WHEN Donald Trump announced that he was running for the White House, there was only one venue for his speech: Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue. The skyscraper has been central to Mr Trump’s business life. Built between 1979 and 1984, it was a triumph for a young property mogul whose father rented out mere apartments in Brooklyn. Nearby is the Plaza Hotel, which a middle-aged Mr Trump sold in 1995 after his casino operation folded. Today half his wealth is still tied up in buildings within a four-mile radius of this spot. The Tower’s bar exemplifies Mr Trump’s late-life pivot to the business of celebrity, with cocktails named after his TV show The Apprentice, which was filmed there. A gift shop stocks Trump aftershave that “captures the spirit of the driven man”.
Mr Trump’s drive and ownership of Trump Tower are among the few clear and consistent features of his 40-year business life. Much else is opaque, volatile and contested. Mr Trump sees himself as a largely self-made man whose global career qualifies him to be president: “Nobody in the history of the presidency has been nearly as successful as I have,” he says....Continue reading
Source: United States http://ift.tt/1QnSwxn
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