Lucky Loser

How Donald Trump Squandered His Father's Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success

De: Russ Buettner, Susanne Craig

Narrado por: Gabra Zackman

An Instant New York Times Bestseller • A Washington Post Notable Book • A Financial Times Best Business Book of the Year

“A first-rate financial thriller . . . Lucky Loser is one of those rare Trump books that deserve, even demand, to be read.”–Alexander Nazaryan, The New York Times

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters behind the 2018 bombshell New York Times exposé of then-President Trump’s finances, an explosive investigation into the history of Donald Trump’s wealth, revealing how one of the country’s biggest business failures lied his way into the White House

Soon after announcing his first campaign for the US presidency, Donald J. Trump told a national television audience that life “has not been easy for me. It has not been easy for me.” Building on a narrative he had been telling for decades, he spun a hardscrabble fable of how he parlayed a small loan from his father into a multi-billion-dollar business and real estate empire. This feat, he argued, made him singularly qualified to lead the country. Except: None of it was true. Born to a rich father who made him the beneficiary of his own highly lucrative investments, Trump received the equivalent of more than $500 million today via means that required no business expertise whatsoever.

Drawing on over twenty years’ worth of Trump’s confidential tax information, including the tax returns he tried to conceal, alongside business records and interviews with Trump insiders, New York Times investigative reporters Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig track Trump's financial rise and fall, and rise and fall again. For decades, he squanders his fortunes on money losing businesses, only to be saved yet again by financial serendipity. He tacks his name above the door of every building, while taking out huge loans he’ll never repay. He obsesses over appearances, while ignoring threats to the bottom line and mounting costly lawsuits against city officials. He tarnishes the value of his name by allowing anyone with a big enough check to use it, and cheats the television producer who not only rescues him from bankruptcy but casts him as a business savant–the public image that will carry him to the White House.

A masterpiece of narrative reporting, Lucky Loser is a meticulous examination spanning nearly a century, filled with scoops from Trump Tower, Mar-a-Lago, Atlantic City, and the set of The Apprentice. At a moment when Trump’s tether to success and power is more precarious than ever, here for the first time is the definitive true accounting of Trump and his money–what he had, what he lost, and what he has left–and the final word on the myth of Trump, the self-made billionaire.

©2024 Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“A first-rate financial thriller . . . Lucky Loser is one of those rare Trump books that deserve, even demand, to be read. In good part, that’s because it applies the proper lens through which to view Trump’s career. In this telling, his story lies at the intersection of business and media, with politics arriving only as a secondary concern.”—Alexander Nazaryan, The New York Times

“This is a page turner, with spectacular anecdotes . . . [Lucky Loser] shows in meticulously documented detail how 'even when Trump appeared to be at his best, he was failing,' with massive losses on his core business. The authors prove that without his father’s support, Trump would have been nothing. The book also raises a bigger question about the 'fake it ‘til you make it' ethos of modern America. In a world that conflates the 'trappings of wealth with expertise and ability,' where 'fame, detached from any other marketable talent or skill,' is 'a highly compensated vocation,' does it even matter if you never actually make it? The backbone of the book is the numbers. Because Buettner and Craig have such a trove of documents, they are able to prove, in incontrovertible detail, the reality under the hype that is Donald Trump . . . The heartbreaking thing about reading Buettner and Craig’s work is realizing how many passes Trump has gotten over the years, how thoroughly he is a creation of the media, which as the authors write, 'rarely revisited his claims and afforded credibility to everything he said.”—Bethany McLean, The Washington Post

“Combining the groundbreaking reporting of its authors with details unearthed throughout the years by other journalists and financial analysts, Lucky Loser is comprehensive, persuasive, and packed with damning anecdotes.”—The New Yorker

It All Makes Sense Now

It's Literally No Joke that trump is NOT a self-made millionaire. NOR was he or is Now Rich. All he's done All of his life was Shuffle OTHER PEOPLE's money around. And usually losing out in almost every transaction. And being a whiney 61t€h the whole way thru. What a LOSER! A Career Grifter. Basically he made money skimming others without working. He is Thee Most Pathetic piece of trailer trash in a suit. That's IT!!!

All of the facts

Well written covering and explaining djt life

All of the facts with actual details and information

Very detailed

I liked all the research that went into this book, it was a good look at how Donald Trump’s grandparents really set the family on a track to wealth.

Outstanding research

Anyone honest individual to listen or read this book could not possibly believe that Donald Trump deserves to be trusted in business, politics, or any position of leadership. I had to stop listening at times when I found his dishonesty so disturbing.

Great read!

Can’t stop reading! Good narrator. Lots of facts and behind the scenes moments that are compelling.

Lucky Loser

Most informative book on Trump’s life & mind set that I have found. I have never understood the appeal of Trump, his supporters or his ability to influence those supporters! I still don’t truly understand, but I now see that it is indeed a fact! I fear and feel empathy for Trump’s supporters! I support the facts that hopefully will enlighten those followers that have been misinformed! I have to believe that Truth not Lies will win in the end!

Lucky Loser

Every blind Trump supporter to listen to any of these books to see that this man is only out for himself.

Outstanding journalism and narration. Ten stars

In a sense, there is nothing new in the book. We are everyday witnesses to a dystopian firehose of lies which has an origin.

Lucky Loser provides details and context for the rest of the story, It’s one thing to know about Trump’s business success ( some) and failures (many) , and the book explains with great detail the bluffs, bluster and dirty dealing far deeper than a general understanding.

Trading off his father’s money, success and hooks with various politicians, DJT engineered a brand and reputation far beyond his accomplishments (none), knowledge and skills. In a sense, DJT is an original brand/influencer, albeit only made possible by Fred Trump.

I believe that those without a strong business background will be able to follow the money. The book describes the financing of many deals, and the ease that DJT obtained financing with little if any skin in the deal.

The book also reflects upon a few deals which met with success, with the most important decision made by DJT was being born to a wealthy and successful father.

Saddling the new owners of the Plaza hotel with his $ 500,000 wedding cost was a small grift as compared to the amount of taxes evaded (or avoided) in setting up straw companies or valuations of companies to pass wealth to Fred’s children.

Likewise, the book provides many instances of Trump’s worst impulses ( or, honing a unique set of skills) that he is treated very unfairly, claiming successes that belong to accomplishment of others, lies to business partners, blaming others for his failures, and unwavering focus on #1, and disdain for others knowledge and experience and favoring his seat of the pants ideas.

Of course the book is not for everyone. Can you handle some truth?

A horror story for the ages!

The authors have done their research and found answers that Trump was unwilling to reveal…. How much he benefitted from his father’s efforts, what his tax returns revealed about his business “acumen”, how he avoided taxes through the clever accounting expertise of those he hired to do his bidding, how he used others and then cast them aside when they weren’t sufficiently loyal…. It’s too bad we know the end of the story (for now.)…. May this “lucky loser” finally meet his comeuppance!

Arrogant Jerk Revealed Again. And Again.

I didn’t think I could stand to listen to a whole book about this guy, but it was a fascinating exploration of his lifetime of impulsivity and failing up.
Talk about being born on third base and thinking you hit a triple! An entire lifetime without introspection, self reflection or self doubt. This book is an important piece of the record of his life for history. But it was also a compelling peek inside a lifetime of his bank accounts, borrowing, bluster, lying, incompetency, rudeness and unbelievable privilege.