White House, Inc.: How Donald Trump Turned the Presidency into a Business

by Dan Alexander

An in-depth investigation into Donald Trump's business--and how he used America's top job to service it.

White House, Inc. is a newsmaking expos� that details President Trump's efforts to make money off of politics, taking us inside his exclusive clubs, luxury hotels, overseas partnerships, commercial properties, and personal mansions. Alexander tracks hundreds of millions of dollars flowing freely between big businesses and President Trump. He explains, in plain language, how Trump tried to translate power into profit, from the 2016 campaign to the ramp-up to the 2020 campaign.

Just because you turn the presidency into a business doesn't necessarily mean you turn it into a good business. After Trump won the White House, profits plunged at certain properties, like the Doral golf resort in Miami. But the presidency also opened up new opportunities. Trump's commercial and residential property portfolio morphed into a one-of-a-kind marketplace, through which anyone, anywhere, could pay the president of the United States. Hundreds of customers--including foreign governments, big businesses, and individual investors--obliged.

The president's disregard for norms sparked a trickle-down ethics crisis with no precedent in modern American history. Trump appointed an inner circle of centimillionaires and billionaires--including Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Wilbur Ross, and Carl Icahn--who came with their own conflict-ridden portfolios. Following the president's lead, they trampled barriers meant to separate their financial holdings from their government roles.

White House, Inc. is a page-turning, hair-raising investigation into Trump and his team, who corrupted the U.S. presidency and managed to avoid accountability. Until now.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History, Us Presidents, Business

320 pages, Hardcover

Published September 22, 2020

Reviews

[Jill Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like to read about Donald Trump and his administration, you’re in luck because it seems as If a new book is published every Tuesday. Ranging from books about Trump’s love life, his family and THEIR love lives, and clear to the damage Trump is doing, Donald Trump has been a godsend to American book publishing industry. This Tuesday Dan Alexander’s new book, “White House, Inc: How Donald Trump Turned the Presidency Into a Business”, is published. It is a well-researched and written book about how Trump operated his family business before he was president and how he’s turned his presidential term into a money grab.

Alexander’s book is an expose of Trump’s financial dealings. It’s a bit dry, but otherwise Trump is hung out to dry by bankers, business partners, and family. Alexander’s research is extensive and is an enjoyable read.

[Matt Graupman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know what this masochistic impulse is that I have for reading about the goddamn Trump administration. Maybe those four years were so chaotic that I feel compelled to read reasonable post-mortems just to prove to myself that it all actually happened? Or maybe it’s a cautionary exercise, so that something like that never happens again? Or maybe it’s just the trashiest kind of political soap opera, jam-packed full of imbeciles and sycophants, that makes for an entertaining story? Whatever the reason, I enjoyed Dan Alexander’s “White House, Inc.: How Trump Turned The Presidency Into A Business” because it takes a deep dive into a facet of the administration that’s been largely overlooked: how the big orange narcissist used the highest office in the land to make himself and his family piles of money while also amassing tons of debt. Someone once said Donald Trump is the poor man’s version of a rich man and this book proves that hypothesis. Born on third base and thinking he hit a triple, he’s a staggeringly mediocre businessman who resorted to fleecing the American people to cover up his inadequacies. And the most unsettling part? No one really stopped him. Our democracy is broken; almost certainly irreparably.

[Ericka Clou · Rating 3 out of 5]

The worst of this is mostly things I already knew from following the news and the rest is not that exciting.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book explains in detail the enormous grift going on by the president and the administration. Not only have these officials earned millions while serving the public through private deals, these deals often come from conflicts of interest in domestic and often foreign groups. The president donates the salary coming from citizens while getting millions from Qatar in real-estate. It's deeply troubling, and provides additional context to some unusual administration actions.

Not only is this restricted to the president, but the cabinet as well. Several have resigned due to ethical dilemmas and others are still under investigation. I expect more indictments will arrive in the coming years.

While they could've, should've, divested their investments, they've instead lied and brushed off legitimate concern and criticism. This book's findings should concern any citizen who cares about their country.

[Ted Haussman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid research and reporting about Trump’s conflicts of interest and how he permitted himself to be compromised by foreign governments. We’ll never know the full extent, but the expose is alarming, albeit not surprising.

What is surprising is how some of his ventures are barely getting by or losing money. Take his Washington hotel where it’s popularly assumed he’s raking in money. But the truth is far less sanguine, even before coronavirus, and only precipitously worsened afterwards.

Despite maybe his belief that he’d get rich by becoming President, he’s become a lot less wealthy and only subjected himself to legal liabilities. Was it all worth it? Perhaps only for his ego.

[Dick Heimbold · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a serious book dealing with the financial affairs of Donald Trump in his term as president. I use the word "serious" because of the immense amount of research the author has done on the subject. It is heavily documented by chapter in the reference section at the end.
The evidence presented shows Trump was actively running businesses while president and leveraging the job as president to increase his fortune. I finished with the firm conviction that we Americans have to demand that our president has all opportunities for corruption cut off from him and his family. We also have to get some spine into ethics enforcement in the executive branch.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love it or hate it Trump and his Organization will always be on top they have too many mousetraps.

What my 👂 heard ⤵️

his name became more popular than ever but also more polarizing
it's tough to catch every lie something Trump knows well
that's an impressive achievement
I stopped drinking nine years ago and have been in full comeback mode ever since
Donald Trump is a brand a big brand
you're on a lying spree today
where do you invest your wealth these days?
there's an old legend
big plans don't happen without big $
i just want us to have twin sky scrapers
flashy real estate often involves foreign money
the vips of vips
how can I turn fake billions into real millions

[Cheriwinkle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audio book. This book is SO incredibly well researched that I hope many, many Americans will read it - particularly the everyday citizens (like some of my family members) who thought Trump was sincerely interested in them. There are a lot of financial numbers and facts that sometimes seem hard to plow through, but even I could understand what was going on and that the bottom line was that Trump and his chosen were completely unscrupulous, and that the only concern was for self-profit no matter who else got the shaft.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a meticulous pouring over of Donald Trump and his money... from prior to the election thru now..
it is quite the eye opener. Although it seems that he will not be prosecuted for what is in this book because of the difficulty of proving intent in much of the monetary dealing, it certainly appears to be be ethically questionable at the least.
If you enjoy reading a lot of money trailing , this book is it

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enlightening review of the Trump business empire and how the President by refusing to give up his fortune essentially immediately violated the emoluments clause on the Constitution. However, it contradicts itself by concluding there's almost no possible way to keep track of whether this is being done intentionally or not. And I guess that's the point.

[Miguel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Concise overview on the Trump crime family and those in their orbit and their financial misdealing. Was struggling to try to discover much new here and seems to be consolidating some widely reported info on this brood from other books and news sources.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well done compendium of many of the unethical activities resulting in financial gains by president Trump and his woefully unqualified children hired into White House despite a statute prohibiting nepotism.

[Karen White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative. Numbers can be used to hide profitability and Trump’s accountants knew well how to represent their client. The author provided readers with a historical view of the Trump enterprises explaining how bravado not just money plays a significant role in wealth accumulation.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good For Business Experts

I found this book hard to read because I’m no expert in business and economics. But I think it good for readers who have a better handle on these topics. Trump abused the presidency and used it as a money making business.

[Jay Himelstein]

Interesting. Not sure if all the content is accurate though.

[Kenneth Brachfeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened on Audible. So much fraud, so much deception. Almost unreal the degree of Trump criminality. Extremely well researched and detailed.

[Jack Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of really good research went into this and it's baffling how much is still educated conjecture. The appendix where they go through company by company is fascinating.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emoluments revealed

[Jody Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deep dive into the real estate business of the former president.

[Indrani Basu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent reporting and telling details. Come for the numbers and stay for the narrative storytelling.

[Damien A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed

[Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whilst not as detailed as it could’ve been, White House, Inc is well worth the read. Detailing Trumps current and historic holdings, dodgy dealings and loan arrangements, Alexander highlights a lot of red flags raised around Trump, his family and associates.