Donald Trump’s net worth hits US$6.5 billion, one of world’s 500 richest

[Dos Equis]

Trump's life is definitely the stuff of a Hollywood movie and it gets more interesting each day.

People admire a rebel, like Trump, especially those who are anti the status quo.

That's how he entered in 2015:  as a rebel.  He still is.  Part of the reason people hate him is he is outside the box and cannot be controlled.  I wish he would control his mouth, but that's not who he is.

[OzmO]

That's really why you cannot admit the obvious.  It's an emotional response based on hatred of the man.  I was where you are 2016, and made an emotional decision, based in part on false info (allegedly mocking a disabled reporter) to not vote for him.  But I was able to put the emotion aside and focus on what he actually did as POTUS (rather than what he said on Twitter, etc.).  When I did that, I could clearly see and accept the fact he was an outstanding Commander in Chief, nailed the tax issue, and presided over one of the best economies in American history. 

In the same vein, I can put the emotion aside and look at what he has accomplished during his amazing life. 

I don't agree with all of your characterizations/descriptions of his bad acts, but I'll just address one:  he did not incite a capitol riot.  He expressly told his supporters to "peacefully and patriotically" protest.  That's the opposite of incitement.  It was a dumb thing to do, and terrible optics, but not incitement of a riot.

That’s why I said possibly.  That’s still playing out. So we will see.   

It’s not about emotion at all with me.  He is a degenerate buffoon.   Degenerate among other things that include adultery, paying hush money, and talking about grabbing a women’s vagina without her consent.   A buffoon because of his lack of class and dignity and the crap that comes of his mouth as you have pointed out.   All of which you seem to ignore or dismiss when you seem to characterize him as some great American hero.   I think you are still being emotional. 

Regardless, his record as president isn’t what this discussion is about.  Let’s get back to the contention at hand: Trump is not one of America’s greatest success stories.   I say that because he started with a huge advantage. 

[Dos Equis]

That’s why I said possibly.  That’s still playing out. So we will see.   

It’s not about emotion at all with me.  He is a degenerate buffoon.   Degenerate among other things that include adultery, paying hush money, and talking about grabbing a women’s vagina without her consent.   A buffoon because of his lack of class and dignity and the crap that comes of his mouth as you have pointed out.   All of which you seem to ignore or dismiss when you seem to characterize him as some great American hero.   I think you are still being emotional. 

Regardless, his record as president isn’t what this discussion is about.  Let’s get back to the contention at hand: Trump is not one of America’s greatest success stories.   I say that because he started with a huge advantage.

Where exactly did I call Trump an American hero? 

Zero emotion with me.  Facts over feelings. 

I'm looking at objective facts, all true, regarding what he has accomplished in life.  Did you look at the link I posted earlier showing his hotels, casinos, golf courses, towers, etc. in the U.S. and around the world?   

You want to omit his greatest accomplishment--being elected POTUS and his performance as POTUS--when talking about his success?  That's silly. 

But even if you just focus on what he accomplished before being elected POTUS, it's a list of accomplishments that few people in American history can claim. I get that your only criterion is whether he inherited a bunch of money, but that is really shortsighted.  It assumes that everyone who comes from money cannot be considered incredibly successful, even if they greatly multiply what they inherited.

Now if you want to say that someone who comes from money does not have to work as hard as some kid from the projects, I'm all in.  Just like I often say that Obama the Waianae High School graduate (in the hood) would have never sniffed the presidency.  But Obama the Punahou School graduate (an Ivy League feeder school) had unlimited possibilities.  But that's really a different issue. 

[chaos]

I am not down playing is success.  I am being factual about it.  He started with a shit load of money and advantages over normal people.   Much more than Bezo, Gates, and Buffet.  Oprah, John Shultz (Starbucks), Larry Ellison (oracle) and John Paul Debora (Paul Mitchel) started out with practically nothing.    Becuase of that he is far from being one of americas greatest success stories.

Fair enough.

[chaos]

That's how he entered in 2015:  as a rebel.  He still is.  Part of the reason people hate him is he is outside the box and cannot be controlled.  I wish he would control his mouth, but that's not who he is.

His biggest enemy.

[OzmO]

Where exactly did I call Trump an American hero? 

And let's not mention this man then became one of 46 people in American history to become POTUS, despite campaigns by the FBI, DOJ, Obama, the media, academia, Hollywood, etc.  Plus did an outstanding job as POTUS.
 
He did all this while being involved with beautiful women and has a beautiful wife.  And raised three successful kids and one rising adult.   

The man's life is a Hollywood movie.   

Combine this with saying he is one of America's greatest success stories, how he's a rebel, and you are pretty much saying he is an American hero.

Zero emotion with me.  Facts over feelings. 

I'm looking at objective facts, all true, regarding what he has accomplished in life.  Did you look at the link I posted earlier showing his hotels, casinos, golf courses, towers, etc. in the U.S. and around the world?   

You want to omit his greatest accomplishment--being elected POTUS and his performance as POTUS--when talking about his success?  That's silly. 

But even if you just focus on what he accomplished before being elected POTUS, it's a list of accomplishments that few people in American history can claim. I get that your only criterion is whether he inherited a bunch of money, but that is really shortsighted.  It assumes that everyone who comes from money cannot be considered incredibly successful, even if they greatly multiply what they inherited.

Now if you want to say that someone who comes from money does not have to work as hard as some kid from the projects, I'm all in.  Just like I often say that Obama the Waianae High School graduate (in the hood) would have never sniffed the presidency.  But Obama the Punahou School graduate (an Ivy League feeder school) had unlimited possibilities.  But that's really a different issue.

He is an American success story.  He took whatever he got from his father and grew an empire from it.

Here is what Claude had to say:

It's difficult to pinpoint an exact amount that Donald Trump received from his father Fred Trump to start his business empire. However, it's widely acknowledged that he benefited significantly from his father's wealth and real estate business in New York City.

Some key points about Donald Trump's inheritance and financial assistance from his father:

In the 1970s, Fred Trump allegedly lent his son at least $60 million, according to a 2018 New York Times investigation. This provided Donald with a huge amount of capital to reinvest in real estate.

Trump was also reported to have received the equivalent of at least $413 million from his father's business empire over his lifetime, according to the Times report. This was through loans, investment money, and inherited wealth.

Trump has downplayed this assistance over the years, claiming he built his empire with just a "small loan of $1 million" from his father. But most analysts agree the financial help was far more substantial than that.

Through opaque techniques like exploiting loopholes and undervaluing real estate, the Times reported the Trump family may have avoided paying hundreds of millions in gift taxes on money transferred to Donald from his father's empire.

So while an exact dollar figure is difficult to cite, financial experts agree Donald Trump benefited enormously from his father's an initial investment of tens of millions of dollars, if not more, to get his real estate business off the ground. The inherited money gave him a tremendous head start over starting from scratch.

60 million in 1979 (1970s) is equivalent to 247 million dollars today. 

Donald Trump did well with that money creating a brand and a business empire worth 2-7 billion. 

But no way does that make him one of Americas greatest success stories.

Add this to the context and it puts him even further away:

Mutliple divorces, adultery, admitting to sexual harrassment on tape, under multiple inditments, including fraud, paying hush money, slander and possibly election interference and inciting the capitol riot.

Also, refusing to leave office with dignity when losing the election, being impeached, poor leadership and handling of the COVID pandemic and the riots.


Now his merits as POTUS are not to be dismissed.  He did good things for sure.  Trade deals, tax cuts, job growth, etc.

But in the spirit of being objective, you can't dismiss his lack of moral character, lack of leadership late in his presidency, and lack of class leaving it.  I mean for crying out loud, he talked about how committing sexual assault was ok on tape.

From an "emotional" POV lol, I should want him to go bankrupt with the fraud thing.  However, I think its not right and mostly BS. 

[Grape Ape]

Ozmo's stuff is fine, but as for the "grab her by the pussy", all he was conveying is that when you are rich and famous, women let you treat them differently.

I remember James Hetfield saying once, after a show, 8 women surrounded him, dragged him into the shower and all soaped him up and stuff.  He could have grabbed any of their pussies without issue.

Same thing.

[Gym Rat]

Donald might have said it, Joe did DO it...

Joe "Tara Reade finger-rapist" Biden.

[Dos Equis]

Combine this with saying he is one of America's greatest success stories, how he's a rebel, and you are pretty much saying he is an American hero.

He is an American success story.  He took whatever he got from his father and grew an empire from it.

Here is what Claude had to say:

60 million in 1979 (1970s) is equivalent to 247 million dollars today. 

Donald Trump did well with that money creating a brand and a business empire worth 2-7 billion. 

But no way does that make him one of Americas greatest success stories.

Add this to the context and it puts him even further away:

Mutliple divorces, adultery, admitting to sexual harrassment on tape, under multiple inditments, including fraud, paying hush money, slander and possibly election interference and inciting the capitol riot.

Also, refusing to leave office with dignity when losing the election, being impeached, poor leadership and handling of the COVID pandemic and the riots.


Now his merits as POTUS are not to be dismissed.  He did good things for sure.  Trade deals, tax cuts, job growth, etc.

But in the spirit of being objective, you can't dismiss his lack of moral character, lack of leadership late in his presidency, and lack of class leaving it.  I mean for crying out loud, he talked about how committing sexual assault was ok on tape.

From an "emotional" POV lol, I should want him to go bankrupt with the fraud thing.  However, I think its not right and mostly BS.

I did not call Trump an American hero and I did not "pretty much" call him an American hero.  If you want to know the kinds of people I consider to be American heroes, check out this thread.  Trump is nowhere to be found.  https://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php?topic=323452.msg4584449#msg4584449

No one is an American hero because they have had a remarkably successful life.  That is a total straw man.

Claude isn't anymore reliable than that other site.  It relies on a "New York Times investigation."  You gotta be kidding me.  It says Trump was "reported" to have the equivalent of $413M loan from his father.  Reported by whom?  Not a reliable source. 

But let's assume his father loaned him $60M (even though there is no proof of this).  All that means is he had a tremendous head start.  He could have gambled or snorted the money away.  This isn't a situation where Trump's father built a billion dollar real estate empire and Trump just stepped in and took over.  For example, if years from now we are having this discussion about Don Jr., Eric, or Ivanaka Trump, I would agree with you because the billion dollar business was already in place for them.  But here, Trump took whatever his father loaned him and developed hotels, casinos, golf courses, towers, etc. all over the U.S. and all over the world and made his name/brand one of the most profitable and recognized in the world.  You should look at the link I posted to get an idea of just how expansive and successful he as been.  It's unreasonable to deny his success when you take an objective look at the facts.

Multiple divorces, adultery, multiple partisan, absolute BS indictments have zero to do with his success.  If you are trying to say he is immoral then it might be relevant.  But you discount the number of successful ventures he has that made him one of the wealthiest persons on earth because he cheated on his wife?  That makes no sense. 

I will definitely say that his poor judgment on January 6 does not change the incredible things he did as POTUS.  No way.  He didn't just do "good things."  Lowering the corporate tax rate from the highest in the industrialized world to 21 percent was fantastic.  That more than anything spurred the record-setting economic growth.  Presiding over one of the best (if not the best) economies in history (according to an MSNBC host) is better than "good."  Being the first president in decades not to start a military conflict is better than good.  Taking back the territory we lost to ISIS in Iraq and Syria in less than one year is better than good.  Record-setting employment numbers is better than good.  Brokering peace deals in the Middle East and getting multiple Nobel Peace Prize nominations for what he actually did (instead of potential like Obama) is better than good.  Making us energy independent was better than good.  And how much are you paying for gas and food?  There is more, but you can tell me that his conduct on January 6 overshadows what he accomplished, but it really isn't logical.

Grape Ape already addressed the "grab em" comment, but that Access Hollywood tape was from 2005.  What does that have to do with his presidency?     

[chaos]

Combine this with saying he is one of America's greatest success stories, how he's a rebel, and you are pretty much saying he is an American hero.

He is an American success story.  He took whatever he got from his father and grew an empire from it.

Here is what Claude had to say:

60 million in 1979 (1970s) is equivalent to 247 million dollars today. 

Donald Trump did well with that money creating a brand and a business empire worth 2-7 billion. 

But no way does that make him one of Americas greatest success stories.

Add this to the context and it puts him even further away:

Mutliple divorces, adultery, admitting to sexual harrassment on tape, under multiple inditments, including fraud, paying hush money, slander and possibly election interference and inciting the capitol riot.

Also, refusing to leave office with dignity when losing the election, being impeached, poor leadership and handling of the COVID pandemic and the riots.


Now his merits as POTUS are not to be dismissed.  He did good things for sure.  Trade deals, tax cuts, job growth, etc.

But in the spirit of being objective, you can't dismiss his lack of moral character, lack of leadership late in his presidency, and lack of class leaving it.  I mean for crying out loud, he talked about how committing sexual assault was ok on tape.

From an "emotional" POV lol, I should want him to go bankrupt with the fraud thing.  However, I think its not right and mostly BS.

The lack of moral character thing is hilarious, as if any president has been without his scandals and questionable morals. If only he had banged the chick with a cigar and blew his load all over her dress then he would be forgiven. Every president has questionable morals, read a little history and see for yourself. Difference is with Trump the media had it on rotate 24/7/365 on every single platform imaginable.

[OzmO]

The lack of moral character thing is hilarious, as if any president has been without his scandals and questionable morals. If only he had banged the chick with a cigar and blew his load all over her dress then he would be forgiven. Every president has questionable morals, read a little history and see for yourself. Difference is with Trump the media had it on rotate 24/7/365 on every single platform imaginable.

Maybe I am old-fashioned.  But I want a POTUS with a moral character not limited to infidelity.

[Grape Ape]

Maybe I am old-fashioned.  But I want a POTUS with a moral character not limited to infidelity.

Has that ever happened?

[OzmO]

I did not call Trump an American hero and I did not "pretty much" call him an American hero.  If you want to know the kinds of people I consider to be American heroes, check out this thread.  Trump is nowhere to be found.  https://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php?topic=323452.msg4584449#msg4584449

I think you pretty much did.  I think you are smitten with him.

No one is an American hero because they have had a remarkably successful life.  That is a total straw man.

Claude isn't anymore reliable than that other site.  It relies on a "New York Times investigation."  You gotta be kidding me.  It says Trump was "reported" to have the equivalent of $413M loan from his father.  Reported by whom?  Not a reliable source. 

But let's assume his father loaned him $60M (even though there is no proof of this).  All that means is he had a tremendous head start.  He could have gambled or snorted the money away.  This isn't a situation where Trump's father built a billion dollar real estate empire and Trump just stepped in and took over.  For example, if years from now we are having this discussion about Don Jr., Eric, or Ivanaka Trump, I would agree with you because the billion dollar business was already in place for them.  But here, Trump took whatever his father loaned him and developed hotels, casinos, golf courses, towers, etc. all over the U.S. and all over the world and made his name/brand one of the most profitable and recognized in the world.  You should look at the link I posted to get an idea of just how expansive and successful he as been.  It's unreasonable to deny his success when you take an objective look at the facts.

Multiple divorces, adultery, multiple partisan, absolute BS indictments have zero to do with his success.  If you are trying to say he is immoral then it might be relevant.  But you discount the number of successful ventures he has that made him one of the wealthiest persons on earth because he cheated on his wife?  That makes no sense. 

I will definitely say that his poor judgment on January 6 does not change the incredible things he did as POTUS.  No way.  He didn't just do "good things."  Lowering the corporate tax rate from the highest in the industrialized world to 21 percent was fantastic.  That more than anything spurred the record-setting economic growth.  Presiding over one of the best (if not the best) economies in history (according to an MSNBC host) is better than "good."  Being the first president in decades not to start a military conflict is better than good.  Taking back the territory we lost to ISIS in Iraq and Syria in less than one year is better than good.  Record-setting employment numbers is better than good.  Brokering peace deals in the Middle East and getting multiple Nobel Peace Prize nominations for what he actually did (instead of potential like Obama) is better than good.  Making us energy independent was better than good.  And how much are you paying for gas and food?  There is more, but you can tell me that his conduct on January 6 overshadows what he accomplished, but it really isn't logical.

Grape Ape already addressed the "grab em" comment, but that Access Hollywood tape was from 2005.  What does that have to do with his presidency?     

I think I should say this again.  I am not dismissing or discounting his success.  I am saying he is not one of America's greatest success stories.

PS.  You should probably catch up on AI.  Large language models and large action models are developing at a rapid rate.  Very soon it's going to be like the computer on Star Trek.

[OzmO]

Has that ever happened?

Probably not.  I don't expect a POTUS to be a saint.  But I think we can agree there should be some standards.

I had a hard time explaining to my 10 and 13-year-old kids about Clinton.   

[Sexy Beast]

Congratulations are in order for Truth Social

DJT is now the most expensive stock to short...by far


Trump Media, which began being publicly traded last week, is now far and away the most expensive stock to sell short, according to S3 Partners, a leading financial data marketplace platform.

Investors who wanted to borrow Trump Media shares to sell them short on Wednesday would have had to pay financing costs of between 750% and 900% of the price of the stock annually, said Ihor Dusaniwsky, managing director of predictive analytics at S3 Partners.

Meanwhile, existing short positions in Trump Media are paying costs of 565% annually, he said.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/03/trump-media-is-the-most-expensive-us-stock-to-short-by-far.html

[LurkerNoMore]

The only thing Trumpy is successful at is getting involved in lawsuits, losing lawsuits, and conning people who support him.

[Sexy Beast]

It's laughable to claim that Trump is some kind of self made success story

Fred Trump engaged in the same type of tax and asset fraud that his son has been convicted of in New York

He gave millions to all his kids through various schemes and tax dodges and his father bailed him out of multiple business failures well into his adult life

Trump's older sister resigned in February as an appellate court judge 10 days after a probe opened into her involvement in a family tax evasion scheme. The case into judicial misconduct was closed after Barry resigned because retired judges are not subject to judicial conduct rules

The Trump "family business" model starting with his father is based on fraud, grift, and cheating and not paying people who worked for you.
Every single part of the Trump success story is a lie and a scam.   

This information has been in the public domain for 6+ years so it's really stunning that anyone still believes the myth that Trump is some kind of self made American success story.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/trumps-father-gave-his-son-at-least-413-million-new-york-times-2018-10-02

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/02/trumps-small-loan-from-his-father-was-more-like-60point7-million-nyt.html

https://apnews.com/article/0452d29cd2564eaf97605ab90acc3a67

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6912465/Trumps-sister-quit-federal-judge-probe-possible-role-family-tax-scam-opened.html

[Sexy Beast]

The only thing Trumpy is successful at is getting involved in lawsuits, losing lawsuits, and conning people who support him.

This is his one actual real skill in life

I will give him credit for that

[OzmO]

It's laughable to claim that Trump is some kind of self made success story

Fred Trump engaged in the same type of tax and asset fraud that his son has been convicted of in New York

He gave millions to all his kids through various schemes and tax dodges and his father bailed him out of multiple business failures well into his adult life

Trump's older sister resigned in February as an appellate court judge 10 days after a probe opened into her involvement in a family tax evasion scheme. The case into judicial misconduct was closed after Barry resigned because retired judges are not subject to judicial conduct rules

The Trump "family business" model starting with his father is based on fraud, grift, and cheating and not paying people who worked for you.
Every single part of the Trump success story is a lie and a scam.   

This information has been in the public domain for 6+ years so it's really stunning that anyone still believes the myth that Trump is some kind of self made American success story.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/trumps-father-gave-his-son-at-least-413-million-new-york-times-2018-10-02

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/02/trumps-small-loan-from-his-father-was-more-like-60point7-million-nyt.html

https://apnews.com/article/0452d29cd2564eaf97605ab90acc3a67

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6912465/Trumps-sister-quit-federal-judge-probe-possible-role-family-tax-scam-opened.html

Donald Trump is one of America's greatest success stories.  And any website, AI, investigation, report etc. that says otherwise is complete bullshit. The man practically started with nothing, grew an empire, fucked beautiful women, and became the POTUS.  A fucking miniseries should be made about him!!   

[Sexy Beast]

I forgot to mention that the New York Times won a Pulitzer Prize for their story about Fred Trumps tax grift

Trump sued (of course) and lost (of course)

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/12/trump-ordered-to-pay-new-york-times-reporters-over-lawsuit.html

I'm aware that Trump supporters will not be swayed by any of these facts

Their devotion to Trump and his the myth of his success is not based on facts but rather a weird kind of emotional commitment to what they think he represents

[OzmO]

I forgot to mention that the New York Times won a Pulitzer Prize for their story about Fred Trumps tax grift

Trump sued (of course) and lost (of course)

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/12/trump-ordered-to-pay-new-york-times-reporters-over-lawsuit.html

I'm aware that Trump supporters will not be swayed by any of these facts

Their devotion to Trump and his the myth of his success is not based on facts but rather a weird kind of emotional commitment to what they think he represents

Obviously, the Pulitzer Prize people had TDS.

[LurkerNoMore]

Donald Trump is one of America's greatest success stories.  And any website, AI, investigation, report etc. that says otherwise is complete bullshit. The man practically started with nothing, grew an empire, fucked beautiful women, and became the POTUS.  A fucking miniseries should be made about him!!   

Trumpturds brag about how Trumpy banged porn stars.

Trumpy denies he ever had sex with porn stars.

Someone is a liar.   

[Primemuscle]

Maybe I am old-fashioned.  But I want a POTUS with a moral character not limited to infidelity.

What were Jimmy Carter's questionable morals? There are many presidents whose morals never came into question. Anyone can assume anything about someone else (including their morals), this does not make it a fact.   

[Dos Equis]

I think you pretty much did.  I think you are smitten with him.

I think I should say this again.  I am not dismissing or discounting his success.  I am saying he is not one of America's greatest success stories.

PS.  You should probably catch up on AI.  Large language models and large action models are developing at a rapid rate.  Very soon it's going to be like the computer on Star Trek.

Yes I am so smitten I didn't vote for him in 2016.  lol  Just a laughable red herring.   

AI?  Meh.  If it's anything like you posted, I am not impressed.  I don't need some AI telling me to rely on the New York Times or unnamed "reports" and sources, particularly when I have known reliable information.  Sounds like those "fact checking" websites. 

This entire conversation reminds me of two separate talks I had with a couple of Trump-hating friends during the first two years his of presidency.  Both are very successful small business owners (although one recently retired).  The first, a fairly young guy, said that after the Trump tax cuts and reduction in administrative rules, his business boomed and he was going to have the most profitable year ever.  I asked him if he was now a Trump supporter.  He said no way, because he thought Trump was a bad person just did not like him.

My other friend told me that Trump had accomplished nothing during his presidency.  When I ran down the list of accomplishments, there was a pause, and he said:  "But you would agree with me that he is a terrible person." 

That's what Trump Derangement Syndrome and emotional decision making looks like.  You are doing the same thing. 

But I'm not going to repeat all of the objective facts that I laid out.  Or repost the link showing just how extensive and expansive his success has been.  The facts don't matter when you are caught up in your feelings. 

So we can just agree to disagree.   

[Primemuscle]

Yes I am so smitten I didn't vote for him in 2016.  lol  Just a laughable red herring.   

AI?  Meh.  If it's anything like you posted, I am not impressed.  I don't need some AI telling me to rely on the New York Times or unnamed "reports" and sources, particularly when I have known reliable information.  Sounds like those "fact checking" websites. 

This entire conversation reminds me of two separate talks I had with a couple of Trump-hating friends during the first two years his of presidency.  Both are very successful small business owners (although one recently retired).  The first, a fairly young guy, said that after the Trump tax cuts and reduction in administrative rules, his business boomed and he was going to have the most profitable year ever.  I asked him if he was now a Trump supporter.  He said no way, because he thought Trump was a bad person just did not like him.

My other friend told me that Trump had accomplished nothing during his presidency.  When I ran down the list of accomplishments, there was a pause, and he said:  "But you would agree with me that he is a terrible person." 

That's what Trump Derangement Syndrome and emotional decision making looks like.  You are doing the same thing. 

But I'm not going to repeat all of the objective facts that I laid out.  Or repost the link showing just how extensive and expansive his success has been.  The facts don't matter when you are caught up in your feelings. 

So we can just agree to disagree.

You should post that list you gave your friend of Trump's accomplishment while in office here on Getbig.