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President Donald Trump gave a speech to the nation on immigration and the border wall on July 8, 2019, and two black-and-white photos were prominently positioned behind him during the address. Who were the people in the old pictures?
The answer: His father, Fred Trump, and his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod Trump. President Donald Trump’s father, the son of German immigrants, started the real estate and construction business his son now runs. His mother hailed from Scotland. The photos have been behind Trump’s desk for some time; the above photo shows them in 2018.
Here’s what you need to know:
Fred Trump Died in His 90s After Amassing a Fortune
Wikipedia CommonsFred Trump, the father of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, in an undated photo.
Fred Trump, who died in 1999 at the age of 93, was a controversial figure during his life and after his death, noted for his success, but also for his alleged racial discrimination against potential tenants. Donald Trump has said, “My legacy has its roots in my father’s legacy,” according to the Washington Post. But President Trump has for years called himself a self-made man.
In October 2018 The New York Times reported that Donald Trump and his siblings helped their parents dodge taxes and that the president received the equivalent of $413 million from his father’s real estate business. The Times cited a “vast trove” of confidential tax returns and financial documents in saying President Trump participated in “dubious tax schemes” and “outright fraud.” Through his attorney, Trump has denied any wrongdoing and said the $413 million figure is inaccurate. Trump has said he received only a small loan from his father to start his own business.
According to The Times, the financial records show that the Trump children set up a fake corporation to help hide millions of dollars in gifts from their parents. Attorney Charles Harder said in a statement, “President Trump had virtually no involvement whatsoever with these matters. The affairs were handled by other Trump family members who were not experts themselves and therefore relied entirely upon the aforementioned licensed professionals to ensure full compliance with the law.” Trump and his family members cannot be charged in connection with the alleged wrongdoing reported by The Times, but civil penalties could still be brought against them. You can read the full Times report here.
FacebookDonald Trump with his father, Fred.
Frederick Christ Trump was born on October 11, 1905, in New York, the son of Fredrick Trump and Elizabeth Christ Trump. Donald Trump’s grandfather was born in Germany and immigrated to North America in 1885 at the age of 16. He moved to Seattle during the Gold Rush, where he ran restaurants before moving to Canada, where he opened a hotel and restaurant, according to a CBC article.
Donald Trump’s grandfather died in 1918 when Frede Trump was a teenager. In 1927, Fred Trump, Trump’s father, started Elizabeth Trump & Son Co., the real estate company that would become The Trump Organization, according to his New York Times obituary. He began building houses in Queens, New York, and then constructed barracks and apartments for U.S. Navy personnel along the East Coast during World War II.
He continued to build the company, constructing low-income apartments and row houses in Brooklyn and Queens. Donald Trump joined the company in 1968, when he was 22. Fred Trump lent his son money and allowed him to go into the real estate business in Manhattan, according to the Times.
“It was good for me,” Donald Trump told the Times. “You know, being the son of somebody, it could have been competition to me. This way, I got Manhattan all to myself!”
According to the October 2018 investigation by The Times, “By age 3, (Donald Trump_ was earning $200,000 a year in today’s dollars from his father’s empire. He was a millionaire by age 8. In his 40s and 50s, he was receiving more than $5 million a year.”
The Times also reports that Trump’s claim that he received a $1 million loan from his father is false. The newspaper reports, “In fact, The Times found, Fred Trump lent his son at least $60.7 million, or $140 million in today’s dollars. Much of it was never repaid, records show.”
Trump’s Mother Mary Was a Scottish Immigrant & They Had 5 Children
Donald Trump’s mother, Mary, was an immigrant: t.co/LODpCTKLmN
Fred Trump married his wife, a Scottish immigrant named Mary Anne MacLeod, in 1936. She was born on the Scottish island of Lewis in 1912 and met Fred Trump while on a trip to New York.
Mary Trump was naturalized in 1942. Together they had five children, including Donald Trump, Maryanne Trump Barry (a federal judge), Frederick Jr., Elizabeth and Robert. Fred Trump Jr. died in 1981/
Fred Trump suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and became sick with pneumonia in 1999. He died in June of that year.
According to his obituary in the New York Times, Fred Trump had a net worth of between $250 to $300 million when he died. He was known as a frugal man, despite his wealth.