Trump: The Art of the Deal

I recently finished Trump: The Art of the Deal... I have to say he is his normal self in the book and it is a little big ego-ish as Trump usually is but ...

He had a number of great points regarding putting deals together not to mention inspiring people to think extremely big. He illustrates how he leap frogged from one project to another and how corporate financing is structured. Being a business owner myself it did give me a new appreciation for thinking outside the box.

Page 92 he talks about strategies used when writing real estate contracts and putting in clauses for added protection. He was selling an apartment building and when he sold it he wrote in the contract that he guaranteed that 100% was rented but did not guarantee anything at time of closing.

He also wrote a clause that stated the buyer guaranteed to purchase the building or pay a substantial penalty on top of the downpayment.

The buyer accepted both of these clauses because at the time REIT's were the newest flavour for investors and this 'Prudent' REIT couldn't buy things fast enough.

Pg 220 Trump talks about hiring the best people. In this case he hired the best, Stephen Hyde VP of the Golden Nugget. Steve hired a dozen of the best casino/hotel managers within a very short time.

Trump quote "I have a very simple rule when it comes to management: hire the best people from your competitionpay them more than they were earning and give them bonuses and incentives based on their performance."

If you read the book with an open mind I assure you it will give you fuel to build your own Empire. The book is a reasonably easy book to read and includes real examples of his early career. As well it talks mostly about real estate transactions but it also talks about buying professional sports teams as well as how the Casino and gaming industry works.

Enjoy...
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