Authors Demolish 1 Of Trump's Biggest Myths About His Own Success

A new book details how luck played a much bigger role in Trump's fortune than any actual business acumen.

featured-image

Two New York Times journalists says Donald Trump isn’t the big business success he claims to be, as he “appropriated” much of his cash from his father, Fred Trump . And he wasn’t nearly as good with that money as his father was. “Donald became a black hole for Fred’s money eventually,” Susanne Craig said on MSNBC on Tuesday.

Craig and her Times colleague, Russ Buettner, are authors of the new book, “Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success.” Buettner said the elder Trump was a careful businessman with projects that ultimate made money. “Donald is just the opposite story,” he said.



Much of the former president’s money instead came from luck ― including the luck of being born into a wealthy family, the luck of inheriting much of his father’s fortune, and the luck of becoming a massive star on reality television. “And there is no evidence that in fifty years of labor Donald Trump added to his lucky fortunes,” the two write in their book. “He would have been better off betting on the stock market than on himself.

” Consider supporting HuffPost starting at $2 to help us provide free, quality journalism that puts people first. Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read. Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost.

We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone. The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor? Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost.

We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone. The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. We hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.

Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages. See their full conversation with MSNBC ’s Alex Wagner below: Consider supporting HuffPost starting at $2 to help us provide free, quality journalism that puts people first. Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone. The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support.

Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor? Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone. The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support.

We hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more. Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages. Related 🗳️ 🇺🇸 Make your vote count! Learn more about how to register, important deadlines, and your state's mail-in voting options here .

From Our Partner.