Page 117 - Midas Touch

lot of time and money will be wasted. That goes for every level of person
you’re working with.

At this point in my career, I don’t need to make more money. I love what
I’m doing and I care about the Trump brand, but I am not money-driven.
That’s why I have a lot of long-standing relationships. I care about the

people I deal with, and I care about my customers as well. As Robert
mentions, if you don’t care, what you will have are merely transactions,
not relationships. It’s part of building your reputation, which should be
foremost in your mind right from the start when it comes to building your
brand.

As most people know, I’m known for being candid, and sometimes even
blunt. I don’t see the point of being politically correct if that means

actually being incorrect. I speak what I think. I’m not always popular
because of it, but I can’t operate as a fake. That doesn’t mean I make a
career of being adversarial for no reason. I’m also known as being a great
negotiator, which means seeing both sides of the story and working
towards a mutually beneficial situation for everyone. So there’s a fine line

you have to tread as an entrepreneur, which translates to life and any kind
of business. Being circumspect is something I strive for.

As an example, I have a fantastic building in the Financial District, 40
Wall Street. It’s the tallest building in lower Manhattan and a beauty. I had
watched that building for decades before making my move to buy it, and
when I did, I paid $1 million for it. I watched and waited until the time
was right to make my move, and it’s now considered one of the best real

estate deals ever made in New York. But it wasn’t an overnight success
story. I waited a long time. At one point, I asked the owners who purchased
it in the early 1990s if they’d be interested in a possible partnership, but
they were more interested in making 40 Wall Street the downtown
equivalent of Trump Tower—including an atrium. What they would do
with the steel columns that held up a 72-story building is something that
did not occur to them. The structure of the building required steel columns

from the ground up, and building an open atrium would not be possible. I
was astonished and, at the same time, hopeful. They obviously didn’t
know what they were doing.