Book Recommendation: The Art Of The Deal

I just finished Donald Trump's The Art Of The Deal. A breezy, rattling and informative read.

Starting off with a glimpse into the daily routine of a typical billionaire real estate developer, Mr Trump offers invaluable tips on how to succeed in business (the Trump cards and when/how to play them in a deal).

Still, he insists he's not big on tedious formulas and bogus market surveillance reports; he does it all by trusting his instincts and most importantly tries to have fun, because "if it isn't for fun, then what is it for?" Money has never been his motivation. He just loves closing deals.

Then he delivers such a quality and enjoyable prose on how his father, John Trump, made his bones in the New York real estate market by building middle-income and rent-controlled housing in Queens and Brooklyn in the 40s and 50s. All the while the young Donald learnt by his father's side.

And while he was at college, all he did was play football and study FHA foreclosure listings. That's when he found out that a 1,200-unit apartment development in Cicinnati, Ohio, was in a troubled state and the developers had gone under. He and his father dolled out $6 million to buy the place, and after sublime maintenance and management, transformed it, making substantial profits.

Soon, however, sensing imminent trouble in the neighbourhood, Trump sold the real estate to an unsuspecting firm for $12 million (double of what he got it for) and moved to Manhattan where he will close deals for the Commodore Hotel and Trump Tower, thus establishing himself as a de facto real estate magnet by the early 1980s.

This little National bestseller published in 1987 is inspirational as well as informative. By the time you turn the last page, you must have grasped a good idea of the tricks of the game of real estate development, and lucky you, from its finest player.

And although co-author Tony Schwartz said back in 2016 that: “I put lipstick on a pig. I feel a deep sense of remorse that I contributed to presenting Trump in a way that brought him wider attention and made him more appealing than he is,” that’s his problem and none of mine. I picked out the lessons.