Page 183 - Trump Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges into Success

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T R UM P: N E V E R G I V E U P

skyscraper. To begin with, they weren’t in the real estate busi-
ness, they were in the apparel business. Kinson began pouring
tens of millions of dollars into the building and getting
absolutely nowhere. They had problems with tenants, contrac-
tors, suppliers, architects, even the owners of the land under
the building, the Hinneberg family. Eventually, they wanted
out, and they called me. I was thrilled.
Three years of dealing with a situation out of their depth
had taken a toll on Kinson. It was now 1995, and the market still
wasn’t so good. Kinson had every reason to want to get out, and
they wanted to do so quickly and quietly. I was in a great posi-
tion due to their distress, and the negotiations began, with me
offering them $1 million in addition to assuming and negotiat-
ing their liens. I also made the deal subject to a restructured
ground lease with the Hinneberg family.
They accepted my terms without question—they ob-
viously just wanted out and fast. Sad as their story is, it’s true
to New York real estate—if you don’t know what you’re doing,
you simply won’t make it. That’s another good lesson to
remember: always know what you’re getting into—you have
to do your due diligence, especially if it’s a field that’s new
to you.
The next thing I did was to call Walter Hinneberg himself
in Germany, then I flew over to meet him. I got along very
well with the Hinnebergs, and they realized that after a string
of losers who had owned the building, I had the integrity of
their spectacular property first and foremost in my mind. They
are a truly great family, and they knew I loved the building,
that I would be doing everything possible to restore it to its
inherent grandeur. We worked out a new lease for the land
under the building, extending the term to over 200 years, and
the agreement was modernized, which served everyone’s best
interest. However, keep this in mind—getting to this point

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