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Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J. Trump
A look at the fortunes and misfortunes of the multimillionaire uses untapped family sources to describe Trump's dealing with political fixers and contractors, his ties to organized crime, his personal life, and his financial situation. 30,000 first printing. Tour.
447 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1993
129 people are currently reading
398 people want to read
About the author
Harry Hurt III
12 books4 followersHarry Hurt III (born November 13, 1951)[1] is an American author and journalist. He was formerly senior editor of the Texas Monthly and a Newsweek correspondent, and his articles have appeared in publications such as The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, Esquire and Playboy. His books include Texas Rich, a biography of oil tycoon H. L. Hunt and family; and Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J. Trump (1993), an unauthorized biography of real estate mogul and 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump.
Hurt was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Margaret (Birting) Hurt and Harry Hurt Jr., who was president of Hurt Oil Company in Houston. He graduated from Choate School in 1969 and Harvard College in 1974, where he wrote for the Harvard Crimson. He worked for the Texas Monthly in Austin, serving as senior editor from 1975 to 1986. He later moved to Sag Harbor, New York, and married Alison Becker in 1993.He also had an early career in professional golf, which he revisited in the mid 1990s in writing Chasing the Dream: A Mid-life Quest for Fame and Fortune on the Pro Golf Circuit.
Hurt was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Margaret (Birting) Hurt and Harry Hurt Jr., who was president of Hurt Oil Company in Houston. He graduated from Choate School in 1969 and Harvard College in 1974, where he wrote for the Harvard Crimson. He worked for the Texas Monthly in Austin, serving as senior editor from 1975 to 1986. He later moved to Sag Harbor, New York, and married Alison Becker in 1993.He also had an early career in professional golf, which he revisited in the mid 1990s in writing Chasing the Dream: A Mid-life Quest for Fame and Fortune on the Pro Golf Circuit.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
November 13, 2016
This book demonstrates the many awful qualities that make Donald J. Trump an unlikable, vile person. Good read. Wish that his voters had read it before this year's election.
June 1, 2020
I stumbled across this book when The New Yorker circulated a piece about it originally published before the election. The meat of the attention was on Trump’S alleged rape and assault of Ivana Trump after going through liposuction and scalp reduction surgery, the details of which Ivana has not technically recanted even as she walked back her use of the word “rape” in her initial statement. I thought I could finish the book quickly, if not effortlessly, like I have many of the tell-alls published since he took office.
But, surprise surprise, it´s demanding enough to make you slow down and work through it more carefully. Reading this account of his ¨playboy billionaire¨ days is like watching a prequel movie or series--you know even better than the author how this all turns out, and knowing this gives everything a horrific cast. Trump essentially borrows his way into the upper echelons of New York society, relying all too often on his father Fred Trump for a handout now and again—the imagery of this “tough guy” laying his head on his father’s shoulder after getting one bailout or another is hard to stomach, especially these days. Trump lies, he plays the media, he denigrates women--all bad enough. He gets loans from Citigroup and Bear Stearnes, among other banks, and at one point he even has Arthur Andersen produce a letter testifying to his assets. Yes, Arthur Andersen.
I was in middle school when much of the book takes place, and I paid absolutely no attention to the media back-and-forth concerning Trump´s wooing Marla Maples and making war against Ivana over business operations while trying to get his brand out there with casinos, airlines, luxury apartments and what not; still, even I had heard some of this trickle down into my media diet. Time and again, Trump blows smoke to cover up his own failings and debt; time and again, the financial press (why in hell they didn´t demand a balance sheet from him before going into orgasms about his artificial wealth on the front pages, I´ll never understand), big banks, television networks, celebrities and sometimes even Washington itself play along. Even when leveraged to the hilt, Trump still somehow managed to control the story, often in spite of his own stupid, sometimes bizarre actions.
How sickening is this tale today? As I write this, it´s June, 2020, the country is wrestling with a pandemic, cities are tearing themselves apart over riots over the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, and Trump is hiding in the White House tweeting threats against the protestors and complaining about social media companies fact checking him. He´s at what may be the lowest point of his presidency, and that´s saying something. Likewise, Lost Tycoon ends with him about to marry Maples (we all know how that turned out) after losing his yacht, plane, airline, half his stake in his Atlantic Casino and several members of his family.
Yet the book points out with a prescience that’s downright chilling today that ¨the more things change in the life of Donald J. Trump, the more they remain the same.¨ After falling on his face during a scandalous and embarrassing back-and-forth in Aspen Colorado with Ivana that, arguably, was the first step towards the dissolution of his marriage and the teetering of his financial perch, and after a long and frenzied effort to keep himself afloat, he´s ready to start it all up again. The book ends with him preparing ¨to fly to Aspen with his children in tow, dauntlessly returning to the scene of the crime that triggered his vainglorious fall, beating against the current, and trying to defy the truth of F.Scott Fitzgerald´s axiomatic observation in The Lost Tycoon, ‘There are no second acts in Amercan lives.’”
Dear Christ, if only. If only there were no second act for this man. Or third, or fifth or twenty-sixth, as it happens. The country would be a lot better off.
But, surprise surprise, it´s demanding enough to make you slow down and work through it more carefully. Reading this account of his ¨playboy billionaire¨ days is like watching a prequel movie or series--you know even better than the author how this all turns out, and knowing this gives everything a horrific cast. Trump essentially borrows his way into the upper echelons of New York society, relying all too often on his father Fred Trump for a handout now and again—the imagery of this “tough guy” laying his head on his father’s shoulder after getting one bailout or another is hard to stomach, especially these days. Trump lies, he plays the media, he denigrates women--all bad enough. He gets loans from Citigroup and Bear Stearnes, among other banks, and at one point he even has Arthur Andersen produce a letter testifying to his assets. Yes, Arthur Andersen.
I was in middle school when much of the book takes place, and I paid absolutely no attention to the media back-and-forth concerning Trump´s wooing Marla Maples and making war against Ivana over business operations while trying to get his brand out there with casinos, airlines, luxury apartments and what not; still, even I had heard some of this trickle down into my media diet. Time and again, Trump blows smoke to cover up his own failings and debt; time and again, the financial press (why in hell they didn´t demand a balance sheet from him before going into orgasms about his artificial wealth on the front pages, I´ll never understand), big banks, television networks, celebrities and sometimes even Washington itself play along. Even when leveraged to the hilt, Trump still somehow managed to control the story, often in spite of his own stupid, sometimes bizarre actions.
How sickening is this tale today? As I write this, it´s June, 2020, the country is wrestling with a pandemic, cities are tearing themselves apart over riots over the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, and Trump is hiding in the White House tweeting threats against the protestors and complaining about social media companies fact checking him. He´s at what may be the lowest point of his presidency, and that´s saying something. Likewise, Lost Tycoon ends with him about to marry Maples (we all know how that turned out) after losing his yacht, plane, airline, half his stake in his Atlantic Casino and several members of his family.
Yet the book points out with a prescience that’s downright chilling today that ¨the more things change in the life of Donald J. Trump, the more they remain the same.¨ After falling on his face during a scandalous and embarrassing back-and-forth in Aspen Colorado with Ivana that, arguably, was the first step towards the dissolution of his marriage and the teetering of his financial perch, and after a long and frenzied effort to keep himself afloat, he´s ready to start it all up again. The book ends with him preparing ¨to fly to Aspen with his children in tow, dauntlessly returning to the scene of the crime that triggered his vainglorious fall, beating against the current, and trying to defy the truth of F.Scott Fitzgerald´s axiomatic observation in The Lost Tycoon, ‘There are no second acts in Amercan lives.’”
Dear Christ, if only. If only there were no second act for this man. Or third, or fifth or twenty-sixth, as it happens. The country would be a lot better off.
October 18, 2015
Yet another book that I'm embarrassed to have read. But I confess that it was somewhat fascinating. I can report that The Donald hasn't changed at all since the book was published in 1993. He was shallow and narcissistic then as now. And his behavior towards women was execrable then as now. I came away with only one positive thing to say about him: the man does work hard. Good luck Republicans!
October 20, 2016
Glad to be done with this. No surprises at all in this book. If you can stomach this read, it's a decent companion to Trump, The Art of the Deal. Read near a shower. You'll need it.
October 14, 2016
NOTES:
Donald’s most valuable property - at least as far as he is concerned - is his name. He boasts time and again that he can instantly add value to any property or project simply by adding “Trump” to it.
“I believe I’ve added show business to the real estate business.”
Although he brags that he personally signs every check, unpaid bills and past-due invoices pile up on his desk for months at a time.
Donald tried - unsuccessfully - to convince Playboy magazine to run a spread on the “Girls of Trump” for which some of the staffers would supposedly agree to pose in the nude.
Ivana Trump has become Donald Trump’s female clone and alter ego or, as she likes to put it in her fractured English, his “wife-twin.”
Donald learned other resonant lessons from his father. He learned how to make money by using other people’s money, primarily the tax paying public’s. He learned how to cultivate the friendship of politicians, political fixers and big bankers, how to handle mob-connected contractors, and how to impress the opposite sex.
Ivana can’t get over the fact that The Donald himself has been making even more disparaging remarks about her than the most vicious members of the media.
“Mr. Trump, I know this must terrible for you to lose your three top casino executives all in the same day,” says the voice on the other end of the line. “I’m so sorry for what happened... I guess the only thing that could have been worse is if you had been on the helicopter with them.” Donald glances across the desk at one of his vice-presidents. “You’re going to hate me for this,” he says. “But I just can’t resist. I can get some publicity out of this.” Then Donald releases the mute button on his speakerphone and informs the reporter, “You know, I was going to go with them on that helicopter...” Donald goes on to confide that he changed his mind and decided not to go. The next morning his revelation will appear in the New York Daily News. The news that Donald barely escaped sudden death seems almost as startling as the crash itself. But according to a half a dozen bona fide sources close to Trump, his revelation is a barefaced lie.
In Oct 1973, the justice department filed a civil rights suit under the Fair Housing Act of 1969 charging Trump-owned projects with racial and sexual discrimination in renting of apartments. The Trumps reached a settlement in summer of 1975.
In Nov 1973, Donald Trump was the second-biggest contributor to governor candidate Hugh Carey, giving $50,000 and cosigned $300,000 loan to the campaign. Buttressed by unprecedented inside influence on both the state and municipal levels, Donald J. Trump embarked on what proved to be the most impressive series of real estate deals anyone in postwar baby boom generation ever made.
He was always talking about the only two things that seemed to interest him: himself and his deals.
“Curiously enough, most of those I’ve talked to enjoyed working for him. I think people enjoy working with somebody with a lot of energy and a lot of involvement,” architectural project manager, Ralph Steinglass.
“Part of the challenge for Donald, beyond seeing his name in lights again and again, was seeing what he could get away with, how long he could keep fooling all the people all the time.”
As he and only a handful of top subordinates well knew, the myth of the Trump wealth was just that, a myth.
The only way he could finance a buying spree was with “OPM” - other people’s money - borrowed from banks and junk bond investors.
Interviewed by Barbara Walters, Dec11, 1987, “If you could be appointed president and didn’t have to run, would you like to be president? she asked. “I don’t know, interestingly, you know part of the enjoyment of something and part of the whole thing is the battle. If you could be appointed, I’m not sure that would be the same ball game.” he said. “The seeking, it’s the quest that really, I believe – it’s the hunt that I believe I love.” Donald insisted.
Wynn’s takeover attempt incites Donald’s competitive instincts to a fever pitch. That, in turn, clouded his judgment, impaired his fabled negotiating skills, and led him to make one of the greatest business blunders of his career. Offering to buy Hilton’s casino in Atlantic City.
“Money is power, and power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.” Wife of former Rotary Club president during 1987 during Trump’s fraud presidential campaign to gain national exposure in order to sell copies of his book and get on NY Times bestseller list.
No one was pepared for the shameless lies, half-truths, omissions, distortions, exaggerations, image burnishings, and lily gildings of Trump:The Art of the Deal. Although publicly Trump promised to donate his $1.5 million royalty share from his book to charity, according to Trump Organization insiders, he decided to contribute only a few thousand dollars to charity and kept the lion’s share of his book royalties for himself.
In 1982 there were just 13 billionaires in the US. By 1988 the number was reportedly over 50. Donald was determined to be recognized as the most glamorous and acquisitive of the new American billionaires, despite the fact that he did not rightfully qualify as one. He released a financial statement for public consumption estimating his worth at $3.734 billion. The values assigned to his properties were hyperinflated. He wanted the media to believe he was a billionaire even though he was not. Why? So he could use his image to impress bankers and bondholders into lending him more and more money for bigger deals.
As Tom Fitzsimmons later attested, Donald was not a regular churchgoer or, for that matter, even a church member.
Donald’s repeated statement that Ivana works at the Plaza Hotel for “a dollar a year and all the dresses she can buy.” Shows how poorly women’s work is valued.
HORSES ASS!!!! Summer of 1988, Libutti offered to sell a Kentucky colt named Alibi to Steve Hyde. Realizing the colt could provide his boss, Trump, with perfect pretext for hobnobbing with the high-rolling casino customers who frequented the track, Donald agreed to buy Alibi for asking price of $500,000. He then insisted on changing the colt’s name to DJ Trump, proclaiming that he had automatically increased the animal’s value by $250,000 and should therefore have to pay only half the originally agreed-on price. Worse, Donald demanded that DJ Trump be shipped up from Florida to start racing right away. At the time the barn where the colt was stabled happened to be housing an equine virus. After running a full-speed time trial against the advice of the trainer, DJ Trump caught the bug, which blocked the circulation of blood in his forelegs. The only way to save the animal was to amputate its hooves. The operation did not affect DJ Trump’s future capacity as a stud, but it ended his racing career. When Hyde told LiButti that Donald no longer wanted to buy the crippled horse, the ultimate high roller vowed never to gamble at Trump Plaza again. “The great Donald Trump, ritz and glitz son of a bitch,” LiButti fumed, “Because of him, we ruined a $20 million animal.”
Several months after DJ Trump episode, LiButti allegedly caused a new round of problems for Trump Plaza. Feb 1989 Division of Gaming Enforcement charge the casino with discrimination against blacks, Asians, and females. The complaint based on testimony of Trump Plaza employees who charged that higher-ups had them removed from the crap tables at LiButti’s behest because he did not like to gamble in the presence of women and minorities. Trump Plaza was fined $200,000 in connection with the complaint.
Over the past decade the nation’s largest and most prestigious financial institutions have been lending billions of dollars to Donald. But until his recent cash-flow crisis, none of his banks or bondholders ever bothered to document all his assets and outstanding liabilities as they would for a home loan to an average customer. Rather, they have been lending purely on the basis of the Trump name and public image, both of which are now considerable devalued.
Ivana demands that her “dollar a year and all the dresses she can buy” compensation package be replaced by a bona fide salary. But The Donald informs her by telephone that she has been “fired.” Which later, Kennedy (Ivana’s attorney) quietly negotiates with Donald to have her reinstated at the Place without public notice of her firing. Raise to $375,000 a year.
“I can’t take it anymore,” Marla declares with remarkable calm as she watches Donald exit. “He’s just pathological. He lies and lies and lies.”
Ivana’s divorce lawyer, Michael Kennedy, opines that if Marla “thinks her relationship is based on trust, I agree with her - she doesn’t need a prenuptial agreement. She needs a psychiatrist.” He already persuaded her to sign a management contract giving him 30% of her earnings from modeling, television, film, and theatrical jobs.
Before Donald agrees to divorce settlement terms, he insists that Ivana meet his demands on two other issues: That she & children move out of the Trump Tower triplex within 5 years. Second, he insists on enforcing the gag clause in their nuptial contract. The clause prohibits her from publishing “any diary, memoir, letter, story, photograph, interview, article, essay, account, or description or depiction of any kind whatsoever, whether fictionalized or not, concerning her marriage to DONALD or any other aspect of DONALD’S personal business or financial affairs... in any communciations medium, including, without limitation, books, magazines, television... Ivana balks on both points.
Justices of the appellate division of the New York Supreme Court rule 5-0 that Judge Gangel-Jacob erred in striking the gag clause from the Trumps’ nuptial contract. The trial court exceeded its “limited authority to disturb the terms of a separation agreement” the judges conclude.
Donald’s most valuable property - at least as far as he is concerned - is his name. He boasts time and again that he can instantly add value to any property or project simply by adding “Trump” to it.
“I believe I’ve added show business to the real estate business.”
Although he brags that he personally signs every check, unpaid bills and past-due invoices pile up on his desk for months at a time.
Donald tried - unsuccessfully - to convince Playboy magazine to run a spread on the “Girls of Trump” for which some of the staffers would supposedly agree to pose in the nude.
Ivana Trump has become Donald Trump’s female clone and alter ego or, as she likes to put it in her fractured English, his “wife-twin.”
Donald learned other resonant lessons from his father. He learned how to make money by using other people’s money, primarily the tax paying public’s. He learned how to cultivate the friendship of politicians, political fixers and big bankers, how to handle mob-connected contractors, and how to impress the opposite sex.
Ivana can’t get over the fact that The Donald himself has been making even more disparaging remarks about her than the most vicious members of the media.
“Mr. Trump, I know this must terrible for you to lose your three top casino executives all in the same day,” says the voice on the other end of the line. “I’m so sorry for what happened... I guess the only thing that could have been worse is if you had been on the helicopter with them.” Donald glances across the desk at one of his vice-presidents. “You’re going to hate me for this,” he says. “But I just can’t resist. I can get some publicity out of this.” Then Donald releases the mute button on his speakerphone and informs the reporter, “You know, I was going to go with them on that helicopter...” Donald goes on to confide that he changed his mind and decided not to go. The next morning his revelation will appear in the New York Daily News. The news that Donald barely escaped sudden death seems almost as startling as the crash itself. But according to a half a dozen bona fide sources close to Trump, his revelation is a barefaced lie.
In Oct 1973, the justice department filed a civil rights suit under the Fair Housing Act of 1969 charging Trump-owned projects with racial and sexual discrimination in renting of apartments. The Trumps reached a settlement in summer of 1975.
In Nov 1973, Donald Trump was the second-biggest contributor to governor candidate Hugh Carey, giving $50,000 and cosigned $300,000 loan to the campaign. Buttressed by unprecedented inside influence on both the state and municipal levels, Donald J. Trump embarked on what proved to be the most impressive series of real estate deals anyone in postwar baby boom generation ever made.
He was always talking about the only two things that seemed to interest him: himself and his deals.
“Curiously enough, most of those I’ve talked to enjoyed working for him. I think people enjoy working with somebody with a lot of energy and a lot of involvement,” architectural project manager, Ralph Steinglass.
“Part of the challenge for Donald, beyond seeing his name in lights again and again, was seeing what he could get away with, how long he could keep fooling all the people all the time.”
As he and only a handful of top subordinates well knew, the myth of the Trump wealth was just that, a myth.
The only way he could finance a buying spree was with “OPM” - other people’s money - borrowed from banks and junk bond investors.
Interviewed by Barbara Walters, Dec11, 1987, “If you could be appointed president and didn’t have to run, would you like to be president? she asked. “I don’t know, interestingly, you know part of the enjoyment of something and part of the whole thing is the battle. If you could be appointed, I’m not sure that would be the same ball game.” he said. “The seeking, it’s the quest that really, I believe – it’s the hunt that I believe I love.” Donald insisted.
Wynn’s takeover attempt incites Donald’s competitive instincts to a fever pitch. That, in turn, clouded his judgment, impaired his fabled negotiating skills, and led him to make one of the greatest business blunders of his career. Offering to buy Hilton’s casino in Atlantic City.
“Money is power, and power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.” Wife of former Rotary Club president during 1987 during Trump’s fraud presidential campaign to gain national exposure in order to sell copies of his book and get on NY Times bestseller list.
No one was pepared for the shameless lies, half-truths, omissions, distortions, exaggerations, image burnishings, and lily gildings of Trump:The Art of the Deal. Although publicly Trump promised to donate his $1.5 million royalty share from his book to charity, according to Trump Organization insiders, he decided to contribute only a few thousand dollars to charity and kept the lion’s share of his book royalties for himself.
In 1982 there were just 13 billionaires in the US. By 1988 the number was reportedly over 50. Donald was determined to be recognized as the most glamorous and acquisitive of the new American billionaires, despite the fact that he did not rightfully qualify as one. He released a financial statement for public consumption estimating his worth at $3.734 billion. The values assigned to his properties were hyperinflated. He wanted the media to believe he was a billionaire even though he was not. Why? So he could use his image to impress bankers and bondholders into lending him more and more money for bigger deals.
As Tom Fitzsimmons later attested, Donald was not a regular churchgoer or, for that matter, even a church member.
Donald’s repeated statement that Ivana works at the Plaza Hotel for “a dollar a year and all the dresses she can buy.” Shows how poorly women’s work is valued.
HORSES ASS!!!! Summer of 1988, Libutti offered to sell a Kentucky colt named Alibi to Steve Hyde. Realizing the colt could provide his boss, Trump, with perfect pretext for hobnobbing with the high-rolling casino customers who frequented the track, Donald agreed to buy Alibi for asking price of $500,000. He then insisted on changing the colt’s name to DJ Trump, proclaiming that he had automatically increased the animal’s value by $250,000 and should therefore have to pay only half the originally agreed-on price. Worse, Donald demanded that DJ Trump be shipped up from Florida to start racing right away. At the time the barn where the colt was stabled happened to be housing an equine virus. After running a full-speed time trial against the advice of the trainer, DJ Trump caught the bug, which blocked the circulation of blood in his forelegs. The only way to save the animal was to amputate its hooves. The operation did not affect DJ Trump’s future capacity as a stud, but it ended his racing career. When Hyde told LiButti that Donald no longer wanted to buy the crippled horse, the ultimate high roller vowed never to gamble at Trump Plaza again. “The great Donald Trump, ritz and glitz son of a bitch,” LiButti fumed, “Because of him, we ruined a $20 million animal.”
Several months after DJ Trump episode, LiButti allegedly caused a new round of problems for Trump Plaza. Feb 1989 Division of Gaming Enforcement charge the casino with discrimination against blacks, Asians, and females. The complaint based on testimony of Trump Plaza employees who charged that higher-ups had them removed from the crap tables at LiButti’s behest because he did not like to gamble in the presence of women and minorities. Trump Plaza was fined $200,000 in connection with the complaint.
Over the past decade the nation’s largest and most prestigious financial institutions have been lending billions of dollars to Donald. But until his recent cash-flow crisis, none of his banks or bondholders ever bothered to document all his assets and outstanding liabilities as they would for a home loan to an average customer. Rather, they have been lending purely on the basis of the Trump name and public image, both of which are now considerable devalued.
Ivana demands that her “dollar a year and all the dresses she can buy” compensation package be replaced by a bona fide salary. But The Donald informs her by telephone that she has been “fired.” Which later, Kennedy (Ivana’s attorney) quietly negotiates with Donald to have her reinstated at the Place without public notice of her firing. Raise to $375,000 a year.
“I can’t take it anymore,” Marla declares with remarkable calm as she watches Donald exit. “He’s just pathological. He lies and lies and lies.”
Ivana’s divorce lawyer, Michael Kennedy, opines that if Marla “thinks her relationship is based on trust, I agree with her - she doesn’t need a prenuptial agreement. She needs a psychiatrist.” He already persuaded her to sign a management contract giving him 30% of her earnings from modeling, television, film, and theatrical jobs.
Before Donald agrees to divorce settlement terms, he insists that Ivana meet his demands on two other issues: That she & children move out of the Trump Tower triplex within 5 years. Second, he insists on enforcing the gag clause in their nuptial contract. The clause prohibits her from publishing “any diary, memoir, letter, story, photograph, interview, article, essay, account, or description or depiction of any kind whatsoever, whether fictionalized or not, concerning her marriage to DONALD or any other aspect of DONALD’S personal business or financial affairs... in any communciations medium, including, without limitation, books, magazines, television... Ivana balks on both points.
Justices of the appellate division of the New York Supreme Court rule 5-0 that Judge Gangel-Jacob erred in striking the gag clause from the Trumps’ nuptial contract. The trial court exceeded its “limited authority to disturb the terms of a separation agreement” the judges conclude.
June 18, 2018
Great book!
As with any biography of a celebrity, in my opinion it is doubtful that this book is 100% accurate. However, again in my opinion, I would bet that 98% IS accurate. I’ve been looking for this type of book on Trump - something that tells me more of his background, his relationships with family, and a book that doesn’t have a political slant to it. This is that book.
Because it was written in 1993, politics is hardly mentioned other than his first “presidential candidacy” that was actually a publicity stunt to give him national media exposure. Donald Trump is nothing if not a media manipulator to the NTh degree.
Early on, I thought the book would give me a more favorable opinion of “The Donald”, but it ultimately verified my already extremely low opinion of the man. In addition to being a media manipulator, he is a pathological liar and a con artist, and those traits were very obvious very early in his career.
If you’re looking for a book to praise this charlatan, you need to keep looking. This one calls him out for what he is: a charismatic carnival barker who is running scam after scam and fooling a lot of the people all of the time.
As with any biography of a celebrity, in my opinion it is doubtful that this book is 100% accurate. However, again in my opinion, I would bet that 98% IS accurate. I’ve been looking for this type of book on Trump - something that tells me more of his background, his relationships with family, and a book that doesn’t have a political slant to it. This is that book.
Because it was written in 1993, politics is hardly mentioned other than his first “presidential candidacy” that was actually a publicity stunt to give him national media exposure. Donald Trump is nothing if not a media manipulator to the NTh degree.
Early on, I thought the book would give me a more favorable opinion of “The Donald”, but it ultimately verified my already extremely low opinion of the man. In addition to being a media manipulator, he is a pathological liar and a con artist, and those traits were very obvious very early in his career.
If you’re looking for a book to praise this charlatan, you need to keep looking. This one calls him out for what he is: a charismatic carnival barker who is running scam after scam and fooling a lot of the people all of the time.
November 5, 2024
The Great Pretender
In The Lost Tycoon, Harry Hurt III delivers an unflinching look at Donald J. Trump’s life, blending investigative journalism with sharp narrative to reveal both the highs and lows of Trump’s journey through fame and fortune.
While reading, I found myself noticing parallels between Trump’s story and the fictional life of Forrest Gump. Like Gump, Trump has a knack for winding up in unexpected places, often finding himself in situations where he doesn’t quite belong. Both characters experience moments that seem larger than life, yet while Gump tends to win people over through his earnestness and accidental successes, Trump’s appearances reveal a different pattern. Hurt’s portrayal suggests that Trump often enters situations projected as a genius, a “magical” figure of business acumen, only to reveal shortcomings—particularly in financial matters and leadership—that undermine the myth.
One of the most compelling contrasts that emerges in The Lost Tycoon is the theme of loyalty. Where Gump remains devoted to the people and causes he cares about—be it his crush, his child, his comrades, or even an orangutan companion—Trump’s loyalties appear far more fluid. Hurt’s book paints a picture of a man willing to prioritize personal gain above relationships, often leaving friends, family members, investors, and employees feeling betrayed or abandoned in his wake.
For readers seeking insight into the man behind the headlines, Hurt’s account serves as a thought-provoking and revealing glimpse into the life of a polarizing figure. Whether admired or criticized, Trump’s story is undeniably captivating—and Hurt’s book presents it with depth, detail, and a touch of dark humor that makes it a memorable read.
In The Lost Tycoon, Harry Hurt III delivers an unflinching look at Donald J. Trump’s life, blending investigative journalism with sharp narrative to reveal both the highs and lows of Trump’s journey through fame and fortune.
While reading, I found myself noticing parallels between Trump’s story and the fictional life of Forrest Gump. Like Gump, Trump has a knack for winding up in unexpected places, often finding himself in situations where he doesn’t quite belong. Both characters experience moments that seem larger than life, yet while Gump tends to win people over through his earnestness and accidental successes, Trump’s appearances reveal a different pattern. Hurt’s portrayal suggests that Trump often enters situations projected as a genius, a “magical” figure of business acumen, only to reveal shortcomings—particularly in financial matters and leadership—that undermine the myth.
One of the most compelling contrasts that emerges in The Lost Tycoon is the theme of loyalty. Where Gump remains devoted to the people and causes he cares about—be it his crush, his child, his comrades, or even an orangutan companion—Trump’s loyalties appear far more fluid. Hurt’s book paints a picture of a man willing to prioritize personal gain above relationships, often leaving friends, family members, investors, and employees feeling betrayed or abandoned in his wake.
For readers seeking insight into the man behind the headlines, Hurt’s account serves as a thought-provoking and revealing glimpse into the life of a polarizing figure. Whether admired or criticized, Trump’s story is undeniably captivating—and Hurt’s book presents it with depth, detail, and a touch of dark humor that makes it a memorable read.
June 15, 2024
A Scumbag
Liar
Cheat
Tax fraud
Securities Fraud
Charities Fraud
Hiring illegal immigrants then not paying them
Cozy with the mob
Refusal to pay workers and vendors
Bank fraud....
And this book only covers up to his mid 40's and first bankruptcies
Liar
Cheat
Tax fraud
Securities Fraud
Charities Fraud
Hiring illegal immigrants then not paying them
Cozy with the mob
Refusal to pay workers and vendors
Bank fraud....
And this book only covers up to his mid 40's and first bankruptcies
August 22, 2020
I understand what makes Wayne Barrett the great Trump chronicler but I have tried so many times to read his book on the President and I just can’t get through the first 40 or so pages. It’s larded with facts and names but not streamlined narratively so for easy reading.
In her book Hiding In Plain Sight, Sarah Kendzior mentioned that one but she also mentioned Lost Tycoon, a book on Trump I’d never heard of. I grabbed it during a borrowing spree from the library and yes. This is the book I’ve wanted.
As we get deeper and deeper into the Trump presidency, I’ve had a yen lately for looking back at his New York and Atlantic City days. Those in particular gave as good of an insight as possible into how he would plan to govern: leverage assets with maximum compliance from corrupt and unethical figures, brag about success using only the name brand, and hit the road when everything turns to dust. Harry Hurt III captures all the gory detail but, unlike Barrett, in a way the layperson such as I can follow. Along those lines, he covers Trump’s tumultuous marriage to Ivana and relationship with Marla Maples in a way that was intriguing and revealing more than gossipy.
Hurt has the ability to make Donald be the punchline without the winking smirk of a Jon Stewart or other wannabe satirist. Whereas everyone on the left wants to laugh at how buffoonish Trump is, Hurt lays the case out for his ineptness here. In no way can one read this and think that Donald Trump would some day be a good President. Although the brief coverage of his would be run in 1988 perhaps gave us more than a slight clue as to his burgeoning popularity.
In her book Hiding In Plain Sight, Sarah Kendzior mentioned that one but she also mentioned Lost Tycoon, a book on Trump I’d never heard of. I grabbed it during a borrowing spree from the library and yes. This is the book I’ve wanted.
As we get deeper and deeper into the Trump presidency, I’ve had a yen lately for looking back at his New York and Atlantic City days. Those in particular gave as good of an insight as possible into how he would plan to govern: leverage assets with maximum compliance from corrupt and unethical figures, brag about success using only the name brand, and hit the road when everything turns to dust. Harry Hurt III captures all the gory detail but, unlike Barrett, in a way the layperson such as I can follow. Along those lines, he covers Trump’s tumultuous marriage to Ivana and relationship with Marla Maples in a way that was intriguing and revealing more than gossipy.
Hurt has the ability to make Donald be the punchline without the winking smirk of a Jon Stewart or other wannabe satirist. Whereas everyone on the left wants to laugh at how buffoonish Trump is, Hurt lays the case out for his ineptness here. In no way can one read this and think that Donald Trump would some day be a good President. Although the brief coverage of his would be run in 1988 perhaps gave us more than a slight clue as to his burgeoning popularity.
August 24, 2012
After reading few of biographies of "successful" business men you get the feeling that it is true that many of the corporate successful men are often in real "snakes in suits". Trump of course himself will not say many of the things said about him in this book is true but....
April 5, 2018
Wrote like a fiction novel about a current President who was proven to be narcissistic, pathological liar, and the worst acumen in the business time and time again. He lost prized possessions and alienated his family members. Living of highly leveraged properties, his net worth can be negative.
February 9, 2018
I picked up Lost Tycoon after seeing that it was on Janet Maslin's (NY times critic) best reads of 2017. I was originally published in 1998 and covers Trump's early years as a developer in NYC and Atlantic City, as well as his marriage and divorce with Ivana. Although there were some good gossipy parts, for me it was mostly "deja vue all over again". He was chaotic, irrational and combative and anyone who worked for him sooner or later was thrown under the bus, including his family. He overstated his assets, even to the banks and on the strength of his image and charisma was given loans by bankers who, much to their own detriment, didn't even check his numbers. Ironically, the author wrote," He has alienated his ex-wife, his ex-mistress, and most of his former top ranking business associates, not to mention his brother and father. And if he still retains his beguiling charm and certain uncanny populist appeal, he has lost both his credibility and his once storied image as the master artist of the deal." Hurt ends the book by quoting Fitzgerald famous line from the Last Tycoon, " There are no second acts in American lives." Oh, that that were true...
July 29, 2017
Easily the most tabloid-y of all the Trump books out there, this is entertaining for both its focus on Trump's seedier scandals and its willingness to believe and blow up all the gossip about his personal life and dealings. So for those wanting to believe the worst in the man, its quite an enjoyable read even if you know its largely overly inflated.
But it also ends in 1993 so Marla is referred to as an ex-girlfriend in the final chapters. And if you want to hate the man (and lord do I) there are other Trump books that give more grounded and detailed reasons.
But it also ends in 1993 so Marla is referred to as an ex-girlfriend in the final chapters. And if you want to hate the man (and lord do I) there are other Trump books that give more grounded and detailed reasons.
Want to read
May 25, 2020Posting a link to this article so I can reread it when I read the book.
THE NEW YORKER
INK OCTOBER 24, 2016 ISSUE
"DOCUMENTING TRUMP’S ABUSE OF WOMEN"
For his 1993 book, “The Lost Tycoon,” Harry Hurt III acquired Ivana’s divorce deposition, in which she stated that Trump raped her.
By Jane Mayer
https://www.newyorker.com/wp/3266911?...
THE NEW YORKER
INK OCTOBER 24, 2016 ISSUE
"DOCUMENTING TRUMP’S ABUSE OF WOMEN"
For his 1993 book, “The Lost Tycoon,” Harry Hurt III acquired Ivana’s divorce deposition, in which she stated that Trump raped her.
By Jane Mayer
https://www.newyorker.com/wp/3266911?...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 26, 2017
This book was a very interesting read, even many many years after its publication. It's been almost prophetic, and a shame more people didn't read this before. Trump's key tactics are still in use, only on a much larger scale. Media manipulation, corruption, divisiveness, self-inflation, and lying are all his key tools. And nothing has changed--it's just on a grander, and much more dangerous, scale now.
August 9, 2025
Super read. This book came out in or around 1997 but is so spot on for today. The warning signs were there in the late 1980's and despite Mr. Hurt and a few others like David Cay Johnson, raising the red flags they were ignored. Hurt writes in an engaging voice -- one where you keep reading even late into the night and early morning to see what came next even though in retrospect we knew.
August 13, 2017
He’s still the same douchebag he was when this book was written.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 18, 2020
Hard to believe that this clown is president. Shows the power of self-marketing at its finest
January 3, 2021
Very very interesting.
December 22, 2017
While this has been released on Amazon with a publication date of 2016, this book was first released in 1993 and it has not been updated with any information past that date. If you understand that this book stops in 1993 (Marla and Donald still will they/won't they, and the author ending the book pretty sure that the financial ruin taking place is the end of Donald Trump financially, his life in shambles), it is a fascinating look at Donald Trump before anyone thought this man would be President.
The narcissism was there, the lies were there, the tricks to screw over others for his own enrichment were there. Using the death of an in-law for publicity, the anger of his children, the horrific treatment of the women in his life and his constant manipulations of them. All there.
Not made up by "snowflakes" because we don't like his politics.
This book is the portrait of a man accomplished in inheritance, greed, and little else. It outlines business dealings and machinations by a man that seems to have changed his morality and ethics very little over the years and goes into great detail of moves, countermoves, lies, and betrayals. Nothing in his business "accomplishments" would help run a government or better a nation.
If we as citizens are similar to Trump Bondholders, this book should serve as a dire warning regarding what we can expect to get out of it.
The narcissism was there, the lies were there, the tricks to screw over others for his own enrichment were there. Using the death of an in-law for publicity, the anger of his children, the horrific treatment of the women in his life and his constant manipulations of them. All there.
Not made up by "snowflakes" because we don't like his politics.
This book is the portrait of a man accomplished in inheritance, greed, and little else. It outlines business dealings and machinations by a man that seems to have changed his morality and ethics very little over the years and goes into great detail of moves, countermoves, lies, and betrayals. Nothing in his business "accomplishments" would help run a government or better a nation.
If we as citizens are similar to Trump Bondholders, this book should serve as a dire warning regarding what we can expect to get out of it.
August 2, 2020
A lesser book in the pantheon of Trump bios
While there was quite a bit of Page Six-style gossip to spice things up, there was little here that hasn't already been covered in other, more substantial biographies. If anything, it only confirms what most people either suspect or know about Trump's modus operandi. If nothing else, he's consistent. Overall, though, this is a lesser book when compared to what's out there.
While there was quite a bit of Page Six-style gossip to spice things up, there was little here that hasn't already been covered in other, more substantial biographies. If anything, it only confirms what most people either suspect or know about Trump's modus operandi. If nothing else, he's consistent. Overall, though, this is a lesser book when compared to what's out there.
August 21, 2017
Did not feel proper closure with this book.
The book was interesting however it seemed to stop abruptly. There was no finality of the Ivana divorce and the eventual marriage and child with Marla. As well it did not go into his financial comeback or his relationship and subsequent marriage to Melania.
The book was interesting however it seemed to stop abruptly. There was no finality of the Ivana divorce and the eventual marriage and child with Marla. As well it did not go into his financial comeback or his relationship and subsequent marriage to Melania.
Read
March 4, 2018Interesting summary of Donald Trump's business practices. He learned to be a flim-flam man from his father and never looked back! Fortunately, you don't really need to read the entire book. Once you read about how he lied, stole, and cheated his way through business deals a couple of times, you'll get the message. This is how Trump operates. If Trump is good at anything, it's the art of the con.
October 4, 2017
Very informative
Good book. A little too much business detail, but shows what kind of businessman he is. The rest shows what kind of a man he is. Neither is flattering. Lots of research done and it would seem the truth has been presented.
Good book. A little too much business detail, but shows what kind of businessman he is. The rest shows what kind of a man he is. Neither is flattering. Lots of research done and it would seem the truth has been presented.
January 15, 2021
The Donald exposed
This is an excellent book that will enlighten all to the disgusting crooked psychotic narcissistic “deal maker” that is the real Donald Trump. Well written, well documented, and it’s too bad more people didn’t read this before he ran for President.
This is an excellent book that will enlighten all to the disgusting crooked psychotic narcissistic “deal maker” that is the real Donald Trump. Well written, well documented, and it’s too bad more people didn’t read this before he ran for President.
June 22, 2016
Everyone should read this book.
November 2, 2016
Good but...
The book was very good and informative, however, it was very difficult to read as the editing and proof reading is awful.
The book was very good and informative, however, it was very difficult to read as the editing and proof reading is awful.
July 19, 2018
Just okay
The book, just like the man is larger than life and just as fake. Don’t waste time or money on this book
The book, just like the man is larger than life and just as fake. Don’t waste time or money on this book
June 28, 2020
The Last Tycoon
A must Great read on the real Donald phrump from the 70’s to the 90’s. Everyone should read this! I
A must Great read on the real Donald phrump from the 70’s to the 90’s. Everyone should read this! I
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