US Republican Presidential Candidate Donald John Trump

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — His father, Frederick Trump, was a builder and real estate developer who specialized in building and operating middle-income apartments in Queens, Staten Island and Brooklyn.

Trump's parents sent him to the New York Military Academy at age 13, where he did well, rising to become a star athlete and student leader by the time he graduated in 1964. He then entered Fordham University, and two years later transferred to the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1968 with a degree in economics.

Trump joined his father’s company after graduating from university, became the company president in 1975 and renamed it the Trump Organization.

In 1971, he moved the company office to Manhattan. One of Trump’s first independent projects was the construction of a city convention center on a land plot on the West Side of Manhattan that he bought from the Pennsylvania Central Railroad after it went bankrupt.

In 1974, Trump obtained an option on one of Penn Central’s hotels, the Commodore, which was unprofitable but in an excellent location adjacent to Grand Central Station. In 1975 he signed a partnership agreement with the Hyatt Hotel Corporation.

When the new hotel opened as the Grand Hyatt in 1980, it became hugely popular virtually overnight. Trump’s next project, the 58-storey Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue that opened in 1982, made him a New York celebrity. Trump named all his subsequent projects after himself: Trump Parc, Trump Palace, Trump Plaza, The Trump World Tower, Trump Park Avenue, Trump International Hotel & Tower, the Trump Building, etc.

The Trump Hotel Collection comprises a network of hotels in Las Vegas, Chicago, Hawaii and Miami in the United States, as well as in Panama City (Panama) and Toronto (Canada). Trump’s immediate plans include opening hotels in Vancouver (Canada), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Washington (US).

Trump’s portfolio of holdings includes golf clubs in the United States, Scotland (UK), the United Arab Emirates and Ireland.

Trump is the co-owner and Executive Producer of the “Miss Universe Pageant,” “Miss USA Pageant” and “Miss Teen USA Pageant” in partnership with NBC.

Trump launched his Donald J. Trump Signature Collection of tailored clothing and dress shirts in 2005, and later added home goods under the Trump Home brand. In 2012 he partnered with Parlux to launch a fragrance, Success by Trump, followed by his second fragrance, Empire, in 2015.

In 2004, he produced and starred in the television reality show, The Apprentice, on NBC. The show became one of the highest rated shows on television and was nominated for Emmy awards three times. Trump also hosted the show The Celebrity Apprentice for several years.

Donald Trump has written several bestselling books about business, such as The Art of the Deal (1987), Surviving at the Top (1991), The Art of the Comeback (1997), The America We Deserve (2000), How To Get Rich: Big Deals from the Star of The Apprentice (2004), Trump: The Way to the Top (2004), Trump: Think Like a Billionaire (2004) and several others.

On June 16, 2015 Trump announced his candidacy for president.

On July 19, 2016, the Republican National Convention approved Trump’s nomination as the Republican presidential nominee.

Trump, twice divorced, is currently married to Melania Knauss. He has five children.

Forbes estimates Donald Trump’s net worth at $4.5 billion. Trump is listed as #113 in the United States and #324 in the world on Forbes' lists of the wealthiest people.