Book Review – Think Like a Billionaire by Donald Trump

June 24, 2020 Stan

When I first picked up Donald Trump’s book titled, “Trump: Think Like a Billionaire,” I thought the book would be an insightful and easy read. The book was very easy to read, but not too insightful. Trump has divided this book into 100 or so chapters of about two or three pages each which describe a different tip or aspect of a billionaire’s life.

Trump gives tips on every aspect of life, from finding an attorney, to which golf clubs to play with, to romance, to keeping up your appearances in the business world. He basically tells you how to live life like he does. Trump gives you his tips and tricks in five different chapters. Chapter one deals with real estate. Some of the topics in this chapter are how to get an appraisal and inspection on your property, how to deal with a broker and attorney, how to landscape, how to pick an interest rate and down payment, and how to find a good office.

Chapter two deals with the topic of money management. Trump gives you tips on topics such as how to divide up your portfolio, how to pinch pennies, how to save and pay for college, how to decide how much risk you should consider, and how to plan for retirement. This chapter is shorter and less informative than the real estate chapter. Donald Trump is the undisputed master of real estate buying and developing so it is expected that his real estate chapter should be the best of this book.

Chapter three is titled, “The Business of Life.” This chapter is mostly about how to present your self and make the most out of life. Some of the topics Trump covers are how to make good friends, how to love your job, how to behave in a meeting, how to dress and present yourself at work, and how to balance work and pleasure. This section gives some interesting advice from a perspective many people do not know about. For example, how many of us really know what its like to dress like a billionaire and balance life at a billion dollar business with a personal life consisting of a model wife and super mansion? This chapter more than the others, gives a glimpse into the personal life and tastes of a billionaire.

Chapter four is titled, “Slices of the Billionaire’s Life.” This chapter is basically a hodge-podge of advice and organizations Trump is involved in. He speaks on topics such as the Statue of Liberty, Columbia University’s land problems, beauty pageants, the value of audacity, the Mar-a-Lago beach club, and most importantly to Trump, hosting Saturday Night Live. The Saturday Night Live portion of the book is interesting as he takes you through what a host must endure during rehearsal, being asked to do the show, and the endless punishment the actors on Saturday Night Live delivered to Trump. This is one of the lighter and more entertaining sections of the book. Following this, Trump dedicates about thirty to forty pages to describing a week in his life. He tells the reader how he gets up early, stays at work for twelve hours, takes conference calls and attends meetings all day, and goes home to do more business and see his wife.

The final chapter is all about a former season of The Apprentice. Trump is very excited and praises his show repeatedly, and takes the reader through the logistics of his reality show. He even gives a brief background of all the upcoming contestants and why they qualified for his show and how they have all succeeded on their own outside of the show. Donald Trump will take you through a week in his life during filming of The Apprentice and how even a billionaire with overwhelming confidence can really become nervous before filming.

While reading this book the reader will realize that Donald Trump’s number one fan is Donald Trump. He has all the confidence in the world and it shows easily in his writing. Not only does he praise his business decisions, but he praises his Mar-a-Lago club repeatedly. He has a large amount of power and capability as a billionaire, and it is easy to see in this book that he truly enjoys the power. Personally, I would not recommend this book. The advice Trump provides is not unique, and when given in only two or three pages at a time, you do not get a true sense of how to take advantage of his advice. He only skims the surface of all of his topics, where all of the topics could really use at least a chapter to explain. If you are looking for a glimpse into a powerful billionaire’s life, then this book is for you. If you are looking for business advice and how to be a more successful person, you would be better off reading something else.