Trump: The Art of the Deal

Overview

Published in 1987 and written with journalist Tony Schwartz, Trump: The Art of the Deal blends memoir and business primer to present Donald Trump’s philosophy of making deals in the New York real estate world of the 1970s and 1980s. The book positions dealmaking as both mindset and method, arguing that ambition, persistence, leverage, and publicity can turn constrained situations into outsized opportunities. Along the way, it frames Trump’s rise from Queens to Manhattan as a case study in spotting value where others see blight, cultivating allies in government and finance, and translating risk into tangible projects.

Structure and voice

The narrative opens with a diary-style week that showcases Trump’s pace, appetite for multitasking, and willingness to pivot among projects. Subsequent chapters trace early influences from his father, a developer in Brooklyn and Queens, before chronicling Trump’s move to Manhattan. The story then unfolds through a series of signature deals, hotels, office towers, a skating rink, a football franchise, and casinos, each presented as proof points for his approach to negotiation, branding, and execution.

Core principles

Trump emphasizes thinking big while protecting the downside. He argues for creating leverage by keeping multiple options alive, cultivating relationships with decision-makers, and using public attention as a negotiating tool. Speed matters: moving decisively can unsettle competitors and bureaucracies alike. He stresses relentless attention to detail, materials, tenant mix, and design, as a way to justify premium pricing. Financing is treated as a strategic battleground; partnerships, tax abatements, and creative structures can unlock deals that appear impossible on headline numbers. Persistence, he suggests, is often more decisive than brilliance.

Key deals and lessons

The Commodore Hotel-to-Grand Hyatt conversion exemplifies his formula: identify an undervalued asset, forge a partnership with a credible operator, secure favorable tax treatment from the city eager for revitalization, and reposition the property with a showy makeover. Trump Tower distills his branding strategy, combining a prime Fifth Avenue location, luxury finishes, and an attention-getting atrium to create a destination that drives both retail traffic and condominium sales. Negotiating air rights and managing the demolition of the Bonwit Teller building tested his capacity to juggle regulatory, aesthetic, and financial demands.

The Central Park Wollman Rink saga serves as a public-sector parable. After years of city delays, Trump offers to take over, promising faster, cheaper completion. The episode illustrates his thesis that clarity, accountability, and private-sector urgency can outperform bureaucracy, and it reinforces his view that publicity can accelerate approvals.

In Atlantic City, the development of Trump Plaza and Trump’s Castle highlights regulatory navigation, licensing pressures, and the high-stakes math of casino finance. He frames competition as a spur to scale and spectacle, while acknowledging the capital intensity and operational complexity of gaming. The chapter on the USFL underscores strategic risk: challenging the NFL in court and the marketplace demands bravado, but even bold plays face structural limits.

On the West Side rail yards, his proposed Television City showcases optionality. By envisioning a vast mixed-use project anchored by a media tenant, he attempts to harness zoning, community negotiation, and corporate partnerships, keeping multiple outcomes viable as the political winds shift.

Style and legacy

The tone is assertive and promotional, with vivid scenes of phone calls, site walks, and ad hoc deal huddles. The book codified a public persona: the developer as showman-strategist who treats negotiation as theater and leverage as craft. As a bestseller, it influenced a generation of entrepreneurs enamored with big swings and brand-forward development, while inviting debate over the role of exaggeration, publicity, and political access in creating business success.