Barbara Corcoran, a real estate mogul and star of the TV show “Shark Tank,” shared how President Donald Trump, then a real estate baron, used his salesmanship to sell his New York Plaza Hotel.
Trump Pitched Land, Not Hotel, And Sealed The Deal
Corcoran, speaking at the Business Insider’s IGNITION Conference in New York City in 2018, recounted her experiences with Trump as a real estate tycoon.
She recalled a time when Trump, on the brink of bankruptcy, managed to sell a large plot of land along with the Plaza Hotel in New York City, which was not initially part of the deal. This sale, she said, helped Trump recover from his financial troubles.
She spoke about how Trump walked into a high-stakes deal to sell the Plaza Hotel to one of Hong Kong's wealthiest families. Corcoran, who was a broker on the deal, said that they were desperate to close the deal. All the buyers wanted was the hotel. But Trump barely mentioned it.
Instead, he sold them on the Hudson River land. Corcoran thought Trump wouldn’t be able to close the deal, but he did. Trump not only successfully sold the Plaza hotel, but the elite Asian buyers bought the adjoining land parcels too later making the Trump Towers on it.
“I’ve done a lot of work with Donald and I can tell you he is the best salesman I’ve ever met in my life,” said Corcoran.
Trump Family Wealth Began With FHA Loan In 1949
The Trump family’s wealth originated with Fred Trump, Donald Trump’s father, who built a billion-dollar empire from nothing. Fred Trump capitalized on opportunities during President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal era, securing a $26 million loan from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) in 1949 to build residential complexes in Brooklyn, New York.
Despite criticisms of the Trump family allegedly profiteering from the presidency, Eric Trump, the second son of Donald Trump, defended the family’s business practices. He highlighted the family’s growing focus on cryptocurrency, describing it as a “perfect hedge” for their real estate portfolio.
Trump Read The Room—And The Voters
Corcoran believes that it was Trump’s keen awareness as a salesman that allowed him to win over the American people and ultimately secure the presidency. She described Trump as a “genius at picking out the vulnerability of someone’s personality” and using it to his advantage.
“He put his finger on what the weakness was, the vulnerability of people and he knows how to touch it just so. And people go along for the ride,” Corcoran said.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
