United States: how candidate Trump built his empire
VIDEO - Hated in his camp, the American billionaire is today the spoilsport from the primary to the Republican nomination. His strength ? An unlimited financial power that would allow it to finance several presidential campaigns on its own.
The scene alone represents the whole image of a man significantly different from the others. On June 16, when he announced his candidacy for the supreme office of President of the United States, the neo-candidate Donald Trump found himself faced with an unprecedented situation: no electoral stronghold and no elected official record. its assets. To launch his conquest of power, the American billionaire has therefore chosen, in all sobriety, to bring together the press and his campaign team within the Trump Tower. The what? Yes, the Trump Tower, symbol of the tycoon's empire, built in 1983 and presenting imposing figures: 58 floors, 202 meters high with at its heart, a giant artificial waterfall spanning five floors. Quite a symbol, on New York's Fifth Avenue, the most famous in Manhatan.
A fortune estimated at $ 4 billion
From the outset, Donald Trump said he wanted to restore America's pride, criticizing a political class "corrupt", "stupid" and "controlled by lobbies and special interests". His stated objective is clear: “The American dream is dead. But if I am elected, he will come back stronger and better than before ”. Born in 1946 in New York, Trump finally gets his goal.
"Donald Trump cannot surf the self-made-man side, but Americans today remain impressed by this genius side of business," explains political scientist Marie-Cécile Naves. Even if he failed several times, he always knew how to bounce back and that is what is well regarded in the United States. There, he succeeded in deciding with the seriousness of the other candidates while posing a confusion of genres in the campaign by mixing the televised showman and the political figure ”. He is listened to, loved by a certain fringe of disappointed America, and above all sublimated by a limitless fortune.
Because there is the strength of candidate Donald Trump. The man is rich, very rich. According to the latest estimates, Forbes magazine estimated the curator's fortune at $ 4 billion, or about 3.6 billion euros. He estimates it between "eight and ten billion dollars". A financial height that allows him to advance as the richest candidate in the United States.
515 functions, 168 sources of income, 23 real estate
A few weeks ago, Donald Trump published his declaration of property, assets and debts in a form sent to the federal electoral commission. According to the document, the billionaire earned, excluding capital income, rents and royalties, the sum of $ 362 million in 2014, including $ 27 million from the sale of shares. He also claimed to derive his wealth from 515 functions and 168 different sources of income. This is in addition to the ownership of 23 properties, each valued at around $ 50 million. Figures that turn heads and a business success that has established itself as its main electoral argument. A trajectory credited with nearly 20% of voting intentions on average, almost 7 points ahead of the second, Scott Walker, before the debate tonight.
Donald Trump has built almost all of his fortune in the real estate sector where he gets his first foothold with his father, manager of a real estate development company. He is gradually setting up his own business by investing heavily in rental housing in the New York district of Manhattan. As a result, the sector tycoon has built many prestigious buildings, most of which bear his name: the Trump Tower therefore, but also the "Trump Taj Mahal", a 130-meter-high casino in Atlantic City, New York. Jersey. Donald Trump currently owns three casinos, which have already gone bankrupt four times since the 1990s.
"I have used the laws of this country, I employ thousands of people and I create wealth"
A wrestling lover, Trump has also invested heavily in the entertainment industry. Since 1996, the man is quite simply the owner of the organization of the beauty contest "Miss Universe". Problem, these last remarks on Mexican immigrants composed, according to him, in majority of “rapists” and “criminals”, caused controversy in Mexico and Colombia in particular. The NBC channel has already announced its desire to no longer broadcast the program. The billionaire is also the producer and host of The Celebrity Apprentice, a reality show broadcast on NBC since 2004, and which will land in September on M6. The goal? Show Americans cohabiting in the Trump World Tower and judge their good, or bad, management. An activity that earns him nearly $ 15 million per episode. Still, the Trump Empire has its hidden side, that of a relatively fragile house of cards in places.
Donald Trump has lost several bets through megalomania. In thirty years, the billionaire has seen the birth of his bottle of vodka, his perfume, his airline, his brand of chopped steaks, a board game, water ... In 2013, he was even sentenced by the American courts. to a fine of $ 40 million (36 million euros) for founding a university without state accreditation. Between 2005 and 2011, more than 5,000 Americans were reportedly cheated into spending $ 40 million to attend classes at Trump University.
To defend himself, Donald Trump explained during the first debate broadcast on the night of Thursday to Friday that he had simply “used American laws, in particular Chapter 11 on bankruptcy, like many businessmen. But today I employ thousands of people, I create wealth. This country has a huge debt, it takes a man like me to settle that ”. However, the last outing on CBS, Trump admitted "doing everything to pay as little tax as possible". A new attack on a government which it considers detestable in "the way of wasting our money". The war of words continues.
