Trump: How to Get Rich

Be Your Own Best Financial Adviser

Many people go out and hire financial advisers, but I have also seen a lot of those advisers destroy people.

Athletes, in particular, make a great deal of money at a very young age. Too often, some manager squanders the athlete’s fortune and they wind up in their thirties with nothing left but their past glory—and are forced to get jobs just to survive.

A good friend of mine and truly one of the greatest basketball players who has ever lived, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, was in the NBA for over twenty years, only to find that some bad advice had destroyed much of his wealth. I don’t know whether it was theft or stupidity, but it was a shame.

Herschel Walker is an athlete who signed big contracts, with both the USFL and NFL. One day, he came to me and told me he was going to invest in a fast-food franchise. I told him, Herschel, you are a friend of mine, but if you do that, I will not speak to you again. Because of the relationship we had (and continue to have), he decided not to make the investment. The company went bankrupt two years later. Herschel is now a wealthy man, and he thanks me every time I see him.

When it comes to picking a financial adviser, rely on your own judgment based on what you read in reliable publications like The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Business Week, and Fortune. They are usually terrific, even though, on occasion, they say some negative things about me. I’m angry at Fortune at the moment—and for good reason—but even Fortune sometimes manages to awake from its stupor to report something worthwhile. I’m particularly impressed with an editor there named Geoffrey Colvin, who is also the host of Wall Street Week on PBS and has written perceptively about corporate restructuring.

The New York Post has developed a truly great business section—and one that is fun to read. Lately, The New York Times’s coverage of business has gone right to the top!

If you read these financial publications for a while, you will start to pick up on the cadence and get a feel for what’s happening in the market, which funds are the best, and who the best advisers are.

Stay with the winners. Often, you will read about somebody who has made money quickly and then relies on one of his friends to invest his fortune. That friend has no track record, and if it weren’t for his connection to a rich investor, he wouldn’t have any money. Beware of instant stars in the world of finance. Trust the people who do it again and again, and who are consistently ranked high by the four best institutional business media outlets. But trust your own common sense first.