45th President of the United States

45th President of the United States

Incumbent

Assumed office
January 20, 2017Vice PresidentMike PencePreceded byBarack ObamaPersonal detailsBornDonald John Trump
June 14, 1946 (age 71)
New York CityPolitical partyRepublican (1987–1999, 2009–2011, 2012–present)Other political
affiliations

Independent (2011–2012)Democratic (until 1987, 2001–2009)Reform (1999–2001)

Spouse(s)

Ivana Zelníčková (m. 1977–92)Marla Maples (m. 1993–99)Melania Knauss (m. 2005)

Children

Donald Jr. Ivanka Eric Tiffany Barron

Parents

Fred Trump Mary Anne MacLeod Trump

RelativesSee Family of Donald TrumpResidenceWhite HouseAlma materThe Wharton School (B.S. in Econ.)Occupation

Real estate developer(The Trump Organization)

Television producer(The Apprentice)
US$3.5 billion (May 2017)
Website

White House websitePresidential TwitterPersonal Twitter

Trump was born in Queens, New York City and earned an economics degree from the Wharton School. For 45 years, he managed The Trump Organization, the real estate development firm founded by his paternal grandmother. His careerfocused on building or renovating office towers, hotels, casinos, and golf courses. He startedseveral side ventures and branded various products with his firm's name. He produced and hosted The Apprentice television show for 12 years. As of 2017, he was the 544th richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $3.5 billion.

Trump had long expressed interest in politics; he eventually entered the 2016 presidential race as aRepublican and defeated sixteen opponents in theprimaries. Commentators described his political positions as populist, protectionist, and nationalist. His campaign received extensive free media coverage; many of his public statements werecontroversial or false. Trump won the general election on November 8, 2016, in a surprise victory against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. He became the oldest and wealthiestperson ever to assume the presidency, the first without prior military or government service, andthe fifth to have won the election despite losing the popular vote. His election and policies sparkednumerous protests. Russia attempted to interfere in the election.

In the first months of his presidency, Trump reversed several policies of former PresidentBarack Obama, withdrawing the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Paris Climate Agreement, and undoing parts of theCuban Thaw. Trump appointed Neil Gorsuch to theSupreme Court. He ordered a travel ban on citizens from six Muslim-majority countries that has been partially implemented.[2] After Trumpdismissed FBI Director James Comey, his predecessor Robert Mueller was appointed Special Counsel to investigate Russian interference, potential links with Trump campaign associatesand any related matters.

Family and personal life

Ancestry

Further information: Trump family

Trump's ancestors originated from the German village of Kallstadt, Palatinate, on his father's side, and from the Outer Hebrides isles of Scotland on his mother's side. All his grandparents, and his mother, were born in Europe. His mother's grandfather was also christened "Donald".[3]

Trump's paternal grandfather, Friedrich Trump(later Frederick), first emigrated to the United States in 1885 at the age of 16, and became a citizen in 1892. He amassed a fortune operating boom-town restaurants and boarding houses in the Seattle area and the Klondike region of Canada, during the gold rush.[4] On a visit to Kallstadt, he met Elisabeth Christ and married her in 1902. The couple settled in New York permanently in 1905.[5] Frederick died frominfluenza during the 1918 pandemic.[6]

Trump's father Fred was born in 1905 in the Bronx, and started working with his mother in real estate when he was 15, shortly after his father's death. Their company, Elizabeth Trump and Son, was primarily active in the New York boroughs ofQueens and Brooklyn. Fred eventually built and sold thousands of houses, barracks and apartments.[6][7] The company would later becomeThe Trump Organization after Donald Trump took over in 1971.[8]

Donald's mother Mary Anne was born in Tong, Lewis, Scotland. At age 18 in 1930, she emigrated to New York where she worked as a maid.[9] Fred and Mary were married in 1936 and raised their family in Queens.[9][10]

Fred's brother John (Donald's uncle) became a physicist and inventor.[11]

Early life and education



Trump at New York Military Academy, 1964[12][13]

Donald Trump was born on June 14, 1946, at the Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, Queens, New York City. He was the fourth of five children born to Frederick Christ "Fred" Trump (1905–1999) andMary Anne Trump (née MacLeod, 1912–2000).[14]His siblings are Maryanne (born 1937), Fred Jr. (1938–1981), Elizabeth (born 1942), and Robert (born 1948).

Trump grew up in the Jamaica Estatesneighborhood of Queens, New York. He attended the Kew-Forest School from kindergarten through seventh grade. At age 13, Trump's parents enrolled him in the New York Military Academy, after discovering Donald made frequent trips into Manhattan without permission.[15][16] In August 1964, Trump entered Fordham University.[12][17]He transferred to the Wharton School of theUniversity of Pennsylvania two years later, because it offered one of the few real estate studies departments in United States academia at the time.[18][17]

In addition to his father, Trump was inspired by Manhattan developer William Zeckendorf, vowing to be "even bigger and better".[19] While at Wharton, he worked at the family business, Elizabeth Trump and Son,[20] graduating in May 1968 with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics.[17][21][22]

Trump was not drafted during the Vietnam War.[23] While in college from 1964 to 1968, he obtained four student deferments.[24] In 1966, he was deemed fit for service based upon a military medical examination, and in 1968 was briefly classified as fit by a local draft board, but was given a 1-Y medical deferment in October 1968,[25] attributed to heel spurs.[26] In 1969, he received a high number in the draft lottery, which made him unlikely to be called.[25][27][28]

Family

Main article: Family of Donald Trump



At the January 20 swearing-in: Trump, wife Melania, son Donald Jr., son Barron, daughter Ivanka, son Eric, and daughter Tiffany

Trump has five children by three marriages, and has eight grandchildren.[29][30] His first two marriages ended in widely publicized divorces.[31]

Trump married his first wife, Czech model Ivana Zelníčková, on April 7, 1977, at the Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan in a ceremony performed by the Reverend Norman Vincent Peale.[32][33] They had three children: son Donald Jr. (born December 31, 1977), daughter Ivanka(born October 30, 1981), and son Eric (born January 6, 1984). Ivana became a naturalized United States citizen in 1988.[34] The couple divorced in 1992 following Trump's affair with actress Marla Maples.[35]

In October 1993, Maples gave birth to Trump's daughter Tiffany, named after Tiffany & Company.[36] Maples and Trump were married two months later on December 20, 1993.[37] They were divorced in 1999,[38] and Tiffany was raised by her mother in California.[39]



The President and First Lady at the Liberty Ball onInauguration Day

Trump married Slovene model Melania Knauss on January 22, 2005 at Bethesda-by-the-SeaEpiscopal Church in Palm Beach, Florida, followed by a reception at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.[40]In 2006, Melania acquired United States citizenship[41] and she gave birth to their son Barron on March 20.[42][43] Upon Trump's accession to the presidency, Melania became First Lady of the United States.

Prior to his inauguration as president, Trump delegated the management of his real estate business to his two adult sons, Eric and Don Jr.[44]His daughter Ivanka resigned from The Trump Organization and moved to Washington with her husband Jared Kushner. She serves as assistant to the president,[45] while he is a Senior Advisor in the White House.[46]

Trump's elder sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, is an inactive Federal Appeals Court judge on the Third Circuit.[47]

Religion

Trump's ancestors were Lutherans on his father's side in Germany[48] and Presbyterian on his mother's side in Scotland.[49] His parents married in a Manhattan Presbyterian church in 1936.[50] As a child, he attended the First Presbyterian Churchin Jamaica, Queens, and had his Confirmationthere.[33] In the 1970s, his family joined theMarble Collegiate Church (an affiliate of theReformed Church in America) in Manhattan.[51]The pastor at that church, Norman Vincent Peale, author of The Power of Positive Thinking and The Art of Living, ministered to Trump's family and mentored him until Peale's death in 1993.[52][51]Trump, who is Presbyterian,[53][54] has cited Peale and his works during interviews when asked about the role of religion in his personal life.[51]

Trump participates in Holy Communion, but has said that he does not ask God for forgiveness. He stated: "I think if I do something wrong, I just try and make it right. I don't bring God into that picture."[55] On the campaign trail, Trump has referred to The Art of the Deal as his second favorite book after the Bible, saying "Nothing beats the Bible."[56] In a 2016 speech to Liberty University, he referred to "Two Corinthians" instead of "Second Corinthians", eliciting chuckles from the audience.[57] Despite this, The New York Times reported that Evangelical Christiansnationwide thought "that his heart was in the right place, that his intentions for the country were pure."[58]

Trump has had relationships with a number ofChristian spiritual leaders, including Florida pastorPaula White, who has been called his "closest spiritual confidant."[59] In 2015, he received a blessing from Greek Orthodox priest Emmanuel Lemelson[60] and in 2016, he released a list of his religious advisers, including James Dobson, Jerry Falwell Jr., Ralph Reed and others.[61] Referring to his daughter Ivanka's conversion to Judaismbefore her marriage to Jared Kushner, Trump said: "I have a Jewish daughter; and I am very honored by that."[62]

Health

A 2016 medical report issued by his doctor, Harold Bornstein M.D., showed that Trump's blood pressure, liver and thyroid function were in normal ranges.[63][64] Trump says that he has never smoked cigarettes or consumed other drugs, including marijuana.[65] He also drinks no alcohol, a decision arising in part from watching his older brother Fred Jr. suffer from alcoholism until his early death in 1981.[66][67]

Wealth

Trump said that he began his career with "a small loan of one million dollars" from his father.[68] He appeared on the initial Forbes List of wealthy individuals in 1982 with an estimated $200 million fortune, including an "undefined" share of his parents' estate.[69] During the 1980s he became a billionaire,[70] but he was absent from the Forbeslist from 1990 to 1995 following business losses; he reportedly borrowed from his siblings' trusts in 1993.[69] His father's estate, valued at more than $20 million, was divided in 1999 among Trump, his three surviving siblings and their children.[71][72]

Trump Hotel Las Vegas, with gold infused glass[73]

When he announced his candidacy on June 16, 2015, Trump released a one-page financial summary that stated a net worth of $8,737,540,000.[74] The following month, he filed a 92-page FEC financial disclosure form[75] and declared his net worth was "in excess of ten billion dollars".[76] In his presidential announcement speech, he said "I'm really rich", and stated this would make him less indebted to large campaign donors.[77][78] Forbes believed his net worth estimate was "a whopper", setting their own estimate at $4.1 billion in 2015. Trump valued his "properties under development" at $293 million;Forbes said they could not evaluate those deals, and booked them for $0.[79][80] Trump's 2015 FEC disclosure reported $362 million in total income for the year 2014.[76]

After Trump made controversial remarks about illegal immigrants in 2015, he lost business contracts with several companies, which reduced his Forbes estimate by $125 million.[81] Consumer boycotts and reduced bookings may have further affected his brand value during the presidential campaign.[82][83][84] Trump's 104-page FEC disclosure in May 2016[85] still claimed a total wealth over $10 billion, unchanged from 2015.[75]The release of the Access Hollywood tapes in October 2016 put further pressure on his brand,[86] but real estate experts predicted a positive rebound after he was elected.[87]

In their 2017 billionaires' ranking, Forbesestimated Trump's net worth at $3.5 billion (544th in the world, 201st in the U.S.)[1] making him one of the richest politicians in American history. These estimates fluctuate from year to year, and among various analysts. In July 2016 Bloomberg Newshad pegged his wealth at $3 billion, calling it an increase thanks to his presidential nomination,[88]whereas Forbes had ranked him 324th in the world (113th in the U.S.) with $4.5 billion just a few months earlier.[89] The discrepancies among these estimates and with Trump's own figures stem from the uncertain values of appraised property and of his personal brand

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