Januar 19th, 2017

Donald Trump – Berlin and German Real Estate

There are not too many neutrals when one discusses Donald J. Trump -neither in America or in Europe. But love him, or hate him, the controversial Mr Trump will be sworn in tomorrow as the 45th US president.

What not too many people are aware of is the fact that Donald Trump, years before seeking the US presidency, had visions of becoming a real estate tycoon in Germany.

Trump’s official ‘occupation’ designation –   ‘Real estate developer’

This may not be as strange as it sounds. Let’s start with Trump’s official ‘occupation’ designation – he is in fact a ‘Real estate developer’.

In a captivating article from the Deutsche Welle, we read that “Trump in the past wanted to start work in booming Berlin and was ready to invest at least 4 billion Euro in Alexanderplatz, prime property in the heart of the German capital. The money was not to be used for hotels, casinos or golf courses, but instead, a huge high-rise building at least 200 meters tall.”

However, Donald Trump the mercurial entrepreneur, had not apparently dealt with Berlin municipal  officials in the past. They were not impressed and seemingly did not understand the scope of his ‘generous and symbolic gesture’. They brought up city construction regulations – only allowing for buildings up 150 meters – and were unwilling to entertain any further proposals or discourse with him. Mr Trump did not want to deal with such „small-mindedness“ again and did not do so, whether it was in Berlin, Frankfurt or Stuttgart.

Deutsche Welle concludes its article by saying; “Real estate industry insiders do not want to gloat over Trump at the moment. Only one of 10 planned projects came to fruition; however, they say that is perfectly normal in the business and does not indicate any failing on Trump’s part.”

Other than divesting of his real estate interests during his presidency,  Mr Trump may have another potential conflict of interest in Germany. Trump has a $300 million business loan outstanding to the Deutsche Bank while at the same time his US Administration will be negotiating an outstanding $14bn fine with this very same Deutsche Bank . Attempting to negotiate a penalty for the bank and restructuring a private loan for the new US President could be seen as a conflict of interest.

A more peaceful and prosperous world

Mr Trump is a person who has organized and operated successful businesses in the past and has taken on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so.

For everybody’s sake, politically, financially and socially, in Europe, the Americas, and the rest of the world – we hope Mr Trump’s presidency can turn his formidable entrepreneurial business traits into creating a more peaceful and prosperous world.