Trump: How to Get Rich

Avoid the Handshake Whenever Possible

Some business executives believe in a firm handshake. I believe in no handshake. It is a terrible practice. So often, I see someone who is obviously sick, with a bad cold or the flu, who approaches me and says, Mr. Trump, I would like to shake your hand. It’s a medical fact that this is how germs are spread. I wish we could follow the Japanese custom of bowing instead.

The worst is having to shake hands during a meal. On one occasion, a man walked out of the restaurant’s bathroom, jiggling his hands as though they were still wet and he hadn’t used a towel. He spotted me, walked over to my table, and said, Mr. Trump, you’re the greatest. Would you please shake my hand?

I knew that if I didn’t shake his hand, he’d be saying terrible things about me for thirty years. I also knew that if I agreed, my own hands would be loaded with germs or whatever the hell he’d carried out of the bathroom. I had a choice.

In this case, I decided to shake hands, because I was a little overweight at the time and knew that if I shook his hand I wouldn’t eat my meal—and that would be a good thing.