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TR U M P STR A TEGI ES FO R R E A L ESTA TE

structure’s facade. While Olympic Tower overlooked St. Patrick’s
Cathedral, Trump Tower overlooks the greenery of Central Park.
Consistent with Trump’s flair for showmanship, Trump’s signature in
this project was the distinctive seven-story cascading waterfall over
pink marble inside a spacious tree-lined atrium surrounded by exquis-
itely matched marble. (Trump reserved the entire Italian quarry just
so he could be assured that all the special marble used in Trump Tower
would match.) There could be no doubt that Trump had a great vision
for this building, but would it be successful as an investment? That de-
pended on finding extremely wealthy buyers to purchase the luxury
apartments. As it turned out, there was a backlog of people who
wanted something so exciting and exclusive.

A MARKETING MASTERPIECE—
UNDERSTANDING SNOB APPEAL

When he built Trump Tower, Donald created a market for ultra lux-
ury residential real estate in Manhattan that had not previously
existed. He had the foresight to believe that certain kinds of peo-
ple—celebrities, multimillionaires, chief executives of major corpo-
rations, and dignitaries from foreign countries, and others would pay
more for the convenience of a luxurious residence within walking
distance of their offices and the most prestigious shopping area in
central Manhattan. Trump Tower has the ideal and most valuable lo-
cation in the city, 57th Street and 5th Avenue. Using one of his fa-
vorite real estate investing strategies, Trump combined a prime
location with innovation.
He took a monumental entrepreneurial risk to execute his vi-
sion and to venture into uncharted waters where previously no one
had the courage to create a building that targeted this elite, undis-
covered market. Trump knew that there are people who willingly
pay $250,000 for a Rolls Royce (even though it’s still just a car) be-
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