# Objectively, is Donald Trump a good businessman? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 28, 2017, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/objectively-is-donald-trump-a-good-businessman/781015 "2017-02-28T06:25:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![jacobson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85f322/32.png) [@jacobson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacobson)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2017, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/objectively-is-donald-trump-a-good-businessman/781015/81 "2017-03-03T15:11:14Z")
> [@sweeteviljesus](#): > > When it comes to his business acumen, a lot of the press I read implies that he owes his fortune to inheritance, a bit of luck and a bunch of leaving other people holding the bag. Oh the other hand, he is wildly successful, albeit not as successful as he claims. He also didn’t inherit anywhere nearly as much as he has now. That said, he’s declared bankruptcy four times and I hear no bank in the US will loan him money. > > Has he made a lot of good decisions as a result of researching whether investments might be good deals, or is he basically gambling (with other people’s money) and mostly getting lucky? > > Thanks, > Rob If a person has 6 bankruptys is not my idea of a good business man. ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2017, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/objectively-is-donald-trump-a-good-businessman/781015/82 "2017-03-03T15:44:06Z")
> [@jacobson](#): > > If a person has 6 bankruptys is not my idea of a good business man. True. Except Trump didn’t have 6 bankruptcies. 6 of his companies did. Of how many? > **[Donald Trump's Bankruptcies](https://www.snopes.com/news/2016/08/01/donald-trumps-bankruptcies/)** > > Common election-year tropes offer contrasting views of Donald Trump's business bankruptcies. Bankruptcy of a business is very different from personal bankruptcy. It’s a very rare businessman that doesn’t have any failures in his career. The trick is to have more successes than failures. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2017, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/objectively-is-donald-trump-a-good-businessman/781015/83 "2017-03-03T16:08:04Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Probably not, but probably the best baseball player that ever was worked as a banker and never went into the sport, and the best chess player that ever was lived a life without ever even learning the rules to the game. There is a certain amount of luck of getting a person into a spot where they have an opportunity to flourish. Having wealthy parents certainly helps you to get into a spot where you can try being a businessman, and most people don’t have that. > > …snip… > [@HubZilla](#): > > Who were these two? The first one was actually an accountant in ancient Sumer, not a banker. He did work in a bank, though. The second was a Navajo women born in 1451. ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2017, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/objectively-is-donald-trump-a-good-businessman/781015/84 "2017-03-03T16:36:54Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > True. Except Trump didn’t have 6 bankruptcies. 6 of his companies did. why yes, this is called the concept of the Limited Liability Company. It is good you have discovered it. So \*\*\*\* in fact \*\*Trump the Businessman as a Businessman / CEO level Manager has the Six Bankruptices. \*\* It is that simple. > [@](#): > > Of how many? > > [Donald Trump's Bankruptcies | Snopes.com](http://www.snopes.com/2016/08/01/donald-trumps-bankruptcies/) Of essentially all of his efforts at the management of the significant Operating Companies, in contrast to the marketing licensing efforts and the quick flipping of the real estate promotion which is very different than the ongoing operating company. this is why in the international banking sector the name of Trump is not well viewed for financing anything of the long term exposure to any direct risk of his. > [@](#): > > Bankruptcy of a business is very different from personal bankruptcy. No, it is not really. It is only the difference of the Company finances versus the Personal finances. Unless one is so insane as to be operating a business as the Sole Proprietorship without the Limited Liability, the only thing of relevance for the evaluation of the skill as a Businessman as the operational manager is the business track record - not the personal bankruptcy which is 100 per cent irrelevant (unless of course he is also so financially incompetent not to have had the diversification - but then we know from the Deutsche Bank records that the personal bankruptcy was only avoided indeed with the help of the financing consortium which decided the brand value of the name was worth the financing of the personal side, so here is not a great pat on his back). > [@](#): > > It’s a very rare businessman that doesn’t have any failures in his career. The trick is to have more successes than failures. It is not a sign of any skill as an operational business manager, the actual track record he has. Indeed it is the opposite, no matter what the strange political excuse making that is made. Of course if it is only claimed he is not a good business Manager but is a great promoteur and salesman, and a genuis at a certain kind of marketing, then this is very objectively true. ---
**Author:** ![mazinger\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@mazinger\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mazinger_z)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2017, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/objectively-is-donald-trump-a-good-businessman/781015/85 "2017-03-03T17:04:17Z")
> [@Ramira](#): > > No, it is not really. > > It is only the difference of the Company finances versus the Personal finances. I mostly agree with your posts, and I’m not a fan of Trump, that being said, there can be a huge difference between running a company’s finances and running one’s own personal finances. Economically speaking, the literature doesn’t really differentiate, though mainly at the macro level (of which I know you are well aware, distinguishing between household finances/income and business finances/income). But at the business vs personal level, the business level encourages more risk, especially if the business/industry is consumer/retail facing. To facet one type of risk, consider a company like Apple. They have marginal successes after Apple II, the decision to risk the company on producing the iPod and iTunes is a huge step away from personal computing that they have been fighting to dominate since their inception. If the iPod didn’t take there would be no Apple, Inc. today. It would be like a lawyer who spends his entire career in compliance deciding one day to tackle on M&A and high level corporate financing. If I could bet on it, that move would most likely put that person into bankruptcy. All this being said, Trump successes can be thought of business success, but really only at a high level. I don’t know if he was the kind of business person to deliver on a “vision” like Steve Jobs. Personally, especially with regards to my own investments, my only criteria is that one makes money. ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2017, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/objectively-is-donald-trump-a-good-businessman/781015/86 "2017-03-03T17:08:27Z")
> [@mazinger\_z](#): > > I mostly agree with your posts, and I’m not a fan of Trump, that being said, there can be a huge difference between running a company’s finances and running one’s own personal finances. yes indeed there is. but they were not relevant to this. the focus was on the ridiculous excuse making within a context of making an argument that no personal bankruptcy has some thing to say about Trump as the businessman. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/objectively-is-donald-trump-a-good-businessman/781015.md?page=4)