He inherited billions and has made enough disastrous business moves to almost loose it all.
Only reason he didn't is two things:
1.) The US tax code is written to preserve wealth in the hands of morons like him. It's actually hard to loose a fortune as large as he inherited if you just hire competent lawyers that make sure you use all the loopholes in the tax code.
And his money has bought him those lawyers of course.
2.) The same with business - starting out with billions it's easy to hire competent people who run your businesses for you, and Trump did that.
A lot of the wealth he inherited from his father and grandfather was also locked in real estate in and around New York.
Those buildings have only increased in wealth over time, while they produce a steady income from rent.
Again - it's almost impossible to loose money on that.
Instead, what Trump did when his father died, was starting to burn money on idiotic investments because his raging ego made him think he's the greatest businessman ever.
He bought an airline - that folded. He tried to buy an NFL-team but couldn't get one, so he bought a team in the competing USFL instead - that folded. He bought casinos - they folded (yes - he LOST money owning casinos - that's how bad a businessman he is).
After that a tax return released in one of the thousands of lawsuits he's been involved in showed he reported a PERSONAL loss of almost a billion USD in just one year.
He was wasting his inheritance - and fast.
Then he actually wised up and stopped doing these huge, disastrous deals, and started marketing small stuff instead. That's when the world got "Trump Steaks", "Trump Water", "Trump The boardgame" and all that other crap.
Didn't make much money, but he got to put his name on stuff and crucially it didn't loose a ton of money either.
And in the meantime the competent people his money bought him handled his real estate professionally, providing a steady income that let him continue living a life of luxury.
Eventually he got famous enough to become a reality TV-star which stroked his ego perfectly - and sold the image of him as this great businessman to a lot of Americans who didn't know any better.
So yes, like Rex Tillerson said - he's a "f*king moron". He just happened to be born rich and that wealth have made it possible for him to coast through life from one disaster to the next.
And now the world get's to see him fuck up the US presidency.
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@WhiskeyWonka
He inherited billions and has made enough disastrous business moves to almost loose it all.
Only reason he didn't is two things:
1.) The US tax code is written to preserve wealth in the hands of morons like him. It's actually hard to loose a fortune as large as he inherited if you just hire competent lawyers that make sure you use all the loopholes in the tax code.
And his money has bought him those lawyers of course.
2.) The same with business - starting out with billions it's easy to hire competent people who run your businesses for you, and Trump did that.
A lot of the wealth he inherited from his father and grandfather was also locked in real estate in and around New York.
Those buildings have only increased in wealth over time, while they produce a steady income from rent.
Again - it's almost impossible to loose money on that.
Instead, what Trump did when his father died, was starting to burn money on idiotic investments because his raging ego made him think he's the greatest businessman ever.
He bought an airline - that folded. He tried to buy an NFL-team but couldn't get one, so he bought a team in the competing USFL instead - that folded. He bought casinos - they folded (yes - he LOST money owning casinos - that's how bad a businessman he is).
After that a tax return released in one of the thousands of lawsuits he's been involved in showed he reported a PERSONAL loss of almost a billion USD in just one year.
He was wasting his inheritance - and fast.
Then he actually wised up and stopped doing these huge, disastrous deals, and started marketing small stuff instead. That's when the world got "Trump Steaks", "Trump Water", "Trump The boardgame" and all that other crap.
Didn't make much money, but he got to put his name on stuff and crucially it didn't loose a ton of money either.
And in the meantime the competent people his money bought him handled his real estate professionally, providing a steady income that let him continue living a life of luxury.
Eventually he got famous enough to become a reality TV-star which stroked his ego perfectly - and sold the image of him as this great businessman to a lot of Americans who didn't know any better.
So yes, like Rex Tillerson said - he's a "f*king moron". He just happened to be born rich and that wealth have made it possible for him to coast through life from one disaster to the next.
And now the world get's to see him fuck up the US presidency.