I don’t know where real estate developers land on the occassional lists of ‘Least Trusted Occupations’, but it’s safe to say they’re not very high. But this breakdown of how Trump’s Presidential campaign is exactly how a developer would do it is eye-opening, expected and horrifying all at the same time:
So a lot of people don't have much experience with real estate developers. Donald Trump is basically a walking cliche. I'll explain.
— ≠ (@ThomasHCrown) June 21, 2016
First, remember that at a certain scale, developers aren't pitching land or location. They're pitching themselves.
— ≠ (@ThomasHCrown) June 21, 2016
Their first job is to get investors to buy into them — their vision, their capability, their magic. They sell themselves first and always.
— ≠ (@ThomasHCrown) June 21, 2016
So the problem isn't the project and never the developer, it's a lack of investment, a stingy attitude, pick your horse-hockey.
— ≠ (@ThomasHCrown) June 21, 2016
The likelihood of that million ever showing up is roughly half.
— ≠ (@ThomasHCrown) June 21, 2016
There are too many tweets in this stream to cover all the points (it’s best viewed via Storify), but the basic gist is this: When a project is failing, the developer will blame others and make a big show of his commitment by saying he’ll put his own money into it. This gets the investors to put up more money. In actuality, the developer’s money never shows up, and he gets to continue to drive the project into the ground while protecting his own assets. It’s a win-win for him. Not so for his marks.
With a flailing campaign that has less cash-on-hand than a decent senatorial effort, Trump is playing this like a real estate deal. He’s saying he’ll do it himself; he’ll put up his own money if his ‘investors’ don’t have the guts. But in the end (especially in light of his recent FEC expediture reports), he’ll use the campaign to enrich himself, and if the thing goes belly up, he’ll still make out fine.
It’s a scam. A con. And there’ll almost certainly be plenty of rich people who will buy into it.