Trump: My dad gave me a ‘small’ $1M loan
GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump said on Monday that his business success stems from a “small” $1 million loan his father once gave him.
“I started off in Brooklyn [and] my father gave me a small loan of a million dollars,” he told host Matt Lauer on NBC’s “Today” show.
{mosads}“I came into Manhattan and I had to pay him back with interest,” Trump said during the town hall forum that morning in Atkinson, N.H. “I came into Manhattan, I started buying up properties and I did great.
“I did a good job [but] I was always told it wouldn’t work,” the New York business mogul added.
Trump then argued that he has repeatedly overcome long odds in achieving the material success in his life.
“All my life I was told no,” he said. “It has not been easy for me [but] I fought through it.
“Even with this, people have said, ‘Don’t go into this, you’re going against professional politicians,’” Trump added of the 2016 presidential race. “I have not been impressed so far.”
Lauer than challenged Trump’s assertion that $1 million constitutes a “small” business loan.
“Let’s just put this in perspective,” Lauer said. “You said this hasn’t been easy for you, but ‘my dad gave me a million-dollar loan.’
“That [is] probably going to seem pretty easy to a lot of people,” Lauer added.
Trump countered that his father’s financial aid pales in comparison with his own current wealth.
“You’re right, but a million dollars isn’t very much compared to what I built,” the outspoken billionaire responded. “I mean, I built one of the great organizations.”
Trump has repeatedly vowed that his vast monetary holdings render him immune to the influence of politicians and special interest groups.
He has boasted that his personal worth hovers around $10 billion after decades spent in the real estate market.
Forbes reported last month that Trump is more likely valued at a net worth of $4.5 billion. That total makes him the 121st wealthiest American in the publication’s annual ranking of the nation’s richest individuals.
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