Trump: How to Get Rich

A good friend of mine and truly one of the greatest basketball players who has ever lived, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, was in the NBA for over twenty years, only to find that some bad advice had destroyed much of his wealth. I don’t know whether it was theft or stupidity, but it was a shame.

Herschel Walker is an athlete who signed big contracts, with both the USFL and NFL. One day, he came to me and told me he was going to invest in a fast-food franchise. I told him, Herschel, you are a friend of mine, but if you do that, I will not speak to you again. Because of the relationship we had (and continue to have), he decided not to make the investment. The company went bankrupt two years later. Herschel is now a wealthy man, and he thanks me every time I see him.

When it comes to picking a financial adviser, rely on your own judgment based on what you read in reliable publications like The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Business Week, and Fortune. They are usually terrific, even though, on occasion, they say some negative things about me. I’m angry at Fortune at the moment—and for good reason—but even Fortune sometimes manages to awake from its stupor to report something worthwhile. I’m particularly impressed with an editor there named Geoffrey Colvin, who is also the host of Wall Street Week on PBS and has written perceptively about corporate restructuring.

The New York Post has developed a truly great business section—and one that is fun to read. Lately, The New York Times’s coverage of business has gone right to the top!

If you read these financial publications for a while, you will start to pick up on the cadence and get a feel for what’s happening in the market, which funds are the best, and who the best advisers are.

Stay with the winners. Often, you will read about somebody who has made money quickly and then relies on one of his friends to invest his fortune. That friend has no track record, and if it weren’t for his connection to a rich investor, he wouldn’t have any money. Beware of instant stars in the world of finance. Trust the people who do it again and again, and who are consistently ranked high by the four best institutional business media outlets. But trust your own common sense first.

Invest Simply

There are numerous firms that provide comprehensive charts and other information on the best returns from certain financial advisers and funds. Study those charts, not over the short term (maybe they just got lucky) but over a fifteen- or twenty-year period.

Invest with the help of a major firm like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns, or Merrill Lynch. These are your hard-earned savings at stake. Don’t take unnecessary risks.

Generally there is a reason for success. When you look at legends like Alan Ace Greenberg and Warren Buffett and marvel at how good they are, you will likely see that what makes them so successful is the same quality you should apply to every one of your own investments—common sense.

I’ve read many of Warren Buffett’s annual reports. In every case, what fascinates me is that he is able to reduce things to the simplest of terms.

Many accomplished Wall Street gurus can make you dizzy with talk of intricate financial maneuverings. They might impress you with their sophisticated computerized trading results, their fifty percent returns from options on products that may not even exist yet. Fortunes are won and lost every day in these markets, but as far as I’m concerned, those folks would be just as successful if they ditched their hedge funds and put all their money on their favorite roulette number at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City.

You paid good money for this book, and I know you’re expecting sophisticated investment advice. The wisest thing I can tell you is to invest only in products you understand, with people you know you can trust. Sometimes the best investments are the ones you don’t make.

Get a Prenuptial Agreement

I’ve said it before—I even wrote a chapter on the art of the prenup in one of my other books—but I’ll say it again for anyone about to propose: A prenuptial agreement doesn’t mean that you won’t always love your spouse. It doesn’t mean that you have doubts about the person’s integrity or questions about the relationship. All it means is that you recognize that life, especially the parts involving love and business, can be complicated. People have a right to protect their assets. If you own your own business and you’re facing a difficult divorce without having secured a prenuptial agreement, your negligence could jeopardize the livelihoods of your employees. I know plenty of women who are supporting their husbands, and this advice applies equally to both sexes.