That $400 million shoulda been HIS

Waaaaaa Columbia wouldn’t give him $400 million waaaaaa it’s not fair.

Columbia needed to expand, which is tricky in Manhattan. Trump wanted Columbia to buy a patch he had more than two miles away. He wanted Columbia to pay $400 million for it.

As the discussions dragged on, many people from Columbia grew frustrated with their dealings with Mr. Trump. Still, the two sides set up a meeting in a Midtown Manhattan conference room with the intention of moving a transaction forward.

A few trustees and administrators arrived with a report prepared on their behalf by a real estate team at Goldman Sachs, which attended every meeting between Columbia officials and representatives of the Trump Organization. It outlined what the investment bank considered a fair value for the land.

Mr. Trump showed up late, was informed of the university’s property analysis and became incensed.

Goldman Sachs had assigned a value in the range of $65 million to $90 million, according to a person who was in the room. In an attempt to soothe Mr. Trump, a trustee offered that the university would be willing to pay the top of the range.

It didn’t matter. A furious Mr. Trump walked out less than five minutes after the meeting had started.

How dare anyone refuse to pay Donald Trump way more than the value of a property in the wrong location?

Mr. Trump also shared his indignation in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. “Years after the deal fell through,” the newspaper said, “Trump is still irate. ‘They could have had a beautiful campus, right behind Lincoln Center,’” Mr. Trump told the reporter and called Mr. Bollinger a “total moron.”

Mr. Trump was perhaps staying true to principles outlined in “How To Get Rich,” an advice book he co-wrote a few years after his deal with Columbia went sour.

One chapter is titled “Sometimes You Have to Hold a Grudge.”

In short he’s always been a mean ignorant swine but now he has real power. All we can do is hope his brain explodes sooner rather than later.

One Response to “That $400 million shoulda been HIS”

Leave a Comment

Subscribe without commenting