Trump files $5bn lawsuit over biography

[emad]

Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
Wednesday January 25, 2006
The Guardian


Donald Trump, the property magnate with a fondness for putting his name to really tall buildings, signed his name to a monumental lawsuit yesterday, suing the author and publisher of a new biography for $5bn (£2.8bn).

The lawsuit, filed in a state court in New Jersey, seeks US$2.5bn in compensation and US$2.5bn in punitive damages from Warner Books and Timothy O'Brien, the publishers and author of TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald.


He accuses Mr O'Brien, who is a business reporter for the New York Times, of knowingly making false and malicious statements about Mr Trump and his personal and business dealings.

"Rather than sitting back and letting false statements be published without challenge, I believe it is important to expose irresponsible, malicious and false reporting," the construction and casino king said in a statement.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1694211,00.html

[Ron Green]

1. There's a much higher level of malice and falsity,

the one in which Trump operates. Anyone who pimps himself out to the trash TV the way this guy does, taking on only the sleazy parts of the "robber baron" mantle, ought not to be talking about some bit of alleged slander.

[emad]

2. How dare you! Trump sues writer for $5bn for saying he's only worth $250m

How dare you! Trump sues writer for $5bn for saying he's only worth $250m
By David Usborne in New York
Published: 25 January 2006
The Independent


SNIP:

The contention of Mr O'Brien is that assessments of Mr Trump's personal wealth, mostly as stated in the annual Forbes magazine list of America's richest people, have been far removed from the truth.

He described the Trump empire, which over the years has spanned huge apartment towers, casinos and, briefly, an airline, as a "kitten's skein of holdings Donald had woven together".

Quoting anonymous sources that he states are close to the developer, he says in his book that he was "not remotely close to being a billionaire" but that his "net worth was somewhere between $150m-$250m".

------------------
Mr O'Brien spent 15 years researching his book, often rubbing shoulders with his subject and his phalanx of celebrity friends. Mr Trump apparently co-operated willingly, even though he once labelled the writer a "whack job". As for the book, he has condemned it as a "terribly written".
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article340824.ece

[emad]

3. The Forbes richlist is flawed...

ONE thing springs to mind. The annual Forbes richlist is pretty laughable. The top 20 private individuals worth in excess of $50billion+ in terms of their LGN, oil and real estate assets have gone to extraordinary lengths in the last 20 years or so to hide their IDs and, hence, are not included in any listings.

One notable US/UK married couple in this category are so rich they could buy out Bill Gates out of Petty cash ten times over....

[Rex]

4. Trump is a chump. Reagan bailed him out in the 80s

and that should have been a sign to find a new profession. Unfortunately cockroaches don't migrate from safety.