The Truth On Trump's Taj Mahal Will Make You Feel Scared About The Future

There’s no shortage of gossip when it comes to Donald Trump, so you’re forgiven if you attribute some of it to fake news. But what about the stories that can’t be refuted?

Let’s start with what The Donald always loves to brag about: His business acumen, his empire and how much he cares. As he states in a tweet ‘…like many great business people I used the laws to corporate advantage—smart!’

But is he really? One would think a really smart business leader has a history of consistent success. Trump may have a lot of glitz and glamor associated with his name since he forced himself into the public eye through TV shows; but that’s not proof of success.

His real worth as a business man should be measured by his projects’ success, right? And it only takes an assessment of one of his projects—the famed and notorious Tramp Taj Mahal—to realize the scary truth: The person in charge of the US may not be as capable as he loves to proclaim he is. The story of this casino in Atlantic City is simply one example of his failures and of his ruthless behaviour towards partners & employees alike.

A few facts and images are all you need to see the truth.

The story begins: The year is 1988 and it seemed Trump was benefiting from Atlantic City’s gambling laws. However, rumors are rife about how he managed to obtain a license in 1982 after only two hours in a hearing. This process usually took months to complete. Now he owned both Trump Plaza & Trump’s Castle Hotel and Casino, though one of them required investment from a third party—Harrah’s—to make it happen. Important: At this stage there were already +/- 10 casinos in this one city.

Despite there being so many other casinos in the area, Trump thought he could pull off adding another one to the list. He bought a stalling project, called it Trump Taj Mahal and invested $1.2 Billion in the project. To him it was the ‘8th Wonder of the Universe’ but to many of the contractors who never got paid it became their downfall.

They didn’t get paid because there wasn’t enough money. It opened in 1990 but it only took a year before financial problems surfaced. There was no way this casino could make $1.3 million every day, which is what it would have taken to make it a success. By 2009 this Trump project went bankrupt. Although he resigned from the board he still had 10% of the stock. Based on a complicated agreement the Trump Taj Mahal could stay open.

Once again Trump made it easy on himself while other parties suffered. The casino still paid for Trump merchandise such as the famous Trump Ice water products. This didn’t help the casino as Donald enjoyed the royalties from third party vendors because his name was used. Is that smart business sense for everyone involved?

Five years later it happened again. TER (Trump Entertainment Resorts) filed for bankruptcy in 2014 because the casino business wasn’t improving and there were no other assets to sell anymore. This time the outcome wasn’t in Trump’s favor as the Taj Mahal went to Carl Icahn, one of the investors.

And it was never only the owners who suffered in this story. Conditions for workers and contractors at the Trump Taj Mahal was so bad that contract disputes led to a strike in 2016 which was the longest strike Atlantic City ever experienced. This along with the acquisition process led to it finally being closed in 2016, with a 26 year history that saw many unsatisfied customers, workers and investors.

Under Trump’s rule, except for its opening night, the Trump Taj Mahal never flourished. Eventually this supposed universal wonder was sold for 4 cents on the dollar to Florida’s Seminole Indians. At the moment it seems they are doing a much better job than Trump, with the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Atlantic City opening in 2018.

If this is Trumps history, what will the future be?