# Donald Trump: How did such a nutcase get so rich? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 30, 2015, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-how-did-such-a-nutcase-get-so-rich/723903 "2015-06-30T21:01:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 18
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2015, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-how-did-such-a-nutcase-get-so-rich/723903/18 "2015-07-01T22:01:52Z")
> [@trmptgn](#): > > He certainly got lucky in more ways than one - but it takes a smart person to leverage that luck into long term sustained success. Many lottery winners have demonstrated that much. His corporate bankruptcies were even leveraged to end up favoring him. All of this takes planning, execution, and follow through. Say what you will, but he is demonstrably good at business. Sort of. Gawker posted a chart of his fluctuating net worth. Objective estimates had it in negative territory in 1988 and the early 1990s. If somebody makes market returns for himself and his investors, I’d say they were competent in business. If your partners take a bath and you wind up in the black, I’d say you were good at negotiation. Or self-promotion. Not business. That’s a wider skill set. Mitt Romney was good at business. I’m not so sure about Donald Trump. [http://gawker.com/donald-trumps-grossly-exaggerated-net-worth-a-timeline-1711718182](http://gawker.com/donald-trumps-grossly-exaggerated-net-worth-a-timeline-1711718182) --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-how-did-such-a-nutcase-get-so-rich/723903)._