Welcome to another article of Facts King! This time we will share 9 interesting facts about Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States. Since his electoral campaign, he became a controversial figure that generated discussions regarding his public declarations and the measures he applied as president. So, before we jump into the interesting facts, let’s start with his background!
Who is Donald Trump?
Donald Trump is a businessman and politician that was born in 1946. After studying economy at the University of Pennsylvania, Trump started his career as a businessman following in the footsteps of his family. They had a real estate business, and once Trump became its president, its name was changed to The Trump Organization, and he started expanding it. Besides being a businessman, he has been the co-author of books, has participated in TV shows and movies, and has been involved in politics.
As a member of the Republican Party, he was elected president of the United States in 2016. Even if he already was a public figure, he became highly controversial once he started his campaign. The public speeches he gave and the measures he has taken as president are either loved or hated by people all over the world.
Interesting Facts about Donald Trump
1. Most of the members of his family were foreigners.
Contrary to what one might think considering the strict immigration laws he has planned to apply, the majority of the members of his family were foreigners. His paternal family has a German background. His paternal grandfather, Frederick Trump, moved to the U.S. in 1885 and started his business there. In 1892 he became a U.S. citizen. He married a woman that was also German, and she was the head of the real estate business after Frederick’s death. Furthermore, her mother was Scottish. She was an immigrant who worked as a maid in New York until she married Trump’s father.
2. He went to military school as a teenager.
Trump grew up in Queens, New York. He was enrolled in the New York Military by his parents when they discovered he was going to Manhattan without their permission. When he was studying at the University of Pennsylvania, he was given student deferments so he didn’t have to serve in the military. In 1972, he was disqualified from military service after medical examinations that discovered spurs in his heels.
3. He has been married three times.
Trump got married for the first time with the model Ivana Zelníčková, with whom he had two sons and a daughter. After their divorce in 1992, he married the actress Marla Maples, with whom he had a daughter. They got divorced in 1995. Then, he married the model Melania Knauss in 2005 and had a son with her the following year. She became the First Lady of the U.S. when Trump started his presidency.
4. He doesn’t drink alcohol.
Trump’s parents had five children. He had three elder siblings (two girls and a boy) and a younger brother. The eldest, Maryanne Trump was a judge of the Federal Appeals Court. Trump decided he would never drink alcohol because of his elder brother called Fred. His brother was an alcoholic and after being unable to recover from his addiction, he died in 1982. He doesn’t smoke either.
5. He worked as an actor.
Although he hasn’t got big roles, Trump has made several appearances in both the big and the small screen. He has had small roles in 12 films, like the father of a kid in the popular film The Little Rascals, and in 14 TV series. Actually, Trump won a Razzie in 1990 for a role he had in the movie Ghost can’t do it. The prize was for Worst Supporting Actor.
6. He had his own reality show.
Trump became a TV host and producer when he created his own reality show in 2003. It was called The Apprentice. The prize was a management job of a year in his organization. The reality show had 15 seasons and a celebrity version where the goal of celebrity contestants was getting money for charity.
7. He used to belong to another party.
Although he defines himself as a conservative person and is now part of the Republican Party, Trump was not always a Republican. He was registered for 8 years, between 2001 and 2009 as a Democrat. He was also registered for two years as an Independent, with the Independent Party.
8. He has filed for bankruptcy multiple times.
Even if he is a successful businessman, he has filed for bankruptcy for his businesses. This happened on six occasions between 1991 and 2009. They were all casinos and hotels he had in New York and Atlantic City.
9. He is one of the wealthiest presidents of the U.S.
Having a net worth of $3.1 billion, Trump is the wealthiest president in the history of the U.S. As for 2018, Trump is 72 years old, which also makes him the oldest president of the U.S. Lastly, he is the only president who never did military service.
I hope that you learned from reading these facts about Donald Trump. If you want to know facts about other historical figures, visit historical people page.