Trump's infamous $1 million loan from his father was apparently just the first of many

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

When Donald Trump boasts he started his "$10 billion" real estate empire with just a $1 million loan from his father, he might not exactly be telling the whole story. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that when all of Donald's loans and gifts from his father, Fred Trump, are taken into account, the assistance totals well into the millions:

In September 1980, around the time Mr. Trump was laying the groundwork to build a casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, his father lent him $7.5 million, a matter previously reported. In 1981, when Mr. Trump applied for a casino license, regulators learned he received a $100,000 salary as an executive vice president at his father’s company, Trump Management Inc., and yearly trust money that varied from around $32,000 a year to more than $200,000.The disclosure document from Ivana Trump shows, additionally, that Fred Trump had been providing credit on frequent occasions starting at least as far back as 1977. [The Wall Street Journal]

Donald Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks reiterated to The Wall Street Journal that when Donald talks about that "million-dollar loan," he is just referring to his first loan from his father in 1975. And, Hicks added, Donald doesn't owe his dad any money. "These loans were all paid back in full and were taken from his father rather than a bank to allow his father to collect the interest," Hicks said. Head over to The Wall Street Journal for the full investigation.

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