Eric Trump
Trump in 2016
Born
Eric Frederic Trump

(1984-01-06) January 6, 1984 (age 40)
Alma materGeorgetown University
Occupations
  • Businessman
  • Philanthropist
  • Television personality
Years active2006-present
Known forExecutive in the Trump Organization
Founder of the Eric Trump Foundation
Former boardroom judge on The Apprentice
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Lara Yunaska
(m. 2014)
Parent(s)Donald Trump
Ivana Zelníčková
FamilyFamily of Donald Trump
WebsiteOfficial website

Eric Frederic Trump (born January 6, 1984) is an American businessman, philanthropist, and former reality TV personality. He is the third child and second son of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, and Ivana Trump. Alongside his older brother Donald Trump Jr., he serves as a trustee of The Trump Organization. A longtime executive vice president of the firm, Trump and his brother will run the company during their father's presidency. In 2006, he founded the Eric Trump Foundation, a registered charity that raises money for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Early life, education, and family

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Trump was born in Manhattan and attended Trinity School. His parents divorced in 1991, when he was seven years old. As a young child, Trump spent his summers in the Czech countryside near Zlin with his maternal grandparents. His grandfather, Milos Zelnicek, who passed away in 1990, was an engineer; his grandmother, Maria, was a worker in a shoe factory. His grandfather taught Trump how to hunt and fish. Trump describes his parents as loving but strict disciplinarians who emphasized hard work, good grades, and clean living. Trump's father famously said, "No drinking, no drugs, no smoking ... and you better get good grades."[1]

In 2002, he graduated from The Hill School and subsequently served on its board until 2013.[2] He graduated with a degree in finance and management, with honors, from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Trump flirted with the idea of majoring in engineering but chose finance and management in order to increase his career options. He minored in psychology.[3][4]

Trump started accompanying his father to job sites and negotiations from a very young age. Later in his youth he spent summers mowing lawns, laying tile, cutting rebar, hanging chandeliers, and performing various other work at his father's properties. Trump briefly toyed with the idea of other careers but decided to join the family business while he was a high school student.[4] Speaking of his father, Trump said, "He made us work and I think that’s what a great father does."[1]

On July 4, 2013, Trump became engaged to his longtime girlfriend Lara Lea Yunaska (born October 12, 1982), an associate producer on the syndicated television news program Inside Edition. The couple dated for six years before marrying. They married on November 8, 2014, at Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida,[5] and had their wedding ceremony under a "crystal-embellished chuppa[h]".[6][7]

In mid-March 2017, Trump announced via Twitter that his wife was pregnant with a baby boy with a due date in September. This will be the couple's first child. The boy will be President Trump's ninth grandchild.[8][9]

Career

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The Trump Organization

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Trump is an executive vice president at the Trump Organization. He is responsible for the development and acquisition of projects around the world.[10] With his father, he has overseen the expansion of the Trump Golf portfolio of properties, increasing the number from three, when he joined the company, in 2006, to 18 in 2017. The Trump Organization has courses in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, North Carolina, California, Scotland, Ireland, Indonesia, and Dubai. He worked with his sister, Ivanka, to redesign and renovate Trump National Doral and its Blue Monster course in Miami, Florida.[11]

He and his siblings are credited with the creation and management of the Trump Hotel Collection properties. As of 2017, Trump's current management portfolio of hotels includes locations in Las Vegas, Chicago, New York, Toronto, Panama, Waikiki, Punta del Este, Washington D.C., Vancouver, the Philippines, and Rio de Janeiro.[12] He also executed the acquisition of the Kluge Winery and Vineyard in Charlottesville, Virginia, resulting in the creation of Trump Winery.

In 2012, Trump was recognized by Forbes magazine among their top "30 under 30" in real estate and by the New York Observer as one of the "20 Most Important Young Philanthropists".[13] The New York Observer is published by his brother-in-law, Jared Kushner.[14] In 2013, Trump earned Wine Enthusiast Magazine's "Rising Star of the Year" Award.[15]

The Eric Trump Foundation

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Trump in 2009

Eric Trump established the Eric Trump Foundation in 2006, at the age of 22, to raise money for terminally-ill children and cancer patients at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.[16][17] A letter dated December 30, 2016 from the fundraising president of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Richard C. Shadyac Jr., confirmed that the Eric Trump Foundation had raised and donated $16.3 million dollars to the hospital over the 10 years prior to the date of the letter.[18][1]

Trump said in July 2016 that "My father has given me and my foundation hundreds of thousands of dollars. And he’s given other charities millions and millions and millions of dollars." When The Washington Post asked for more details, Trump was unable to name specific dates or dollar amounts. He wrote in an e-mail, "I’m sure there have been but without going back through 10 years, I wouldn’t remember check for check off the top of my head." Trump later pointed out that his father gave $50,000 to sponsor a golf fundraiser in 2008 and $100,000 again for the same purpose in 2010; these donations were made via the Donald J. Trump Foundation. Trump also said that his father's businesses provided numerous gifts in-kind. The The Washington Post determined that organizations controlled by Trump's father made at least $210,000 worth of gifts to the Eric Trump Foundation. In the same e-mail Trump wrote, "My father has contributed so much to the foundation — without our properties, [the Eric Trump Foundation] for all practical purposes, wouldn’t exist. I’m able to contribute millions of dollars a year to St. Jude, largely expense-free, because of him."[19]

File:Ericgolf.jpg
Trump playing golf

The foundation has made small donations to charitable causes other than St. Jude including at least three animal welfare organizations and the American Society for Enology and Viticulture, a California wine industry organization.[20]

2016 presidential campaign

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Eric Trump was a key advisor, fundraiser, and campaign surrogate during his father's successful run for the presidency in 2016. Trump and his wife made campaign appearance in numerous states on behalf of his father.

 
Trump speaking at the 2016 Republican National Convention

On August 2, 2016, in a television appearance on CBS This Morning, Trump was asked to comment on his father's controversial statement to USA Today the previous day in which he said that if his daughter were ever subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace, he hoped she would find another company to work for or switch careers. Eric Trump said, "Ivanka is a strong, powerful woman, she wouldn't allow herself to be objected [sic] to it."[21]

A suspicious package full of white powder was sent to Trump's Manhattan home in March of 2016. It included a note saying that he and his siblings would be harmed if his father did not withdraw from the race.[22]

Hunting trips

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Trump is an avid hunter. Photos from one 2010 hunting trip to Africa with his older brother prompted criticism from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which alleged that the hunt was illegal. The director general of the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority issued an official response calling the allegations "baseless" and "false." [23] Both brothers defended their hunting trip via Twitter, affirming their actions as hunters and longtime advocates of the outdoors.[24] Their father addressed the hunt, saying that he fully supported his sons.[24]

References

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  1. ^ a b c [1]
  2. ^ "Celebrity Prep Schools". Retrieved November 23, 2006.
  3. ^ "Eric Trump, American Royalty". CBS News. June 9, 2003. Retrieved November 23, 2006.
  4. ^ a b [2]
  5. ^ "Eric Trump marries Lara Yunaska in Palm Beach wedding". NY Daily News. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  6. ^ Smith, Emily (November 9, 2014). "Eric Trump weds Lara Yunaska at Donald's Mar-a-Lago Club". Page Six. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  7. ^ "Eric Trump & Lara Yunaska's Wedding Album". People.com. People. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  8. ^ [3]
  9. ^ [4]
  10. ^ Kawamoto, Dawn (June 17, 2011). "Donald Trump's Legacy: Kids Who Aim to Think Big". Daily Finance. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  11. ^ Leon, Alexandra (October 3, 2013). "Trump National Doral Miami Construction Ahead of Schedule". NBC 6 South Florida. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
  12. ^ Sylvester, Ron (April 2, 2013). "Hired or Fired? How Trump is doing after Five Years in Las Vegas". VegasInc.com. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
  13. ^ Davis, Peter (April 10, 2013). "New York's Young Philanthropist Powerhouse Eric Trump". New York Observer. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  14. ^ "About". Observer. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  15. ^ Hoover, Andrew (November 17, 2013). "2013 Rising Star of the Year: Eric Trump". Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  16. ^ Belvedere, Matthew J. (August 24, 2016). "Eric Trump: Clinton Foundation actions 'corruption at the highest level'". CNBC. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  17. ^ "Welcome". Eric Trump Foundation. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  18. ^ "Hospital Confirms Eric Trump Helped Raise $16.3 Million for It". NYT.com. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  19. ^ "Eric Trump said his charity received 'hundreds of thousands' from his father. Now, he's not sure". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  20. ^ Zadrozny, Brandy (October 1, 2016). "Eric Trump 'Charity' Spent $880K at Family-Owned Golf Resorts". The Daily Beast. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  21. ^ "Trump on how women should deal with harassment: It's 'up to the individual'". The Washington Post. August 2, 2016.
  22. ^ [5]
  23. ^ Weiss, Lois (March 28, 2012). "Letter: Trump safari not 'canned'". New York Post. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  24. ^ a b Pfeiffer, Eric (November 15, 2011). "Donald Trump's sons criticized after brutal hunting photos released". The Sideshow. Yahoo! News. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
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Category:1984 births Category:21st-century American businesspeople Category:American construction businesspeople Category:American corporate directors Category:American nonprofit businesspeople Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Moravian descent Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:American philanthropists Category:American real estate businesspeople Category:Businesspeople from New York City Category:Children of Presidents of the United States Category:Georgetown University alumni Category:Living people Category:The Hill School alumni Category:The Trump Organization employees Eric