Donald Trump is one of America’s
most successful business
magnates . He operates several companies
all over the world. His assets
are worth a total of about $3
billion . Now Donald Trump
has announced that he might become a candidate
for the presidency .
When he was in his twenties
Trump developed into a
tycoon who built large buildings
like Trump Tower in New York. He and his
wife Ivana became celebrities in the Big Apple. Towards
the end of the 1980s Trump got into financial difficulties
and almost became bankrupt . It
was during this period that his first
marriage ended.
Nevertheless Donald Trump fought back. With the help of
banks he managed to pay back most of his debt . He sold off some of his buildings and
started a comeback towards the end of
the 1990s.
Today Trump is married to his
third wife and back in business again. His three children are executives
in his financial empire . In the
last few years Trump has built hotels, holiday
resorts and golf courses all over
the world. Trump World Tower, finished in 2001, is a luxury
apartment building in the middle of Manhattan. Every year he organizes the Miss Universe beauty contest .
One key
to success is how Donald Trump deals with
the media . He wrote his
autobiography The Art of the Deal at a very early age, before the financial
crisis. He is a big celebrity and has appeared
on TV series more than once. Some years ago he started
producing his own reality show , The Apprentice . Another reason for Donald
Trump’s long-lasting success is that he
knows how to make money out of his name. But many of his friends say his
real goal is not money but being famous.
Words
admit
= to say that you have done something wrong
announce
= say officially
appear
= show
apprentice
= someone who works for a person in order to learn new things
asset
= all the things a company owns, which can be sold to pay bills
bankrupt
= without enough money to pay what you owe
beauty contest = an event in which men and women are judged
by the way they look
candidate
= here: someone who wants to become president
celebrity
= famous person who is in the
media very often
company
= firm, business
deal with
= manage, work with
debt
= the money that you must pay back others
develop
= grow
difficulty
= problem
empire
= group of organizations controlled by one person
executive
= manager in an organization; a person who makes big decisions
expand
= grow
goal
= aim
grave
= very bad
in business = here: successful
key
= answer
long-lasting = to last for a long time
luxury
=very expensive
magnate
= rich and powerful businessperson
manage
= to do something difficult
marriage
= the relationship between two people who are married
media
= TV, radio and newspapers
nevertheless = however, even so
operate
= own
organize
= carry out
presidency
= the office or job of the American president
produce
= make
rate
= speed
reality show = television show that is about real people
and what they do
resort
= place where people go for holidays
series
= television program that is broadcast every week with the same
characters
success
= become famous and rich
successful
= to make a lot of money
towards
= near
tycoon
= rich and powerful businessperson