.](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump-Jr), [Ivanka](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ivanka-Trump), and Eric—before the couple divorced in 1992. Their married life, as well as Trump’s business affairs, were a [staple](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/staple) of the [tabloid](https://www.britannica.com/topic/tabloid-journalism) press in New York City during the 1980s. Trump married the American actress Marla Maples after she gave birth to Trump’s fourth child, Tiffany, in 1993. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1999. In 2005 Trump married the Slovene model Melania Knauss, and their son, Barron, was born the following year. [Melania Trump](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Melania-Trump) became the second foreign-born [first lady](https://www.britannica.com/topic/first-lady-United-States-title) of the United States upon Trump’s inauguration as president in 2017. When the U.S. economy fell into [recession](https://www.britannica.com/money/recession) in 1990, many of Trump’s businesses suffered, and he soon had trouble making payments on his approximately \$5 billion debt, some \$900 million of which he had personally guaranteed. Under a restructuring agreement with several banks, Trump was forced to [surrender](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/surrender) his airline, which was taken over by [US Airways](https://www.britannica.com/money/US-Airways) in 1992; to sell the Trump Princess; to take out second or third mortgages on nearly all of his properties and to reduce his ownership stakes in them; and to commit himself to living on a personal budget of \$450,000 a year. Despite those measures, the Trump Taj Mahal declared [bankruptcy](https://www.britannica.com/money/bankruptcy) in 1991, and two other casinos owned by Trump, as well as his Plaza Hotel in New York City, went bankrupt in 1992. Following those setbacks, most major banks refused to do any further business with him. Estimates of Trump’s net [worth](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/worth) during this period ranged from \$1.7 billion to minus \$900 million. Trump’s fortunes rebounded with the stronger economy of the later 1990s and with the decision of the [Frankfurt](https://www.britannica.com/place/Frankfurt-am-Main)\-based [Deutsche Bank AG](https://www.britannica.com/money/Deutsche-Bank-AG) to establish a presence in the U.S. commercial real estate market. Deutsche Bank extended hundreds of millions of dollars in credit to Trump in the late 1990s and the 2000s for projects including Trump World Tower (2001) in New York and [Trump International Hotel and Tower](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Trump-International-Hotel-and-Tower-Chicago) (2009) in [Chicago](https://www.britannica.com/place/Chicago). In the early 1990s Trump had floated a plan to his creditors to convert his Mar-a-Lago estate into a luxury housing development consisting of several smaller mansions, but local opposition led him instead to turn it into a private club, which was opened in 1995. In 1996 Trump partnered with the [NBC](https://www.britannica.com/money/National-Broadcasting-Co-Inc) television network to purchase the Miss Universe Organization, which produced the Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA beauty pageants. Trump’s casino businesses continued to struggle, however: in 2004 his company Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts filed for bankruptcy after several of its properties accumulated unmanageable debt, and the same company, renamed Trump Entertainment Resorts, went bankrupt again in 2009. Beginning in the mid-2000s, Trump enjoyed an enormous financial windfall from the success of [The Apprentice](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Apprentice), a [reality television](https://www.britannica.com/art/television-in-the-United-States/Reality-TV#ref283656) series in which he starred that directly earned him nearly \$200 million over a 16-year period. The [Emmy](https://www.britannica.com/art/Emmy-Award)\-nominated show, in each episode of which Trump “fired” one or more contestants competing for a lucrative one-year contract as a Trump employee, further [enhanced](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enhanced) his reputation as a shrewd businessman and self-made billionaire. In 2008 the show was revamped as [The Celebrity Apprentice](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Celebrity-Apprentice), which featured news makers and entertainers as contestants. Trump marketed his name as a brand in numerous other business ventures, including Trump Financial, a [mortgage](https://www.britannica.com/money/mortgage) company, and the Trump [Entrepreneur](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Entrepreneur) [Initiative](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Initiative) (formerly Trump University), an online education company focusing on real estate investment and entrepreneurialism. The latter firm, which ceased operating in 2011, was the target of [class-action](https://www.britannica.com/topic/class-action) lawsuits by former students and a separate action by the [attorney general](https://www.britannica.com/topic/attorney-general) of New York state, alleging [fraud](https://www.britannica.com/topic/fraud). After initially denying the allegations, Trump settled the lawsuits for \$25 million in November 2016. In 2019, more than two years into his presidency, Trump agreed to pay \$2 million in damages and to admit guilt to settle another lawsuit by the attorney general of New York that had accused him of illegally using [assets](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/assets) from his charity, the Trump Foundation, to fund his 2016 presidential campaign. As part of the settlement, the Trump Foundation was dissolved. In 2018 The New York Times published a lengthy investigative report that documented how Fred Trump had regularly transferred vast sums of money, ultimately amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars, to his children by means of strategies that involved tax, securities, and real estate fraud, as well as by legal means. According to the report, Donald Trump was the main beneficiary of the transfers, having received the equivalent (in 2018 dollars) of \$413 million by the early 2000s. According to a later report by the Times, based on [data](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/data) from tax returns filed by Trump during an 18-year period starting in 2000, Trump paid no federal taxes in 11 years and only \$750 in each of two years, 2016 and 2017. Trump was able to reduce his tax obligations to levels significantly below the average for the wealthiest Americans by claiming massive losses on many of his businesses; by deducting as business expenses costs associated with his residences and his personal aircraft; and by receiving, on the basis of business losses, a tentative refund from the [Internal Revenue Service](https://www.britannica.com/money/Internal-Revenue-Service) (IRS) of nearly \$73 million, which more than covered the federal taxes Trump had paid on income he received from The Apprentice in 2005–08. The refund became the subject of an IRS audit and a legally [mandated](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mandated) review by the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. Quick Facts In full: Donald John Trump Notable Family Members: spouse [Melania Trump](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Melania-Trump) father [Fred Trump](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fred-Trump) daughter [Ivanka Trump](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ivanka-Trump) son [Donald Trump, Jr.](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump-Jr) son of Frederick Christ Trump son of Mary MacLeod husband of Melania Trump (January 22, 2005–present) husband of Marla Maples (December 20, 1993–June 8, 1999) husband of Ivana Trump (April 9, 1977–March 22, 1992) father of Donald Trump, Jr. (b. 1977) father of Ivanka Trump (b. 1981) father of Eric Trump (b. 1984) father of Tiffany Trump (b. 1993) father of Barron Trump (b. 2006) brother of Maryanne Trump Barry brother of Frederick Trump, Jr. brother of Elizabeth Trump Grau brother of Robert Trump Published Works: "Trump: Think Like a Billionaire: Everything You Need to Know About Success, Real Estate, and Life" (2004; with Meredith McIver) "Think Big and Kick Ass in Business and Life" (2007; with Bill Zanker) "Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies" (2006) "The Best Golf Advice I Ever Received" (2005) "Trump: The Art of the Comeback" (1997; with Kate Bohner) "Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again" (2015) "Midas Touch: Why Some Entrepreneurs Get Rich—And Why Most Don't" (2011; with Robert T. Kiyosaki) "Think Like a Champion: An Informal Education in Business and Life" (2009; with Meredith McIver) "Trump: The Art of the Deal" (1987; with Tony Schwartz) "Time to Get Tough: Making America \#1 Again" (2011) "Trump: Surviving at the Top" (1990; with Charles Leerhsen) "The Way to the Top: The Best Business Advice I Ever Received" (2004) "The America We Deserve" (2000; with Dave Shiflett) "Why We Want You to Be Rich: Two Men, One Message" (2006; with Robert T. Kiyosaki) "Trump: How to Get Rich" (2004; with Meredith McIver) "Trump Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges into Success" (2008; with Meredith McIver) "Trump 101: The Way to Success" (2007; with Meredith McIver) Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In): "The Little Rascals" (1994) "Horrorween" (2011) "Eddie" (1996) "Marmalade" (2004) "Two Weeks Notice" (2002) "Across the Sea of Time" (1995) "54" (1998) ["Zoolander" (2001)](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Zoolander) "Spin City" (1998) "The Drew Carey Show" (1997) "NightMan" (1997) "The Nanny" (1996) "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" (1992) "Celebrity" (1998) "Suddenly Susan" (1997) "Ghosts Can't Do It" (1989) Trump was credited as coauthor of a number of books on entrepreneurship and his business career, including Trump: The Art of the Deal (1987), Trump: The Art of the Comeback (1997), Why We Want You to Be Rich (2006), Trump 101: The Way to Success (2006), and Trump Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges into Success (2008). ## At a glance: the Trump presidency
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