# Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father's Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success - Paperback

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by **Russ Buettner** (Author), **Susanne Craig** (Author)

**An Instant _New York Times_ Bestseller **\- A _Washington Post_ Notable Book **\-** A _Financial Times_ Best Business Book of the Year****

"A first-rate financial thriller . . . _Lucky Loser_ is one of those rare Trump books that deserve, even demand, to be read." -Alexander Nazaryan, _The New York Times_

**From the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters behind the 2018 bombshell _New York Times_ exposé of President Trump's finances, an explosive investigation into the history of Donald Trump's wealth, revealing how one of the country's biggest business failures lied his way into the White House**

Soon after announcing his first campaign for the US presidency, Donald J. Trump told a national television audience that life "has not been easy for me. It has not been easy for me." Building on a narrative he had been telling for decades, he spun a hardscrabble fable of how he parlayed a small loan from his father into a multi-billion-dollar business and real estate empire. This feat, he argued, made him singularly qualified to lead the country. Except: None of it was true. As his wealthy father's chosen successor, Trump received the equivalent today of more than $500 million in family money. He collected a second windfall thanks to Mark Burnett, the revolutionary television producer who made Trump a star. In truth, Trump's empire was underwritten, and at times saved, by the equivalent of more than $1 billion that came his way without any of the business expertise he claimed.

Drawing on over twenty years' worth of Trump's confidential tax information, including the tax returns he tried to conceal, alongside business records and interviews with Trump insiders, _New York Times_ investigative reporters Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig track Trump's financial rise and fall, and rise and fall again. A masterpiece of narrative reporting, _Lucky Loser_ is a meticulous examination spanning nearly a century, filled with scoops from Trump Tower, Mar-a-Lago, Atlantic City, and the set of _The Apprentice_. Here for the first time is the definitive true accounting of Trump and his money-what he had, what he lost, and what he has left-and the myth of Trump, the self-made billionaire, exposed.

### Author Biography

**Russ Buettner** and **Susanne Craig** are investigative reporters at the _New York Times_. Since 2016, their reporting has focused on the personal finances of Donald J. Trump, including in-depth articles that revealed the fortune Trump inherited from his father and the record of business failures hidden in twenty years of Trump's tax returns. Their articles on Trump's inheritance were awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 2019. Buettner joined the _Times_ as an investigative reporter in 2006_._ He was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in 2012. He previously worked on investigations teams at the _Daily News_ in New York and _New York Newsday_. Craig previously covered Wall Street and served as Albany bureau chief for the _Times_. Prior to joining the _Times_ in 2010, Craig was a reporter at _The Wall Street Journal_ and _The Globe and Mail_, Canada's national newspaper.

**Number of Pages:** 528

**Dimensions:** 1.2 x 8.3 x 5.4 IN

**Publication Date:** September 23, 2025

## Details

- **Price:** 24.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 24.00 USD | In stock |

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- Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father's Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success - Paperback

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