Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa Real Estate Investor Magazine - September 2017 | Page 13

Impact of Trump presidency on
investors turbulent
BY MONIQUE DU TOIT & NEALE PETERSEN
D
onald Trump has always at-
tracted attention: good or bad.
Starting from his privileged
upbringing in New York, to his incred-
ible rise to power in the United States
as president. This has handed him ego,
money and power that is found to be
damaging rather than complimentary to
investors and consumers. A recent con-
versation on Fox TV, ardent supporter of
Republicans and general conservatism,
had much to reveal about President
Trump’s current problem. A surpris-
ing election followed many months of
speaking to the rising Populist move-
ment in the U.S.
Trump’s campaign was grounded in
the ways in which he promised to fix
America’s problem - from global trade
to domestic terrorism. Trump had much
to say about President Obama’s way of
doing things. In his opinion (and, it
turns out, the opinion of millions of vot-
ers) the government was losing.
It’s nothing new for the opposition
party or candidate to find fault with
those in charge. This is, after all, what
politics is all about. Trump’s problem
started once he was actually elected to
the very office he so enjoyed criticising.
It seems he’s come to realise, as so many
others have, that being the President is
ever so slightly more complex than he
may have anticipated. As a campaign-
er, he was free to badmouth whomever
he wished, the only punishment being
increased media attention. Inside the
Oval Office, however, he’s had to
find ways to bring his plans to
fruition.
Following the surprise
victory in November,
countless articles have
been written about
the repercussions of a
Trump-run America.
Gleeful
journalists
have had more than
their fair share of
material to work
with, with a new
story up for grabs
on a seemingly
daily basis. At the
time of print, the
president
has
found himself
in yet another sticky situation, following
a terror-attack at a white supremacist
march in Charlottesville. Seemingly
constant shuffles in White House staff
have done little to appease critics, with
even the most loyal Trump supporters
distancing themselves.
As is the case with any politician,
potential conflicts of interest are placed
under the microscope. In Trump’s case,
this involves his family’s The Trump Or-
ganisation. After his victory, the presi-
dent-elect announced that he would be
removing himself from the business,
in order to “fully focus on running the
country.” While this is all good and well,
it remains interesting to compare the
businessman to the president.
Trump the advent of an icon-
ic real estate investor
Donald Trump was known for backing
himself and making big bets on real es-
tate and his branded business ‘Trump’.
The Trump Organisation includes, ac-
cording to Business Insider, “a portfolio
of real estate, hotels, and golf courses, as
well as investments in clothing and oth-
er products.” Importantly, most of these
aren't owned by the organisation, but are
“instead a result of licensing agreements
made with other development compa-
nies”
The man that would eventually be-
come president was born in 1946 in
Queens, New York. His father, Freder-
ick Trump, was a builder and property
developer specialising in the construc-
tion and operation of apartments. Due
to behavioural problems, Donald Trump
was sent to the New York Military
Academy at age 13. Following his grad-
uation, he attended Fordham University
for a few years, before transferring to
Wharton School of Finance to pursue a
degree in economics.
The property business ran in Trump’s
blood, leading to him joining the fami-
ly business after his graduation. At the
time, what would become The Trump
Organisation was known as Elizabeth
Trump & Son. In 1971, Trump is given
control of the company, moves to Man-
hattan, and sets his sights on building an
empire. An opportunist from a young
age, Trump managed to take advantage
of economic downturns at the time by
successfully bidding the use of one of
his properties for the building of a city
convention centre.
In 1973, Trump and his family’s com-
pany is accused of discrimination against
tenants, on the basis of their race. Trump
spoke out against the allegations in an
interview with the New York Times,
stating: “We never have discriminated,
and we never would. There have been a
number of local actions against us, and
we've won them all. We were charged
with discrimination, and we proved
in court that we did not discriminate.”
A settlement agreement is reached in
1975, with Trump’s company being or-
dered to “train employees about the Fair
Housing Act and inform the communi-
ty about its fair housing practices.”
A few years later, Trump purchases a
New York apartment building adjacent
to Central Park. The plan was to demol-
ish the building and erect a large con-
dominium development in its place. The
apartment building tenants managed to
win a lawsuit against the organisation,
forcing Trump to rethink his plans. The
Barbizon-Plaza Hotel, adjacent to the
original apartment building, became the
new site for Trump Parc.
With the declining real estate market
in the early 1990s, Trump’s self-reported
net worth of $1.5 billion dollars was es-
timated by Forbes to be nearer to $500
million. Later in the decade, the mogul
claimed a net worth in region of $2 bil-
lion, leading to “independent sources
again questioning his math, estimating
his worth at something closer to $500
million by 1997.”
The net worth of President-elect
Donald J. Trump was a popular sto-
ry in the presidential election. He has
said on multiple occasions that his net
worth is around $10 billion. But, if you
take the average of the three best outside
estimates, Donald Trump's net worth is
actually $3.5 billion.
Trump has been involved in contro-
versial real estate projects in New York
City, Atlantic City, Florida, Scotland
and Aberbajan. His key real estate and
assets are:
1. The Mar-a-lago Club, Palm
Beach, Florida
2. Trump Helicopter (including a
Sikorsky valued at $7million)
SA Real Estate Investor Magazine SEPTEMBER 2017
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