He Studied Economics At The University Of Pennsylvania
Donald Trump speaks in Boca Raton, Florida days before the states primary.
Though Trump rarely mentions Fordham, he often flaunts his degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania he graduated from the prestigious Ivy League school in 1968 with a bachelors degree in economics. According to The Daily Pennsylvanian, he said in a speech back in July, I went to the Wharton School of Finance. Im, like, a really smart person. He also told Meet the Press, that Wharton is probably the hardest there is to get into.
According to Salon, though, Gwenda Blair wrote in her biography that Trump was admitted into Wharton mainly due to an interview with an admissions officer who was friends with Freddy, Donalds older brother. Many have also speculated that his fathers prestigious status played a major part in Trumps acceptance into the university.
How Far The Trumps Got In School
Long before Donald Trump was elected to the nations highest office and took the White House by storm, he set a good example for his eldest children by obtaining a college education. Most of his children have followed in his footsteps by graduating from his alma mater, which is further proof that the Trumps are a family of scholastic overachievers, and they have their college degrees to back it up.
Having the Trump last name meant some of Donalds children were well-known on their college campuses but not always in a good way. His son, Donald Trump Jr., was an alleged party animal, and a former classmate of daughter Ivanka Trump described her as not being all that super intelligent. Wowzers. There are quite a few Trumps who have advanced through the higher education system, including Donalds ex-wife, Ivana Trump. As for first lady Melania Trump? Well, her school history is murkier than Donalds tax returns. Lets discuss all this and more as we examine how far the Trumps got in school.
Dont Miss: When Will President Trump Speak Tonight
He Did Not Graduate With Honors
Donald Trump prepares to speak in Ohio one day after violent protests at his Chicago rally.
Trump frequently mentions the fact that he did very well at Wharton. He told CNN, I went to the Wharton School of Finance, I got very good marks, I was a good student, its the best business school in the world, as far as Im concerned. It has been reported for decades that Trump graduated at the top of his class, but this claim has been called into question. It was first reported in The New York Times back in 1973 and was repeated ever since, but no journalist has been able to find any evidence that confirms Trumps class standing.
In fact, the New York Times later reported that the commencement program from 1968 does not list Trump as having graduated with honors of any kind. A 1985 biography confirmed that he was not among the honor students in 1968. Rather, Jerome Tuccille reports in her book, Trump: The Saga of Americas Most Powerful Real Estate Baron, that he attended Wharton to please his father and was not especially invested in doing well.
Donald agreed to attend Wharton for his fathers sake, Tuccille writes. He showed up for classes and did what was required of him but he was clearly bored and spent a lot of time on outside business activities.
In his book The Art of the Deal, Trump himself states that, in his opinion, a degree from Wharton doesnt prove very much.
Also Check: How Much Does It Cost To Stay At Trump Hotel
How Did Less Than Stellar High School Student Jared Kushner Get Into Harvard
I would like to express my gratitude to Jared Kushner for reviving interest in my 2006 book, The Price of Admission. I have never met or spoken with him, and its rare in this life to find such a selfless benefactor. Of course, I doubt he became Donald Trumps son-in-law and consigliere merely to boost my lagging sales, but still, Im thankful.
My book exposed a grubby secret of American higher education: that the rich buy their underachieving childrens way into elite universities with massive, tax-deductible donations. It reported that New Jersey real estate developer Charles Kushner had pledged $2.5m to Harvard University not long before his son Jared was admitted to the prestigious Ivy League school, which at the time accepted about one of every nine applicants.
I also quoted administrators at Jareds high school, who described him as a less-than-stellar student and expressed dismay at Harvards decision.
There was no way anybody in the administrative office of the school thought he would on the merits get into Harvard, a former official at the Frisch school in Paramus, New Jersey, told me. His GPA did not warrant it, his SAT scores did not warrant it. We thought, for sure, there was no way this was going to happen. Then, lo and behold, Jared was accepted. It was a little bit disappointing because there were at the time other kids we thought should really get in on the merits, and they did not.
Questions Behind Trump University
In operation from 2005 to 2010, Trump University was founded by the presidential candidate as a for-profit education center that specialized in teaching the art of the deal to students looking to make their fortune through real estate investment. Although, Trump never attended classes at the institution bearing his name, we believe its relevant in a comprehensive discussion about Donald Trumps education background. Trump University, in spite of its name, was not an accredited university or college, and students did not receive diplomas degrees.
The business was incorporated in 2004, when co-founder Michael Sexton approached Trump and offered a flat fee for the use of his name. Trump declined, instead assuming a role as a co-founder. The Universitys claim was that it could teach students to be real estate investors. This came at a time of unprecedented price increases in U.S. real estate and many investors were making significant profits buying and selling property during the upward trend.
- Donald Trump didnt personally attend seminars
- Donald Trump claims to have handpicked the instructors, but didnt
- Free seminars were recruiting sessions for expensive premium packages
- Students experienced hard sell pressure tactics to enroll in more expensive programs
- The curriculum didnt deliver the quality of education that was promised
Also Check: Does Trump Donate To Charity
Eric Trump Broke The Mold
While Donald Trump’s eldest children chose to attend his alma mater, Eric Trump bucked the family tradition, bypassing the University of Pennsylvania following his 2002 high school graduation to become a student at Georgetown University, reported Business Insider. When he wasn’t cramming for tests, Eric and some of his university pals would reportedly jet off for fun weekend trips, and when Donald Trump is your dad, finding suitable luxury accommodations is a breeze. According to The Washington Post, Eric and his buddies used to stay at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, N.J. for $Free.99, of course.
Believe it or not, Eric didn’t have to try too hard to fly under the radar while on campus. “I don’t think I’ve had a person come up to me all year and ask me if I’m in the Trump family,” he told CBS News during his sophomore year. Eric graduated in 2006, according to Georgetown Voice, with a degree in finance and management. The publication also noted that this brainy Trump kid didn’t leave his alma mater in the dust following his commencement ceremony. As of 2017, he was a member of Georgetown’s Business, Society and Public Policy Initiative advisory board, while simultaneously acting as the executive vice president of the Trump Organization.
Donald John Trump Net Worth
Donald Trump is undoubtedly the wealthiest person ever to have held the United States presidential position.
However, you should note that Donald Trumps net worth is just an estimation and not real.
The former United States president and the businessman refused to give out his tax reports. The tax report does not necessarily show ones net worth. It can just be used to give a better estimate.
Donald Trump is also expected to give a financial disclosure of his businesses yearly. The numbers provided by Trump are not always accurate.
You know his companies are privately owned entities and are not subjected by law to publish financial statements yearly. Its only the publicly traded companies that are required to do so.
Donalds road path to the business started back ago. He worked with his father, Fred Trump. The father was a business genius.
He developed cheaper housing in Queens and Brooklyn. Today Trump owns several companies around the world.
He claims to have a net worth of more than $10 billion. In addition to the companies, he holds a notable winery and golf course.
However, the extensive research carried out by Forbes on his magazines claims that Donald Trump has an estimated net worth of $2.1 billion.
Also Check: What Kind Of Jobs Has Trump Created
Promotion Of Conspiracy Theories
Before and throughout his presidency, Trump has promoted numerous conspiracy theories, including Obama birtherism, the Clinton Body Count theory, QAnon, and alleged Ukrainian interference in U.S. elections. In October 2020, Trump retweeted a QAnon follower who asserted that Osama bin Laden was still alive, a body double had been killed in his place, and that “Biden and Obama may have had SEAL Team Six killed.”
During and since the 2020 presidential election, Trump has promoted various conspiracy theories for his defeat including the “dead voter” conspiracy theory, and without providing any evidence he has created other conspiracy theories such as that “some states allowed voters to turn in ballots after Election Day that vote-counting machines were rigged to favor Mr Biden and even that the FBI, the Justice Department and the federal court system were complicit in an attempt to cover up election fraud.”
Fred Trump Sr Went To The Pratt Institute But Never Received A College Degree
The Trump familys history in real estate dates back over 100 years, to Donald Trumps grandfather Friedrich Trump running a bar, restaurant, and brothel in northern British Columbia during the Klondike gold rush. Freidrich returned to New York with his profits and began the citys Trump real estate empire. His son, Fred, was first in line to take the business over.
According to an excerpt from the book Brooklyn: The Once and Future City , Fred was an aspiring builder from an early age. He took night school courses in drafting and building and took construction management classes at the Pratt Institute. Though he reportedly never received a formal degree, Fred Sr. cashed in quickly on the 1920s building boom in New York, building single family homes throughout Queens by the time the depression hit in 1929. During the depression, Fred invested in a supermarket in Jamaica, Queens, and then began buying up distressed assets in Brooklyn to expand his empire.
Read Also: Was Melania Trump A Prostitute
He Lied To Have Graduated As Best In His Class
The college degree of Donald Trump was never a big deal. However, he decided to make it by speculating about Barack Obamas GPA.
Donald Trump then influenced the media outlets. He asked them to report that he graduated first in his class.
Thats from Wharton School of Pennsylvania. After lying about his grades, he threatened to sue the institutions he attended if they released his GPA.
What amused people is not the GPA itself but the lie. Why did he lie? A background check was carried out on his education by the interested parties.
They found out Trump had lied about his GPA. He was not even close and had graduated without honors.
To graduate with honors at Pennsylvania, the GPA had to be more than 3.40. This means he was just some other average student or worse.
Or maybe he might have received a sanction for student conduct violations or academic integrity.
Why A Candidates Schools Matter
Arguably, nothing speaks to a presidential candidates temperament, intelligence, and ambition like examining his or her work history. But reviewing a candidates primary, secondary and in many cases, tertiary education can provide valuable insight into the nominees intelligence and the evolution of his or her thought processes. Educational background can factor into their views on:
- The economy
- Traditionally conservative and liberal ideologies
- Science
- Religion
In the case of Donald Trump, several anecdotes from his school years demonstrate some of the characteristics for which hes now known: tenacity, drive, and perseverance. An examination of his education history, however useful, still leaves gaps in the information.
Also Check: Trump Hotel Rates Chicago
The Wharton School Of Business University Of Pennsylvania
Referring to his transfer to the University of Pennsylvania in his book The Art of the Deal, Trump wrote, I decided that as long as I had to be in college, I might as well test myself against the best.
The University of Pennsylvania was established in 1740 in Philadelphia, PA and is one of the eight Ivy League schools. Its currently #9 on the U.S. News & World Report National Universities Rankings and is a perennial top 10 institution. In contrast to Mr. Trumps silence about his time at Fordham University, hes been much more vocal about his attendance at the Wharton School of Business, where he graduated with a bachelors degree in economics.
Notwithstanding the merits of a Fordham University education, the reputation of the Wharton School as a premier business college was already established in 1966. For an ambitious student like Trump, the prestige of an Ivy League degree would certainly have its appeal.
Trumps son Donald Jr. and his daughter Ivanka have both attended Wharton. His other daughter Tiffany recently graduated from the University of Pennsylvania College of Arts and Sciences.
Barely Anybody From Wharton Remembers Him
Donald Trump speaks at the Infinity Event Center in Salt Lake City, Utah ahead of the states caucus.
As another sign that Trump was not very involved in the Wharton community, almost no graduates of the class of 1968 remember him. The Daily Pennsylvanian interviewed 13 of Trumps classmates, and 12 of them had no recollection of the presidential candidate whatsoever.
Four years including lots of required classes is a long time never to hear of a classmate, especially with such a distinctive name, a graduate of the class of 1968 told The Daily Pennsylvanian. Another former classmate told the Daily News, He was not first in the class. He was not known on campus for any reason at all.
The one student that could recall him, Ted Sachs, remembers Trump as being nothing like the Donald we know today, describing him as low-key and very self effacing. Sachs said that although he sat next to Trump in class and would occasionally get lunch with him, Trump never once mentioned that he was the son of the wealthy real-estate developer. It was only 10 years later that Sachs found this out on his own.
The Pennsylvanian also reports that Trump was rarely seen on campus on weekends, he was not involved in activities, and his picture does not appear in the schools yearbook. He was, however, highlighted in the Spring 2007 Wharton Alumni Magazine.
Recommended Reading: Was Melania Trump A Prostitute
