Trumping Trump

DONALD TRUMP is the most exciting participant in the current version of our never ending presidential selection process, if only because he isn't a polished politician, and his lack of polish manifests in a steady stream of outlandish pronouncements by the Trumpster. it also manifests in an outrageously egomaniacal personality. The Donald does not divide society into liberals and conservatives, as most political animals do. Rather, he divides society into two classes, the stupid people, and himself. Trump's New York office is festooned with photographs of - Donald Trump. His name is stenciled on everything he owns; helicopters, golf courses, office buildings, CD players, and fancy cigarette lighters. it is almost as if Trump is a self adulator, and if we are fortunate, he will garner the G.O.P. nomination, and keep right on regaling us with outlandishness. There is, however, a common misperception that the Donald is a "good businessman". Actually, he isn't. In 1974, his father, Fred Trump, left two hundred million dollars behind, and Donald inherited about forty million of it. Over the next forty years, he proceeded to grow this wealth into several billion, with a few speed bumps and bankruptcies along the way, by speculating in real estate, sports franchisee, and assorted commodities, often in ways that defied common sense. he bought low, and sold high, but sometimes the low never reached a high. So be it. Risk takers never expect all risk taking to yield profit. however, had Trump invested all forty mil in a good, solid, indexed mutual fund, and left it there for the same forty years, he would now be considerably ahead financially of where is now. the market has increased in value many times over during this period, almost exponentially, while his real estate investments have had an uncertain and rocky ride. In essence, Trump would be considerably wealthier today had he done nothing at all, other than pick a stable fund and waited. but where would the fun be in that?