When to Be Stubborn, Hold a Grudge, and Say No
Book: How to Get Rich
Author: Donald J. Trump (with Meredith McIver)
ISBN: 1-58836-410-0
Previous: Previous: Trump’s Deal-Making Tactics
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The back half of Trump’s negotiation section gets darker and more theatrical. Stubbornness on his first big deal. Patience as a weapon. Lawsuits as drama. Payback. Grudges. And saying no to CBS on Miss Universe.
Being stubborn: the Commodore Hotel
- The old Commodore site by Grand Central. Penn Central owned the land, was bankrupt, owed New York City fifteen million in back taxes. Banks would not lend on Manhattan real estate.
Trump wanted a state-of-the-art hotel. Six steps: buy the land, have the railroad pay the city’s taxes, get a state agency to condemn leases, persuade the city to take fixed rent plus profit share, find a hotel partner, get an eighty-million-dollar loan.
His lawyer George Ross said he was crazy. Trump stuck to it for two years. The railroad sold for twelve million and paid the city. Hyatt partnered. Bowery Savings Bank financed it. The Grand Hyatt opened. Stubbornness on something everyone called impossible launched his career.
Be patient
Trump has waited five minutes to fifteen years on deals. To speed up: act less interested. The other side often tries harder. To slow down: distract them with side questions while you regroup.
Patience is timing, not passivity.
Be strategically dramatic
Trump World Tower, 1999. UN diplomats hated being overshadowed. Trump stayed polite, predicted ambassadors would buy. Many did.
Then the city hit a tax assessment over a hundred million more than expected. They sued for five hundred million. Four years later: seventeen percent tax cut, ten-year abatement, lawsuit dropped, affordable housing subsidized in the Bronx. Saved roughly ninety-seven million.
Sometimes screw them back
Trump’s line: if someone screws you, screw them back. He has mellowed somewhat. Vengeance wastes time. But sometimes you hit back.
He invested in a restaurant expecting to lose. It became a hit. A year later, no real return. They claimed cash was tight while living large. He got a tiny distribution, sent an angry letter, and now turns his back on them.
Hold a grudge
Mario Cuomo: Trump was a major donor, never asked for favors. Cuomo backed a real estate tax investors fled. After Cuomo lost, Trump asked a simple legal favor involving HUD, run by Cuomo’s son Andrew. Mario refused to call his son. Trump screamed at him and refuses to acknowledge him at dinners.
Pete Dawkins: Trump gave over a million for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial downtown and helped build it. Dawkins took credit. Years later at Citibank, Dawkins declined a small favor. Trump decided the negative press profile had been right.
Learn the value of saying no: CBS and Miss Universe
Trump bought Miss Universe in 1996 and sold half to CBS. After five years, CBS would not promote enough. They wanted MTV-style specials with less time on the actual competition.
2002 license renewal. Les Moonves would not negotiate until August when schedules were locked.
Trump asked for an option to buy CBS out after the May broadcast. He feigned disinterest. Signed William Morris to shop the pageants. Called NBC’s Bob Wright about Telemundo cross-promotion.
CBS eased restrictions. The 2002 pageant hit ratings gold and beat NBA playoffs in demographics.
Trump exercised his buyout option. Moonves claimed no option existed. After a weeklong bidding war, Trump bought out CBS and partnered with NBC.
NBC approved Miss USA Fear Factor lead-in. Today show did live shots. CBS Morning Show had ignored them for years. 2003 pageants hit highest ratings since purchase.
The 1996 vision finally happened because Trump said no and walked toward something better.
My take
Stubbornness on the Commodore is inspiring. Patience tactics are clever. The payback and grudge sections are very Trump. The Miss Universe story is the most transferable lesson. CBS had the upper hand until Trump created competition and proved the asset’s value without them.