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P RINCIPLES OF N EGOTIA TION

Trump successfully refurbished the building and I started leasing it.
The first lease I made was with a major financial firm at a rental of
$23 a square foot—far higher than the $17 per square foot I had pro-
jected. The building had assumed the mantle of credibility and
achieved the recognition of superiority that Trump ownership con-
notes. As the market rebounded and the building became extremely
popular, I rented 400,000 square feet at $24 per square foot on the
lower floors to American Express. Later on I rented another 400,000
feet to Continental Casualty Co. at a good rental number. With the
influx of tenants Trump replaced the original mortgage with a huge
mortgage at a very reasonable interest rate. I’m still involved in leas-
ing and managing it, and today the building, which he bought for $1
million, is worth between $340 and $400 million. It’s called the
Trump Building and it’s a tremendous success.

INSIST ON NEGOTIATING DIRECTLY WITH THE
DECISION MAKER, NOT A REPRESENTATIVE

Trump’s style of negotiation is face-to-face. He rarely lets others ne-
gotiate for him. In the Commodore-Hyatt deal described in Chapter
1, Trump negotiated directly with Jay Pritzker, the CEO of the
Hyatt Company. But not before spinning his wheels with no results
trying to negotiate with Pritzker’s underlings. Learn from his early
mistake, and as a general rule, don’t let others negotiate on your be-
half. If you want credibility, do it yourself. Meet important people.
Go to the highest level, the decision maker. That was the break-
through for Trump with 40 Wall Street.
Trump’s instincts were that the ground lease owner of 40 Wall
Street could not be as bad a businessman as he was portrayed to be.
The man obviously would want a good tenant in the property. Yet,
the building was in disrepair and barely occupied, the rent wasn’t

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