Donald J. Trump is the very definition of the American success story, continually setting the standards of excellence while expanding his interests in real estate, sports, and entertainment. He is the archetypal businessman –– a deal maker without peer.
Mr. Trump started his business career in an office he shared with his father in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York. He worked with his father for five years, where they were busy making deals together. Mr. Trump has been quoted as saying, “"My father was my mentor, and I learned a tremendous amount about every aspect of the construction industry from him.”" Likewise, Fred C. Trump often stated that “"some of my best deals were made by my son, Donald...everything he touches seems to turn to gold.”" Mr. Trump then entered the very different world of Manhattan real estate.
In New York City and around the world, the Trump signature is synonymous with the most prestigious of addresses. Among them are the world-renowned Fifth Avenue skyscraper, Trump Tower, and the luxury residential buildings, Trump Parc, Trump Palace, Trump Plaza, 610 Park Avenue, The Trump World Tower (the tallest building on the East Side of Manhattan), and Trump Park Avenue. Mr. Trump was also responsible for the designation and construction of the Jacob Javits Convention Center on land controlled by him, known as the West 34th Street Railroad Yards, and the total exterior restoration of the Grand Central Terminal as part of his conversion of the neighboring Commodore Hotel into the Grand Hyatt Hotel. The development is considered one of the most successful restorations in the City and earned Mr. Trump an award from Manhattan’'s Community Board Five for the "“tasteful and creative recycling of a distinguished hotel."” Over the years, Mr. Trump has owned and sold many great buildings in New York including the Plaza Hotel (which he renovated and brought back to its original grandeur, as heralded by the New York Times Magazine), the St. Moritz Hotel (three times and now called the Ritz Carlton on Central Park South) and until 2002, the land under the Empire State Building (which allowed the land and lease to be merged together for the first time in over 50 years).
Additionally, the NikeTown store is owned by Mr. Trump, on East 57th Street and adjacent to Tiffany's. In early 2008, Gucci opened their largest store in the world in Trump Tower.
In 1997, the Trump International Hotel & Tower opened its doors to the world. This 52 story mixed–use super luxury hotel and residential building is located on the crossroads of Manhattan's West Side, on Central Park West at Columbus Circle. It was designed by the world-famous architect, Philip Johnson, and has achieved some of the highest sales prices and rentals in the United States. As one of only three hotels in the nation to have received a double Forbes Five-Star rating for both the hotel and its restaurant, Jean-Georges, it has also received the Five Star Diamond Award from the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences, and was voted the number one business hotel in New York City by Travel + Leisure Magazine. Conde Nast Traveler Magazine has named it the number one hotel in the US, and its innovative concept has been copied worldwide. It has won the Forbes Five-Star Hotel Award each year from 2009 to 2015 and ranked in the Conde Nast Traveler "Readers' Choice" awards every year since 2010. This year marks the eighteenth anniversary of this Trump Hotel Collection gem.
Other acquisitions in New York City include The Trump Building at 40 Wall Street, the landmark 1.3 million square foot, 72-story building located in Manhattan's Financial District, directly across from the New York Stock Exchange and the tallest building in downtown Manhattan. This purchase, which took place at the depths of the New York City real estate market, is said to be one of the best real estate deals made in the last twenty-five years and is considered to have one of the most beautiful "Tops" of any building in the country. In addition, Mr. Trump built 610 Park Avenue (at 64th Street), formerly known as the Mayfair Regent Hotel, which was very successfully converted into super-luxury condominium apartments achieving, at that time, the highest prices on Park Avenue. Further east, adjacent to the United Nations, sits the spectacular Trump World Tower, a 90-story luxury residential building and one of the tallest residential towers in the world. The Trump World Tower has received rave reviews from the architectural critics, with Herbert Muschamp of the New York Times calling it "a handsome hunk of a glass tower." Likewise, Trump World Tower is considered one of the most successful condominium towers ever built in the United States.
In 2001, Mr. Trump announced plans for his first foray into Chicago, where he planned to build the Trump International Hotel & Tower/Chicago. The 2.7 million square foot, 92-story mixed-use tower is located on the banks of the Chicago River, directly west of Michigan Avenue (the most prominent site in Chicago), and is one of the tallest residences in the world and the ninth tallest building in the world. The architect is Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Chicago, and the tower also includes four levels of retail shops. The hotel opened in January of 2008 to great acclaim, and in 2010 received Travel + Leisure Magazine's award as the #1 Hotel in the US and Canada as well as their "World's Best Business Hotel" Award in 2014. Conde Nast Traveler ranked the hotel in its "Readers' Choice Awards" every year since 2011. The hotel has earned Five-Star ratings for hotel and restaurant in the Forbes Travel Guide Awards in 2014 and 2015, and has been a AAA Five Diamond Hotel award winner since 2011.
In 2002, Mr. Trump purchased the fabled Delmonico Hotel, located at 59th Street and Park Avenue and re-developed it into a state-of-the-art luxury 35 story condominium named Trump Park Avenue. It was Mr. Trump's desire to make this one of the most luxurious buildings in New York City, which was achieved. Mr. Trump has been lauded by a multitude of publications for having retained the grandeur and charm of the building while incorporating 21st century services and amenities. Mr. Trump is co-owner, with Vornado Realty Trust, of the iconic 555 California Street Tower (The Bank of America building) in San Francisco, one of the most important office buildings on the West Coast of the U.S., and the prized 1290 Avenue of the Americas building, one of New York's biggest buildings with the largest office floorplates in New York.
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