Book #172: Surviving At The Top by Donald Trump
Donald Trump
with Charles Leerhsen
Released: August 14th, 1990
My 38th book for 2026 was Donald Trump’s Surviving At The Top.
This is the second book in the Donald Trump book series. It covers his life from where the previous book left off. It covers Trump’s life from 1988 - 1990. This book highlights the peak of Trump's early success.
He starts off with a chapter dedicated to 3 close business associates of his who tragically lost their lives in a helicopter crash back on October 10th, 1989. Stephen Hyde, Mark Etess, and Jonathan Benanav were killed when their helicopter's propellor tore apart, and the aircraft crashed into the Garden State Parkway. As Trump tells it, you can truly sense that he lost some good friends in this accident. It's a wonder that if they had survived, would the 1990s have played out different for Trump? Would they have continued into roles in his administration assuming he still ran for president in that sort of world? Very interesting things to wonder about.
Since his first book, Trump has gone from leading Real Estate developer in New York City to a Casino and Gaming leader, to owning his own airline. He even talks about why he feels yacht ownership is a waste of money. Trump is a very secluded person when it comes to routine. He would much prefer to remain close to home and stay in his own place each night when possible. The idea of going out sailing for some long period of time, on a boat that could be a floating city doesn't appeal to him. He also discusses his separation from his first wife Ivana Trump.
I'm big on Presidential Memoirs and have been working my way through collecting and eventually reading them. I read Jimmy Carter's "Keeping Faith" a couple years ago. It was a difficult read, which makes me anxious about reading the others. It took me 6 months to read Carter's book. Granted, the 200 pages devoted to the Camp David Accords seems to drag it out a bit, I just don't want to fall into another half a year slump. I'm looking to read Obama's memoir next, and at 706 pages, this could literally make or break my reading goal for the year. At least the 800+ page Chronicles of Narnia is divided out over 7 stories. This one is simply one book.
I've been doing my best to divide my political reading by seeking out books from both sides. As it stands, it appears Trump and Obama are the 2 biggest figures on either side of the aisle. This is why I decided to read their books back-to-back. For Trump, I wanted to read about the next phase of his life as he entered the 1990s. For Obama, I want to see how his view of the world and politics changed since Audacity of Hope. This is part of the issue I have with the world and politics these days. People are quick to judge, and associate with things, and really seek to tear down others. People judged me for reading these books, but I feel no shame because I intentionally sought them out to see things from someone's own perspective, not someone else's opinion of them.
Donald Trump is our current president. There's been a lot of hatred and maliciousness thrown his way over the course of his 2 presidencies. I'm never personally understood it. He is an interesting figure and has a storied past. The funny part is, he's exactly who he always said he would be.
Trump does not currently have a memoir. I read The Art of the Deal 2 years ago. This was the closest thing to a Trump memoir, albeit taking place in his widely successful 1980's Era, before his struggles in the 1990's. I was eager to read it because I had heard so much about it. After reading it, I discovered that Trump actually had a series of books he had written over the course of his life.
I sought out Surviving At The Top when I learned it was the next book in the series. One thing I love about it is that it describes his life in New York City in the late-1980s and early 1990s. I have always had a great affinity for this period in time. I think that is what draws me to films such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), and Home Alone 2: Lost In New York, because it allowed me to experience the city as a child without having the opportunity to go see it for myself (until over a decade later when things changed). I got this book about a year ago. I had to order it online because most bookstores only carry The Art of the Deal, which is his most famous book.
Strictly judging a book by its cover, I really liked the look of this one. The layout is 1990 all over. It reminds me of The Jordan Rules, and Against The World. Red lettering, with a white frame, and Trump on the cover tossing an apple in the air.
To be honest, I enjoyed this book more than the first one. The tone is certainly Trump. He's very confident, quick-witted, and not afraid to call something exactly like he sees it. We even see things that foreshadow his presidency. There are also some vulnerable parts here and there. Trump isn't afraid to admit he was wrong on some occasions and even has a few regrets. He is passionate about what he does, and you learn how he works and what ignites the burning in him.
He seemed more crisp here compared to the original novel. The first book seemed more boastful, and while he does his fair share of bragging in this one, the flow seems calmer and easier to follow. He gives some great advice and quotes, and it makes for a solid second outing.
Here is what I learned:
—————
- For Steve, Mark, and Jon.
- "The Art Of The Deal" spent 32 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.
- "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat; who strives valiantly; who errs and may fail again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcom-ing; but who does actually strive to do the deeds, who does know the great enthusiasm, the great devotion. - THEODORE ROOSEVELT
- You don't have no fun at all, you know, if you get too famous. - LOUIS ARMSTRONG
- It doesn’t matter whether you have three billion or three hundred dollars in the bank: Life is a series of challenges.
- "It doesn't matter whether you have three billion or three hundred dollars in the bank: Life is a series of challenges. Some of the challenges you face turn out well. Some don't. What separates the winners from the losers, I've learned-in business and any other aspect of life-is how a person reacts to each twist of fate. You have to be confident as you face the world each day, but you can't be too cocky. Anyone who thinks he's going to win them all is going to wind up a big loser."
- Buying low and selling high is basically what all business is about.
- Trumo admits to sometimes being too competitive for his own good. Trump’s yacht was called the "Trump Princess"
- Trump’s Atlantic City properties generated significantly less money than he had projected.
- Trump predicted the 90’s would be a decade of retrenchment.
- Mike Tyson was knocked out by Buster Douglas in Tokyo, Japan in February 1990.
- Tyson underestimated Douglas.
- Tyson was so sure of beating Douglas, that he didn’t have a rematch clause in his contract.
- Tyson took 4 months off after his loss.
- Trump endured months of public scrutiny because of his separation with his first wife.
- But it's not just the business press—and the public's desire to see the mighty fall-that makes life in the so-called fast lane so dangerous and, for many, so temporary as well. Anyone who makes it to the top of his profession will tell you, if he's honest, that his worst potential enemy is himself. It's a rare person who can achieve a major goal in life and not almost immediately start feeling sad, empty, and a little lost. If you look at the record— which in this case means newspapers, magazines, and TV news— you'll see that an awful lot of people who achieve success, from Elvis Presley to Ivan Boesky, lose their direction or their ethics.
- Trump has a so-called “Is That All There Is” syndrome after achieving goals.
- “If I don’t win, I don’t get to fight the next battle.”
- 3 of Trump’s best executives, Stephen F. Hyde, Mark Etess, and Jonathan Benanav died in a helicopter crash on October 10th, 1989 when the aircraft went down on the Garden State Parkway.
- The accident left a huge impact on Trump because he had been invited to go with them.
- “Life is fragile. It doesn't matter who you are, how good you are at what you do, how many beautiful buildings you put up, or how many people know your name. No one on earth can be totally secure, because nothing can completely protect you from life's tragedies and the relentless passage of time.”
- Ed Tracy, Bucky Howard, and Mitchell Etess stepped up to fill their roles after their passing.
- “Success is far more difficult to maintain than it is to achieve.”
- Howard Hughes had a legendary aversion to germs.
- Trump & Ivana once had dinner with Frank Sinatra, Roger Moore and their wives in Monte Carlo.
- The dinner went awkward when Sinatra exploded on his wife over a political remark.
- “You don’t have to be crazy or mean just because you are successful.”
- Trump has had issues with the press by this point.
- Trump was blackballed from the Palm Beach Bath and Tennis Club in Florida.
- Trump claims Forbes undervalued his properties to paint a negative image of him.
- Malcolm Forbes lived openly as a homosexual but had media keep it secret.
- Trump bought the yacht “Nabila” from Adnan Khashoggi and renamed it the “Trump Princess”.
- Forbes’ yacht was the “Highlander”.
- Trump and Forbes had a row because Trump would not all underage people into his Oak Room Bar.
- Trump saw it as an ethical violation against state liquor laws.
- The Time & Life building is about a 10 minute walk from Trump Tower.
- Le Cirque is one of New York’s finest restaurants.
- “What bothers me equally is the way the criminal justice system encourages the worst sorts of lowlifes to sling mud for their own protection.”
- “It’s not terribly comforting to realize that professional liars are always taking shots at you, and your fate is often in the hands of a federal or state official.”
- “Consistently do the things that you know will get results.”
- Trump had an executive assistant named Norma Foerderer who helped ensure things got done.
- “The world doesn’t suddenly change because you’re successful.”
- Trump visited Brazil in the late 1980’s.
- A typical Trump trip means he left New York on Friday and was back in time to be in the office Monday morning.
- There is a huge difference between working hard and being a crazed workaholic.
- “Making sure that I run my day instead of allowing my day to run me is a key way I avoid being overwhelmed by work.”
- Trump once considered an “open marriage” with Ivana.
- “Sometimes in a marriage only one person sees how far apart you’ve grown, and the other person for some reason can’t see what’s happened, or simply refuses to accept the idea.”
- Trump’s parents were married over 50 years.
- Trump suggests that if he had not met Marla Maples, he and Ivana would have still separated.
- Donald met Ivana at Montreal Olympic Games in 1976.
- Ivana was from Czechoslovakia.
- She was an alternate on her country’s 1972 Olympic team.
- Ivana attended Charles University in Prague.
- Donald and Ivana married at the Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan.
- Trump admits the way he ended his first marriage was a cop-out.
- Executives who leave the office and don’t call in at least daily are always in for some unpleasant surprises.
- In any business, there are always fires springing up, and the faster you can put them out, the better.
- Larry Hagman, one of the stars of Dallas, was a tenant of Trump at one point.
- Trump is not a great flier, and would rather personally select the pilot.
- Trump rehired his former pilot and promoted him while firing his airplane management company.
- The book was almost called “Everybody Hates A Winner”.
- Trump finds exercise boring.
- He has walked up all 68 floors of Trump Tower several times.
- Trump tries to keep his calls to 30 seconds or less for business.
- Trump once sponsored a bicycle race called the Tour de Trump.
- The Trump Taj Mahal opened April 4th, 1990.
- Since Trump got out of college, he had a list of 10 NYC properties he wanted to acquire
- “In a deal, you never want to be tough or unfriendly for no reason. You can often get a lot more accomplished — and besides, life is just plain more pleasant— when you deal as friends instead of enemies.
- Trump tries to have a minimum of 10 deals running at all times.
- Ivana became president of the Plaza in 1988.
- Trump once bought Eastern Shuttle in a tough but friendly negotiation and renamed it Trump Shuttle.
- Trump has always been interested in Adnan Khashoggi.
- He found Khashoggi’s fall from grace fascinating.
- “Usually, when I do a deal, it fits into some larger plan. I buy a hotel on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City because I need the rooms for my casino customers, or I invest in a department store chain, like Alexander's, because the company owns some very desirable real estate. But my purchase of that yacht was something else entirely. It was a deal done strictly for the sake of dealing: art for art's sake. In a way, it reminded me of when I bought Mar-a-Lago, my house in Palm Beach. I didn't need a 118-room house in Florida, and I didn't need this 282-foot boat, either. I just saw an opportunity to acquire something at a fantastic price, and I seized the moment.”
- “Not that wild behavior is all that common among the rich and famous. Most successful people 1 know are, on the contrary, so wrapped up in their work that they never let their hair down. Unless you like to talk about real estate deals or the stock market, you'll probably find their company boring.”
- “One of my greatest advantages is that I am an individual, not a corporation, and I don’t have to go back to headquarters and deal with a bureaucracy.”
- It makes Trump nervous to relax.
- If you conduct business in international waters, you do not have to pay taxes.
- There are higher standards in a shipyard than a yacht yard.
- Trump knew how to renovate the boat, but had to learn the mechanics of it.
- “Common sense dictates that you don’t Dock a $100 million yacht in an area where people are out of control.”
- Trump does not have a strong attachment to yacht life. It’s fun but he feels his money is better spent elsewhere.
- Leona Helmsley had TDS.
- The best way to deal with a bully is head-on.
- Mike Tyson is from Brooklyn.
- “Fear is like fire. If you don’t know how to handle it, it can kill you. But if you use it correctly, it can warm your house.”
- Buster Douglas’ mother passed away a month before he faced Tyson.
- Buster Douglas was the first to realize that the best defense against Mike Tyson was a sensational nonstop offense.
- Tyson was once married to actress Robin Givens.
- Tyson has a total lack of interest in money.
- Don King delights in being an enigma.
- To Trump, a bully is someone who is trying to work out some psychological problem by intimidating others.
- “The opposite of toughness—weakness—makes me mad and sometimes turns my stomach. I'm not referring here to the kind of weakness that comes from being poor, sick, or disadvantaged. I'm talking about those people who can take a strong stand but just don't. That's why I've started to speak out about what is happening to America, particularly on the business front.”
- The Japanese have import quotas and tariffs to protect their own interests.
- A person may be able to survive in politics or a State Department job with no discernible talent, but in business—whether you're a man or a woman—you must have a quality for which there is, unfortunately, no better term than “balls."
- Trump once kicked an ultra wealthy Japanese man and his staff out of his office for being rude about America.
- Trump states that if he dictated economic policy, he would put an import tax on countries who don’t play by the rules.
- “I know the first thing I'd propose: the imposition of a 20 percent tax on imports from Japan, Germany, and other countries that don't play by the rules. That money-which would amount to billions of dollars-could reduce the federal deficit and pay for education, housing, and medical care in poor areas throughout America. So what if the Japanese slapped a tax on us in response? The fact is, the effect would be negligible because we buy a whole lot more from the Japanese than we sell them.”
- “America has been weak not just in dealing with other nations but in dealing with our internal troubles, such as drug abuse and rampant crime. I find this especially frustrating because from the mail I receive and the people I talk to-security guards, execu-tives, construction workers—I get a sense that virtually everyone in America is sick of the lack of progress in solving those problems. They want action. And yet the prevailing wisdom among politicians seems to be that taking too tough a stand can be hazardous to a person's political career.”
- “Whenever I've taken a stand like that in public, people ask me if I have any plans to run for elective office. The answer is no. I'm not a politician. I wouldn't want to get involved in the compromises, the glad-handing, and all the other demeaning things you have to do to get votes. Most of the best people we've had in government lately have, I've noticed, been appointed to their posts.”
- “But do I think I could get elected? At one time I would have said yes, probably. But now, since my marital problems and business pressures have been dragged through the newspapers, I'm less sure. In any case, Id have to face one big obstacle if I ever did make a serious run for public office: Americans have become so accustomed to professional politicians that when they are faced with a strong personality—a man or woman of action-they are afraid, or at least very wary.”
- “Toughness is pride, drive, commitment, and the courage to follow through on things you believe in, even when they are under attack.”
Trump’s Rules for Surviving the Perils of Success
- Be Disciplined
- Be Honest
- Don’t think you’re so smart that you can go it alone.
- Be Reachable
- Stay Close To Home
- Be Flexible
—————
Overall, this was a solid read, especially for anyone hoping to rise up in the field of real estate and business. There are some neat stories, good advice on routines, and keeping a sharp mind. Plus, it reads a good bit better than his first book (which is ironically more heralded). Because of that, this book plays out as more of a hidden gem. I recommend it.
Recommended.
On to Book #173: A Promised Land by Barack Obama.
-----
Need to catch up? See previous blog post: Last Rites by Ozzy Osbourne.
-----
Want to read more from just this author? See the other posts below:
Comments
Post a Comment