Donald Trump will return to his chair as President of the United States after his victory against Kamala Harris. He will therefore serve a second term from January 2025 to January 2029, after having served in the White House from January 2017 to January 2021. His position was then occupied by Joe Biden before the election, the outcome of which took place this 6 November 2024.
Donald Trump, 78, was in turn a businessman, real estate mogul and even a television host before reaching the Oval Office. However, did you know that the story of the Trump family began not far from Luxembourg, in Kallstadt, a small village in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate? Narrative.
When hairdresser Friedrich Trump became businessman Frederick Trump
It all started with the birth of Donald Trump’s grandfather, Friedrich (Frederick, in American genealogy), on March 14, 1869, in Kallstadt. Friedrich’s father, Christian, died of pulmonary emphysema in 1877. Friedrich was only 6 years old at the time and the family found themselves riddled with debt. At 14, Friedrich was sent to a neighboring town to train as a hairdresser. After a year and a half, the teenager had the ambition to set up his own salon in Kallstadt, but the business was struggling to survive. On the advice of his mother, Katharina, he decided to head to the United States in 1885, at a time when many Europeans were embarking on crossing the Atlantic to join a country then in full economic development.
At just 16 years old, Friedrich Trump arrived in New York and he was registered as “Friedrich Trumpf”. He returned to work as a hairdresser for six years, then headed west to Seattle, Washington. In 1891, he bought a restaurant in the city, where many workers and passing travelers came to eat (and especially get drunk). “Women’s rooms”, synonymous with “brothel”, were also integrated into the restaurant. In 1892, Friedrich Trump was officially naturalized.
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In 1894, he sold his Seattle restaurant to build a hotel-restaurant in Monte Cristo, still in Washington State, where gold was discovered. Its objective: to target the numerous miners who work on the site. And it works. But prospecting quickly became futile and John D. Rockefeller, the wealthy industrialist, retired in 1896. Despite the resumption of gold prospecting in the Klondike, causing the arrival of boats loaded with gold on the west coast of the United States and the return of thousands of workers, Friedrich sold his hotel-restaurant and returned to Seattle.
After briefly engaging in the purchase and resale of mining claims, Friedrich added a little more to his nest egg and left to open a restaurant in the Yukon, in the midst of the gold rush, then another restaurant and a casino. Friedrich becomes a rich man. He married Elizabeth in 1902. She gave birth to three children: Elizabeth, Fred and John. It is the second child who will essentially contribute to the ever-increasing enrichment of the family.
Following the birth of his children, Friedrich invested in real estate, particularly in New York buildings, and managed a hotel. But while business was booming, in May 1918, this rise came to an abrupt end. On May 27, 1918, at age 49, Friedrich died of acute pneumonia. Elizabeth finds herself alone with the three children. But the story is far, far from over.
Fred Trump, the builder
It is therefore Friedrich’s second child, Frederick “Fred” Trump Sr., born October 11, 1905 in New York, who will participate in the growth of the family empire. Elizabeth, mother of Fred and widow of Friedrich, founded the company “Elizabeth Trump & Son” after the death of her husband. Fred, then an assistant carpenter, built his first house and then sold it. He built more and more housing, allowing Elizabeth Trump & Son, which he took over at the age of 21, to flourish.
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Some time after the crisis of 1929, Fred launched one of the first supermarkets of the modern era. He took over a mortgage management subsidiary that had just gone bankrupt to buy houses on the verge of foreclosure then resold them and made a profit. During the Second World War, many homes built by his companies were sold as “war apartments”, thus housing large numbers of soldiers. After the end of the war, Fred continued his investments in real estate and the construction of housing for the middle class. His highlight: Trump Village, a huge complex of seven buildings at $70 million, delivered in 1964. He finally bought Steeplechase Park in New York, with the aim of building luxury housing, before having to resell to the City of New York. A very lucrative new operation.
In the meantime, Fred started a family. In 1936 he married Mary Anne MacLeod, with whom he had five children, two daughters and three sons: Marianne, Fred Jr., Elizabeth, Donald and Robert. You will obviously have recognized the penultimate name. However, it was not he who was initially predestined to take over the family empire, but his older brother. But Fred Jr. wanted to pursue a career as a pilot and was disowned by both his father and younger brother. It is therefore Donald, employed by his father, who ends up taking up the torch. Fred Trump died of pneumonia on June 25, 1999, at age 93. Meanwhile, the expansion of the Trump empire has reached its peak.
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Donald Trump, the heir
On June 14, 1946, Donald John Trump was born in New York. After joining his father in the family business from 1968, he became president of “Elizabeth Trump & Son”, which he renamed “The Trump Organization”. His father lent him a million dollars to get started. An amount that Donald will manage to repay, with interest.
After major blows, such as the renovation of the Commodore Hotel in New York or the construction of the Trump Tower, a 58-story building that became the company’s headquarters and main residence, Donald Trump has suffered setbacks and financial losses. His flagship casino in Atlantic City and the Plaza Hotel he bought went bankrupt, the airline he bought became a financial sinkhole, his investments in sports ended in failure and, more recently, his attempts to offer steak and vodka brands have been commercial disasters.
Nevertheless, despite the losses caused by these failures, Donald Trump is richer than ever, the investor benefiting from the revenue linked to the attendance of the places he owns: hotels, casinos, accommodation… Donald’s fortune Trump, however, remains quite vague: while he spoke of assets close to nine billion dollars before the 2016 presidential campaign, Forbes magazine had rather estimated it at four billion dollars.
On the family side, Donald had five children from three different women, between 1977 and 2006: Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric, born from his union with Ivana Trump, then Tiffany was born from his relationship with Marla Maples. Finally, Melania Trump, his third wife, gave birth to Barron. Donald Jr. and Eric are both vice presidents of the Trump Organization.
After a first victory in 2016 and a setback against Joe Biden four years later, Donald Trump is preparing to begin his second term at the head of the world’s leading power.
