Author Topic: "It takes brains to make millions, it takes a Trump to make Billions."  (Read 7123 times)

misterhorsey

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Love it

http://www.vox.com/2015/9/2/9248963/donald-trump-index-fund

Seems Trump became rich as his father was.  And it seems that he would have outperformed his own real estate ventures f he'd invested his money in an index.

(fixed the link)
« Last Edit: September 04, 2015, 04:15:53 AM by misterhorsey »

I'm a red panda

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Re: "It takes brains to make millions, it takes a Trump to make Billions."
« Reply #1 on: September 03, 2015, 07:32:23 AM »
The link didn't work.


Harry Potter also made billions.  So, magic works.

GuitarStv

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Re: "It takes brains to make millions, it takes a Trump to make Billions."
« Reply #2 on: September 03, 2015, 08:02:25 AM »
The tower Trump built in Toronto was poorly built.  It caused road closures for a while because the police were afraid that the top would fall off and harm bystanders below.  http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/downtown-toronto-streets-to-open-for-rush-hour-after-trump-tower-s-antenna-fiasco-1.3210798

Subpar quality from cost savings leading to large public costs - the Trump brand.

Retire-Canada

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Re: "It takes brains to make millions, it takes a Trump to make Billions."
« Reply #3 on: September 03, 2015, 10:28:12 AM »
Trump doesn't want to be just rich. He wants to be a celebrity. Investing in index funds isn't sexy.


trailrated

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Re: "It takes brains to make millions, it takes a Trump to make Billions."
« Reply #5 on: September 03, 2015, 10:55:35 AM »
neat article, thanks for sharing.

milesdividendmd

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"It takes brains to make millions, it takes a Trump to make Billions."
« Reply #6 on: September 03, 2015, 10:58:16 AM »
Great link Forummm.

He's a proud member of the Dubya "born on third base and thought he hit a triple" club.

The counter argument, of course,  (devils advocate) is that he is still that rich after all of his excessive spending, so he probably outperformed in total returns prior to poor taste...)
« Last Edit: September 03, 2015, 03:08:57 PM by milesdividendmd »

JetBlast

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Re: "It takes brains to make millions, it takes a Trump to make Billions."
« Reply #7 on: September 03, 2015, 02:52:41 PM »
I don't care for Trump as a politician, but at least he hasn't squandered the fortune like many others. When you're at his level of wealth I feel the game is more about protecting what you have while getting maximum happiness from the utility of the money. If you already have a fortune you don't need to beat the market, just inflation. He's done that while having great fun being a celebrity blowhard and enjoying the ego boost from all the attention.

rocketpj

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Re: "It takes brains to make millions, it takes a Trump to make Billions."
« Reply #8 on: September 03, 2015, 02:58:07 PM »
Interesting that the Clintons are almost entirely in Vanguard index funds.  I guess that's what you do if you have a real job.

(NOTE: Not an USian and don't much care for or against the Clintons, just an interesting side note).



arebelspy

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Re: "It takes brains to make millions, it takes a Trump to make Billions."
« Reply #11 on: November 07, 2015, 04:46:29 AM »
Wow.  Pretty scathing. Thanks for posting!
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
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CCCA

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This analysis assumes he's never withdrawn any money from his index fund.   Of course he lives a lavish lifestyle and most importantly he's been divorced at least a couple of times. Don't know the details, nor do I really want to, but that could have made a big dent in his NW and invalidate at least the main calculation of the article.

He of course still inherited a ton of money but maybe he did more with it than the article suggests.

arebelspy

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This analysis assumes he's never withdrawn any money from his index fund.   Of course he lives a lavish lifestyle and most importantly he's been divorced at least a couple of times. Don't know the details, nor do I really want to, but that could have made a big dent in his NW and invalidate at least the main calculation of the article.

He of course still inherited a ton of money but maybe he did more with it than the article suggests.

He probably hasn't spent the billions of difference had he in 1982 gone to index funds.

But it is a good point, it's hard to calculate exactly how it would have done.  Still thought it was quite interesting.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

DavidAnnArbor

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Re: "It takes brains to make millions, it takes a Trump to make Billions."
« Reply #14 on: November 07, 2015, 03:28:39 PM »
Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump in 2003 had a budget of spending of just under $1 million a year. She along with other young rich heirs is featured in the documentary, "Born Rich," which is available on hulu. Might also be available on youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o46HH-TfNY

the_fella

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Re: "It takes brains to make millions, it takes a Trump to make Billions."
« Reply #15 on: November 07, 2015, 09:33:52 PM »
Interesting that the Clintons are almost entirely in Vanguard index funds.  I guess that's what you do if you have a real job.

(NOTE: Not an USian and don't much care for or against the Clintons, just an interesting side note).

Since when is being a career politician a "real job"?

branman42

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This analysis assumes he's never withdrawn any money from his index fund.   Of course he lives a lavish lifestyle and most importantly he's been divorced at least a couple of times. Don't know the details, nor do I really want to, but that could have made a big dent in his NW and invalidate at least the main calculation of the article.

He of course still inherited a ton of money but maybe he did more with it than the article suggests.

He probably hasn't spent the billions of difference had he in 1982 gone to index funds.

But it is a good point, it's hard to calculate exactly how it would have done.  Still thought it was quite interesting.

That assumption is based on the fact that he made lots of money in real estate before 1982, plowed that (increased) amount of money into stocks at precisely the right time, and then did not withdraw anything more after that. it certainly would add up to billions if you count the compound interest of everything he spent as well as the cost of investing at any other point that year.

use2betrix

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Re: "It takes brains to make millions, it takes a Trump to make Billions."
« Reply #17 on: November 08, 2015, 02:30:30 PM »
Trumps father died in 1999. Why are they saying he inherited all that money in the 70's/80's?

Also, Trumps empire has created thousands upon thousands of jobs. A lot of good can be said of that.

arebelspy

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Re: "It takes brains to make millions, it takes a Trump to make Billions."
« Reply #18 on: November 08, 2015, 03:06:16 PM »
Also, Trumps empire has created thousands upon thousands of jobs. A lot of good can be said of that.

Is it more jobs than had his money been invested in businesses?
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
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YoungInvestor

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Re: "It takes brains to make millions, it takes a Trump to make Billions."
« Reply #19 on: November 08, 2015, 03:31:17 PM »
A couple of divorces and an extremely luxurious lifestyle, and he's managed to considerably increase his net worth in the meanwhile while creating an empire to his name and becoming ridiculously famous?

Sure beats an index fund in my opinion. Perhaps even on the money side of things.

dungoofed

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Re: "It takes brains to make millions, it takes a Trump to make Billions."
« Reply #20 on: November 08, 2015, 03:50:12 PM »
Not to mention that he diversified away from his father's empire of cheap apartments in poor areas. Yes, VOO is diverse enough for most Americans but at Trump's level it's nowhere near enough.

How much did his net worth drop in 2008? Exactly.

use2betrix

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Re: "It takes brains to make millions, it takes a Trump to make Billions."
« Reply #21 on: November 08, 2015, 04:37:20 PM »
Also, Trumps empire has created thousands upon thousands of jobs. A lot of good can be said of that.

Is it more jobs than had his money been invested in businesses?

As in.. Through the stock market?

Because he did invest it in businesses, his own, which created tons of construction jobs as well as permanent staffing jobs.

arebelspy

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Re: "It takes brains to make millions, it takes a Trump to make Billions."
« Reply #22 on: November 08, 2015, 04:43:07 PM »
Also, Trumps empire has created thousands upon thousands of jobs. A lot of good can be said of that.

Is it more jobs than had his money been invested in businesses?

As in.. Through the stock market?

Because he did invest it in businesses, his own, which created tons of construction jobs as well as permanent staffing jobs.

Correct, I was asking about the comparison.

How much did his net worth drop in 2008? Exactly.

I don't know, how much?
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

use2betrix

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Re: "It takes brains to make millions, it takes a Trump to make Billions."
« Reply #23 on: November 08, 2015, 06:15:35 PM »
Also, Trumps empire has created thousands upon thousands of jobs. A lot of good can be said of that.

Is it more jobs than had his money been invested in businesses?

As in.. Through the stock market?

Because he did invest it in businesses, his own, which created tons of construction jobs as well as permanent staffing jobs.

Correct, I was asking about the comparison.


Well that depends, what's the conversion factor for money invested into index funds vs how many jobs they create.

If I invested a million dollars into VTSAX, how many jobs would that create?

arebelspy

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Re: "It takes brains to make millions, it takes a Trump to make Billions."
« Reply #24 on: November 08, 2015, 06:30:14 PM »
Exactly.

I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.