So this isn't at all in response to what you wrote or this specific situation, but your comment spurred this out of me regardless, so feel free to ignore.
To clarify, the small business owners that he regularly screws aren't "greedy," they're jumping at a chance to grow their business. I fell for this trap once, the billionaire even flaunted to me about how he was in the process of suing his former partners because they "screwed him." Well, I wanted so badly for the deal to be real (because it would mean growing my business to the point that I could hire on employees, talking maybe a dozen or so $22/hour jobs that would have meant solidifying the business. I could finally invest in some much needed machinery, find a better location... so many things I wanted to do with that sale) that I ignored all the red flags. Ended up getting royally screwed, lost everything. Business, assets, all of it. Gone.
Chalk it up to inexperience, and naivety of trusting a billionaire to operate in good faith and in accordance to the contract he signed (and to a greater extent naivety that our justice system worked for poor people). But greed? I wouldn't call it that.
Because the secret truth of the world is: rich people are the dumbest motherfuckers on this planet because they've been challenged the least, yet moronic humans CONSTANTLY assume they must be rich because they "earned it".
I don't know that 'stupid' is the right word. I think it's arrogance and ignorance that no one could possibly cheat them because they're rich and powerful. They might be smart in other ways, but their narcissism makes them make stupid choices.
I don't get it either. When The Art of the Deal came out, there were tons of stories about how it was all bullshit. And there was also the Central Park Five thing.
Also, I doubt they were hoodwinked by Trump. They were probably hoodwinked by some high up official who fucking knew Trump wouldn't be good for it but got all the kickbacks ahead of time.
No, I actually believe he "pays" his kickbacks, except never in a way that actually costs him money.
I'm sure he gives his benefactors free memberships in his country clubs, free stays at his properties, government positions, private sector positions in his companies, and more importantly, his other allies companies.
SCOTUS appointments didn't cost him a dime, but earned him the undying loyalty of the federalist and most of the GOP.
He wheels and deals favors, not cash. And ever since he took the GOP and the country by the balls, he hasn't even bothered with the favors part unless he really has to.
Can confirm, live nearby to where it happened and was aware of all the shit going down at the time.. Trumps planning permission was denied initially until the local government came in and forced it through anyway.
The Trump Organization has previously said it spent around £100m on the Aberdeenshire golf resort but its latest accounts show the facility has a net book value of £33.2m and 81 employees.
In addition to the golf course, the original proposal also included approval for a 450-room hotel, 950 holiday apartments, 36 golf villas and 500 houses for sale.
None of these elements, and the thousands of new jobs promised, have materialised so far - and the golf resort has yet to turn a profit, racking up £13.3m in losses since it opened.
The scale of the grift is the most impressive aspect.
Edit: I don’t know why the app I’m using is fucking up the quote format. I tried to include line breaks. Apologies.
Watched a documentry about this before Trump became president.The man is a lying scumbag who treats people like shit.How he conned his way into the whitehouse astounds me.
He was well known for not paying his bills and tanking businesses that he was involved with long before he got interested in politics. Yet people still think he's trustworthy or some sort of business genius.