3 Tips To Glean From Trump on How To Leverage Other People’s Money for Your Benefit
Written by
Jennifer Taylor
Edited by
Amber Barkley
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President Donald Trump has a lot of money, but he often doesn’t use it. Instead, he has a long history of working with investors to fund projects.
The average American doesn’t have the power or money wielded by Trump, but some of his financial moves could still apply. Keep reading to learn about three ways the president has used other people’s money instead of tapping into his own fortune.
Fund Projects With Peer-to-Peer Lending
In 2013, Trump co-founded the crowdfunding site FundAnything.com. Similar to Kickstarter, the company was designed as a way for individuals and groups to create campaigns to raise money for anything. For example, Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller and Adam Corolla each ran a successful $1 million movie campaign to fund their films “Director’s Cut” and “Road Hard,” respectively, EINPresswire reported.
Trump also picked projects from the site to personally fund, according to the press release. The site appears to no longer be in service.
You may not have the funds or the desire to launch your own crowdfunding site, but you can use sites like Kickstarter or GoFundMe to ask for contributions to your own projects.
Take Out Private Loans
As of Jan. 23, 2025, Trump’s net worth is $5.9 billion, according to Forbes. However, he has taken out numerous private loans to fund projects. For example, over two decades — starting in 1998 — Deutsche Bank loaned him more than $2 billion, according to The New York Times Magazine.
If you choose this route, carefully review the terms of any loans you take out and be certain that you’ll be able to repay the debt. If you use borrowed funds wisely, you could end up making more than you owe, but don’t borrow more than you can afford to pay back if you don’t end up with a profit.
Renegotiate Debt
Trump has no problem incurring debt — and he’s said it himself. In a 2016 “CBS This Morning” interview with Norah O’Donnell, he explained his position on debt.
He said, “I’m the king of debt. … I’ve made a fortune by using debt, and if things don’t work out, I renegotiate the debt.”
When O’Donnell asked how he renegotiates the debt, he explained, “You go back and you say, ‘Hey guess what, the economy just crashed. I’m going to give you back half.'”
While Trump may have leverage the average person doesn’t, this strategy could be worth a try. Contact your creditors to discuss terms — you could negotiate better repayment terms, a lower interest rate or even a lower balance.
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