Donald Trump revealed his dad once helped him out with a 'small loan' — a modest $1 million

There are self-made billionaires with inspiring tales and then there are those who come from wealthy families who have their unique struggles that they overcome with financial support from their parents. One of them is former US President Donald Trump, who admitted that his journey as a real estate tycoon began with a "small loan" of $1 million from his father. Before he became the U.S. president, Trump described how hard it was for him to build a business empire from almost 'nothing,' during a TODAY town hall meeting.

An Empire Built out of Nothing and a Million Dollars

Trump was answering a question from a Republican voter when he made the revelation. The voter asked, "with the exception of your family, have you ever been told no?” Trump enthusiastically answered that his "whole life" has been a 'no' and he had to fight for everything. “It has not been easy for me, it has not been easy for me. And you know I started off in Brooklyn, my father gave me a small loan of a million dollars," he said. 

In response to this, TODAY’s Matt Lauer said that while it may be a small loan to him, the common people are going to see it like he had it easy. Trump countered this by saying that a million dollars wasn't much compared to the business he had built. “I mean, I’ve built one of the great companies, but it’s always been, you know, you can’t do this, you can’t do that," Trump said. About a year later, the presidential candidate repeated the claim that he got a small loan in 1975, from which he built a business empire.

Fact-checking Trump's Claims

Trump’s father, Fred Trump was a self-made millionaire and a real estate mogul in Brooklyn and Queens. At the time of his death in 1999, he was worth millions of dollars. Thus, The New York Times conducted a sweeping investigation to fact-check Trump's claims. As per the report published the former president's father had actually lent him not one but about $60.7 million. That amount was equivalent to $140 million at the time when Trump made that claim, and most of it was never repaid.

Back in 2015, the Wall Street Journal had also reported that as of 1985, Trump owed his father and his businesses about $14 million from numerous loans. In 2007, Trump himself admitted that he had borrowed about $9 million from his father's estate, as per the Washington Post.

Trump also seems to ignore the fact that his father’s connections set him up for the real estate business. His father along with the Hyatt hotel chain jointly guaranteed a $70 million construction loan from Manufacturers Hanover Bank, for Trump, according to Wayne Barrett's 1992 book, “Trump: The Deals and the Downfall.”

The two parties even "assumed a 50% share of the obligation" in case Trump failed to finish the project. And, when Trump's casinos were in trouble, Fred also purchased $3.5 million in gaming chips and did not use them to help him make mortgage payments, The Washington Post reported.