The Miss Universe Pageant helped paved Donald’s way to the White House
Donald Trump has built a legend by clinching highly-creative deals, but did
you know that he dodged perhaps the most potentially damaging lawsuit of his
career by mollifying angry plaintiffs with, get ready for this, a big stake in a
beauty contest? As far as this writer can tell, Trump’s gambit of trading a
stake in the Miss Universe pageant for a pivotal legal settlement has never been
reported in the press, though well establish in public documents. Yet the
episode illustrates just how skillfully Trump deploys both imaginative
stratagems, and relentless resistance, in giving those who sue him the absolute
minimum, no matter what the merits of the case.
By the way, the Miss Universe franchise was a lot more famous than
profitable, and it didn’t take Donald long to take back every share he’d briefly
sacrificed.
In fact, repelling lawsuits is a core business practice for Trump, and he’s
darn proud of it. “I don’t get sued because I don’t settle cases, I win in
court,” Trump asserted during an MSNBC interview in early March, when questioned
about whether he’d consider resolving a pending lawsuits over now-defunct,
self-named real estate academy, Trump University.
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In reality, while Trump, at least in legal circles, is well known for his
intimidation-through-litigation tactics, Trump is also often on the receiving
end. The Donald has gotten sued a lot. And he frequently settles. But he’s a
master at extracting the best possible terms by dragging opponents through years
of expensive legal maneuvers that drain their resources and sap their
resistance.
The Miss Universe saga is a case study in Trump’s success in defanging suits
that, when filed, look dangerous. Here’s the background: In June 1996, Trump
Hotels & Casino Resorts Holdings, the mogul’s publicly-traded gaming
enterprise in Atlantic City, announced the purchase of the Trump’s Castle, a
property, later renamed The Trump Marina, that was 100% owned by Trump, who also
served as chairman of Trump Hotels, (later renamed Trump Entertainment Resorts).
The price appeared extremely high. The public company was paying $525 million
according to its public filings at the time, for a property with a negative net
worth. In addition to assuming $348 million in debt, Trump Hotels agreed to pay
Trump himself $177 million in newly-issued shares of stock.
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