When I first read Donald Trump’s book titled “Trump: Think Like a Billionaire” I thought the book would be an insightful and easy read. The book was very easy to read, but not too insightful. Trump has divided this book into about 100 chapters of about two or three pages each, describing a different piece of advice or aspect of the life of a billionaire.
Trump offers advice on all aspects of life, from finding a lawyer, to what golf clubs to play with, to romance and keeping up appearances in the business world. He basically tells you how to live life like him. Trump gives you tips and tricks from him in five different chapters. Chapter one deals with real estate. Some of the topics in this chapter are how to get an appraisal and inspection of your property, how to deal with a broker and lawyer, how to design gardens, how to choose an interest rate and down payment, and how to find a good office.
Chapter two deals with the topic of money management. Trump offers advice on topics such as how to split his portfolio, how to save pennies, how to save and pay for college, how to decide how much risk he should consider and how to plan for retirement. This chapter is shorter and less informative than the real estate chapter. Donald Trump is the undisputed master of buying and developing real estate, which is why his chapter on real estate is expected to be the best in this book.
Chapter three is titled “The Business of Life.” This chapter is mainly about how to present yourself and get the most out of life. Some of the topics Trump covers are how to make good friends, how to love his job, how to conduct yourself in a meeting, how to dress and present yourself at work, and how to balance work and play. This section offers some interesting advice from a perspective that many people are unaware of. For example, how many of us really know what it’s like to dress like a billionaire and balance life in a billion-dollar business with a personal life consisting of a model wife and a grand mansion? This chapter, more than the others, takes a look at the personal life and tastes of a billionaire.
Chapter four is titled “Slices of the Billionaire’s Life.” This chapter is basically a hodgepodge of councils and organizations that Trump is involved with. He talks about topics like the Statue of Liberty, Columbia University land issues, beauty pageants, the value of daring, the Mar-a-Lago beach club, and most importantly, to Trump, the host of Saturday Night Live. The Saturday Night Live portion of the book is interesting, as it takes you through what a host must endure during rehearsal, when asked to do the show, and the never-ending punishment that the Saturday Night Live actors gave to Trump. This is one of the lightest and most entertaining sections of the book. Next, Trump spends thirty to forty pages describing a week in his life. He tells the reader how he gets up early, stays at work for twelve hours, takes conference calls and attends meetings all day, and goes home to do more business and see his wife.
The final chapter deals with a previous season of The Apprentice. Trump is very emotional and praises his show repeatedly, taking the reader through the logistics of his reality show. He even provides a brief rundown of all the upcoming contestants and why they qualified for his show and how they’ve all found success on their own outside of the show. Donald Trump will take you through a week of his life during the filming of The Apprentice and how even a billionaire with overwhelming confidence can get really nervous before filming.
While reading this book, the reader will realize that Donald Trump’s number one fan is Donald Trump. He has all the confidence in the world and it shows easily in his writing. He not only praises his business decisions, but praises his Mar-a-Lago club repeatedly. He has a great deal of power and ability as a billionaire, and it’s easy to see in this book that he really enjoys power. Personally, he would not recommend this book. The advice that Trump provides is not unique, and when it is given on only two or three pages at a time, you don’t get a real idea of how to take advantage of his advice. He just scratches the surface of all the topics of his, where all the topics really could use at least a chapter to explain. If you’re looking for a glimpse into the life of a powerful billionaire, then this book is for you. If you are looking for business advice and how to be a more successful person, you better read something else.