Trump. After talking about running multiple times since 1987, Trump has officially joined his esteemed Republican rivals.

But besides his unconventional hairstyle and demanding

to see Obama’s birth certificate in 2011, what do we really know about the 69-year-old

New Yorker? Who exactly is Donald Trump?

Well, Trump is first and foremost a controversially successful business magnate and investor.

His start came as a result of his father, Fred Trump, who had already amassed a real

estate fortune before his death. Donald Trump has controlled his father’s company since

the 1970s. He has primarily invested in hotel and casino real estate, and filed for business

bankruptcy four times. He is also very well known for naming business holdings after himself,

including buildings, video games, buffets, magazines, clothing lines, and many others.

Trump also owns a large number of golf courses and beauty pageants.

He has stated that his net worth is around $9 billion, making him the wealthiest candidate in the running, although

Forbes says it is closer to $4 billion. His net worth has been disputed in the past: a

2005 Deutsche (DOY-chuh) Bank assessment pegged his worth at around

only $800 million at the time.

Although Trump has never held public office, he has been very outspoken concerning his political views.

His primary platform focuses on increasing US jobs, and building a wall

along the Mexican border, which Mexico would pay for. In 1999, in order to wipe out the

national debt, he proposed enacting a one-time 14% tax on Americans with over $10 million dollars.

On social issues he is fairly right leaning. After years of being pro-choice, in 2011 he

switched to being pro-life. Additionally, he is against same-sex marriage. Although

he supported universal healthcare in 2000, he vehemently opposes Obamacare, calling it

a “trillion-ton weight” on the economy. Despite claiming to have never indulged in

any drugs or alcohol, he supports full drug legalization as a method of increasing tax revenue for education.

revenue for education.

His foreign policy worldview is largely oil-based, and believes we are drilling too slowly for

what he calls America’s “lifeblood”. He is also extremely critical of China’s

influence in the United States, and has called for a 25% tax on imports in order to maintain

US jobs. However, many of his self-named products are made in China.

It should be clear that as a businessman and a showman, Trump’s politics tend to be financially

influenced rather than ideological. Although Trump has withdrawn from his reality TV show

in order to legally be a candidate, there’s no question that he will continue entertaining

viewers with his fiery rhetoric over the coming months.

Money and politics go hand in hand in the United States, but billionaires on both sides

of the aisle actually share some common interests. To learn more about what they’re really

pushing for, check out our full video here. Thanks for watching, and please consider subscribing

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