Make America Great Again Hats Made of Asbestos
The shocking secrets of Trump Tower
Jaw-dropping revelations about Trump's NYC HQ
The ultimate symbol of eighties excess, Trump Tower is heavy on OTT glitz and glamour, but beyond the gleaming façade lies a multitude of sometimes sordid secrets that read stranger than fiction. Join us as we reveal the shocking stories, past and present, behind former president Donald Trump's signature skyscraper, from gangster condo owners and vermin infestations to tax breaks and inflated valuations. Click or scroll for more...
Donald Trump didn't pay to build it
Known for his early real estate acumen, Donald Trump put his gift of the gab and mastery of the art of the deal to exemplary use, parting with virtually none of his own money to construct the $300 million (£216m) skyscraper at 721–725 Fifth Avenue. According to a New York Times profile from 1983, he garnered bumper loans from the likes of the Equitable Life Assurance Society and Chase Manhattan bank. With the finance done and dusted, construction work began on the 58-storey tower in 1979.
Trump bagged a massive tax break
The shrewd property developer was even able to snag a super-generous tax break on the luxe mixed-use tower worth up to an estimated $50 million (£36m) that was originally intended to incentivise construction of low and middle-income housing. During his real estate career, the New York Times estimates that Trump has secured at least $885 million (£638m) in tax abatements.
Trump clashed with the NYC mayor
The tax rebate was initially denied by the City of New York, which at the time was headed by Mayor Ed Koch, a long-time Trump adversary. The Donald sued, labelling the mayor 'a moron', and emerged victorious. The Democratic politician clapped back by calling him one of the most unlikeable people he'd ever met and "greedy, greedy, greedy".
The site was a former landmark
After settling on the site of the handsome Art Deco Bonwit Teller department store adjacent to the Tiffany & Co flagship on Fifth Avenue, Trump cosied up to a major shareholder in Genesco, the owner of the venerable retailer, and was able to buy the lease, paving the way for the 12-storey store's demolition and erection of the flashy tower housing upscale retailers, offices, restaurants and condos.
Museum-quality friezes were destroyed
Constructed in 1929, the landmark building had more than its fair share of architectural treasures, including two exquisite Art Deco Dancing Lady bas-reliefs by celebrated sculptor Rene Paul Chambellan. Trump promised the friezes, which were valued at around $200,000 (£144k), to the MET, but according to the New York Times, secretly arranged for them to be smashed with jackhammers.
Art Deco grillwork was wrecked too
The ornate Art Deco grillwork that adorned the entrance of the department store was also earmarked for the art museum, but ended up obliterated as well. Trump said the artworks were 'garbage' and argued that preserving them would have been too costly. Needless to say, he was slammed by the New York Times for "esthetic vandalism" and savagely criticised by Mayor Ed Koch.
Illegal immigrants worked on the site
As president, Trump was especially tough on illegal immigration but in 1980 he hired 200 undocumented Polish workers to demolish the Bonwit Teller store. The non-unionised workers earned a pittance, taking home as little as $4 (£3) an hour, less than half the union wage, and many weren't even paid at all.
Workers endured unsafe conditions and sued
Worst of all, the undocumented workers toiled away for 12 hours at a time in extremely unsafe conditions. Health and safety practices were almost non-existent and the labourers worked without hard hats, masks and gloves, exposing themselves to asbestos and other toxins. They eventually sued in a class-action lawsuit and won a $1.4 million (£1m) payout, a sum discovered after a Time Magazine freedom of information request opened up court documents that had been sealed for 20 years.
There were three arson attacks during construction
Arson attacks were par for the course on building sites in New York back in the early 80s, and Trump Tower endured three fires that were deliberately started during its construction. The unfinished tower was also damaged by a blaze in January 1982 sparked by a heater used to stop newly poured concrete from freezing.
Trump later lobbied against installing sprinklers
Despite the succession of fires, Trump lobbied in the late 1990s against a bill mandating the installation of sprinklers in New York skyscrapers, including his signature tower. Like many of his decisions, it all came down to money – retrofitting a sprinkler system would have cost $4 (£3) per square foot. This stance would come back to haunt him as we shall see later.
The Mafia supplied the concrete
Unlike the majority of New York high-rises erected in the late 70s and 80s, which relied on steel, Trump Tower was built mostly from concrete. The Mafia pretty much controlled the supply of the material in the construction industry, so it's not unusual that Trump turned to a company called S&A Concrete – owned by mobster Anthony 'Fat Tony' Salerno – for his concrete, paying artificially high prices for the privilege.
An entire Italian mountain provided the marble
In an interview with GQ in 1984, Trump's then-wife Ivana boasted that an entire Italian mountain was demolished to provide the 240 tons of white-veined peach-pink Breccia Pernice marble that clad the tower's atrium and other public spaces. According to the skyscraper's architect Der Scutt, "we took the whole mountain top... you can't get any more."
Trump dubs the building "Tiffany's"
Trump reportedly dubs his tower "Tiffany's" after the famed jewellery retailer next door. He actually bought the store's air rights for $5 million (£3.6m) in order to construct his signature skyscraper and reveres the brand so much, he named his youngest daughter in homage to it. When it opened, however, Trump packed his tower with high-end competitors including Asprey, Cartier and Harry Winston. Luxury Spanish fashion house Loewe also opened a store in the finished tower.
The apartments are surprisingly basic
Upon completion, Trump Tower rocked a total of 263 condos, 91 of which were priced at a million dollars or more. They sold like hotcakes, enabling the real estate mogul to pay off the construction loans in next to no time. Compared to many high-end apartments today though, the condos are relatively basic, with small, windowless kitchens, and many lack the luxury features we expect to come as standard today in high-end properties, must-haves such as walk-in closets and twin bathroom sinks.
The critics were divided
Reaction to Trump Tower was decidedly mixed. The New York Times dubbed it "Trump's least bad bad building" and though its top critic Ada Louise Huxtable praised the exterior, she called the atrium "a pink marble maelstrom." Another writer for the newspaper considered it "preposterously lavish", while the eminent Paul Goldberger lauded the atrium but derided the "hyperactive" exterior.
Trump claimed Charles and Diana were buying an apartment
Before the tower opened, a rumour abounded that the newly married Prince Charles and Princess Diana were planning to move into one of the building's condos. No prizes for guessing who originated it, of course. Though conflicting reports suggest this was fake news, the rumour proved wonderfully lucrative and according to the real estate magnate himself "was the one that most helped Trump Tower".
Did Diana plan to move in to Trump Tower?
A rumour published in the New York Post suggested that Princess Diana was planning to move into Trump Tower after her divorce from Prince Charles was finalised. While sources at Buckingham Palace flatly denied the claim, it would have been a smart base for the much-loved royal to meet and greet New York's most elite social circles and forge a new life in the US.
The skyscraper was often filled with famous faces
Trump has always loved to court celebrities at Mar-a-Lago, and that was certainly the case back in the early 80s at Trump Tower. Over the years, the real estate mogul has attracted a long list of famous names to his signature skyscraper. He and Ivana are pictured here with Michael Douglas and his then-wife Diandra, along with boxing promoter Don King.
Michael Jackson rented Trump's parents' duplex
Having struck up an enduring friendship with Michael Jackson during the 1980s, Trump ended up renting to the controversial King of Pop and his wife at the time, Lisa Marie Presley. They lived in the duplex that was once home to Donald's parents, Fred and Mary for a total of 10 months in 1994. The superstar is thought to have paid a whopping $110,000 (£79k) a month for the condo, well above the going rate.
Liberace lived there rent-free for a time
Liberace met Trump while hunting for a condo in the tower in 1985 and the duo hit it off straight away. The real estate tycoon was so bowled over, he personally showed the flamboyant pianist around the pad and let him live there rent-free for a time, as long as he mentioned 'Trump' during his New York concert run. The pair shopped for furs together and Trump would often give Liberace property developing advice, one of his mantras being "you never use your own money".
Johnny Carson wrongly accused Trump employees of theft
In 1987 legendary talk show host and Trump Tower resident Johnny Carson, who was known for having a mean streak, made Trump fire two employees he accused of stealing an expensive vicuna wool coat, only to find the precious garment months later at the back of his closet. He moved out not long after and the condo was later acquired by Bruce Willis, who sold it in 2005 for $13 million (£9.4m).
Steven Spielberg let Hillary Clinton use his apartment
Billionaire director Steven Spielberg had an apartment in the building bought for him by Universal Pictures, but he rarely stayed there. Instead, he let Trump's future nemesis Hillary Clinton have the use of it in 2000 during her New York senate run. In fact, Trump and Clinton were on good terms back then, and the former First Lady even attended his wedding to Melania Knauss in 2005.
Sophia Loren and Harrison Ford lived there
Among the other famous people that have resided in Trump Tower are Sophia Loren, Harrison Ford, actor and director Vincent Gallo, Miss USA 2013 Erin Brady and musical theatre impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber, who sold his 5,300-square-foot duplex in 2010 for $16.5 million (£11.9m).
Many condos are not owned by individuals
An astonishing number of condos in Trump's signature tower are owned by shadowy limited liability companies (LLCs) that conceal their ultimate owners' identities, according to Vanity Fair. These private businesses are registered in a number of locations, some of which are out-and-out tax havens, including the British Virgin Islands, Panama, Puerto Rico and Dubai.
There have been many shady residents
In 2016, a Twitter thread gave a floor-by-floor round-up of all the dubious characters that have resided in Trump Tower at one time or another, and rapidly went viral. The dozen villains mentioned include Trump's former campaign advisor Paul Manafort, who was convicted for federal crimes but later pardoned by his old boss.
Russian gangsters lived in Trump Tower
Several Russian gangsters have owned or leased condos in the building. They include murderous 'boss of bosses' Vyacheslav Ivankov (pictured), who was gunned down in Moscow in 2009, New York Russian Mafia bigwig David Bogatin – he bought five condos in 1984 for $6 million (£4.3m) – and trio Anatoly Golubchik, Vadim Trincher and Michael Sall, who ran a betting and money-laundering syndicate out of the high-rise.
A Mafia-connected resident was arrested for murder
In 1986, Lucchese Mafia crime family associate Robert Hopkins was arrested in one of his Trump Tower units for ordering a hit on a rival. The charge was later dismissed, but Hopkins was convicted for operating New York's biggest gambling ring out of the condo. While they were not close associates, a Village Voice article claims that Trump had personally attended the closing sale of the two apartments and watched the mobster count out the $200,000 (£144k) deposit in cash that he'd brought along in a briefcase.
A convicted drug trafficker rented a condo
While in his political career Trump called for drug dealers to face the death penalty, he actually sold a Trump Tower apartment in the late 1980s to the girlfriend of a convicted embezzler, auto thief and cocaine trafficker, Joseph Weichselbaum. According to several reliable sources, Trump had also written to the judge presiding over his case, asking for leniency.
An art dealer ran a gambling ring from the building
Art dealer Helly Nahmad, who owns every single unit on the 51st floor, was imprisoned in 2014 for running a $100 million (£72m) poker and sports gambling ring from the tower, and ended up serving five months of a year-and-a-half sentence. He was among the convicted felons pardoned by Trump during his last days in office.
A disgraced art collector owned six condos
Staying with art world figures, Cuban-born financier and top collector Roberto Polo, who bought six condos in 1983 via an offshore shell company, was extradited from the US and convicted in Italy in 1995 for swindling clients out of $110 million (£79m), a charge he has always denied.
Medicaid fraudsters rented three apartments
Together with his sons Jay and Ronald, New York clinic owner Sheldon Weinberg pulled off the biggest Medicaid fraud in history, having siphoned $16 million (£11.5m) in the 1980s from the government program. The trio rented three Trump Tower apartments with their ill-gotten gains, and as a final insult, failed to pay the moving company when they vacated the units.
A corrupt soccer official was kept there under house arrest
Trump Tower has been home to not just one, but two corrupt Fifa officials. The late Chuck Blazer, who lived on the 17th floor, pleaded guilty in 2013 to bribery, money laundering and tax evasion and then turned informant, helping to convict other crooked Fifa officials, including fellow Trump Tower resident Jose Maria Marin (pictured), who was held under house arrest there and sentenced to four years in prison in 2018.
It was once home to a notorious dictator
Adding to the long list of nefarious characters that have owned condos in the tower, Trump sold an apartment on the 54th floor to the Haitian dictator Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier. As confirmed by Snopes, the property was purchased in 1983 for $1.7 million (£1.2m) through a Panamanian shell corporation. Duvalier and his Tonton Mercoutes militia killed and tortured thousands of Haitians under his brutal regime.
Trump vetoed an insider trader
Trump did however claim that he turned down a request for office space in the tower from stock trader Ivan Boesky before he was convicted in 1987 for insider trading. "I got a funny feeling about his character," he wrote in his Surviving at the Top book. "I've always been blessed with a kind of intuition about people that allows me to sense who the sleazy guys are, and I stay far away."
Trump's triplex was originally black
As well as housing the HQ of the Trump Organization, the tower serves as Donald, Melania and Barron Trump's New York residence. The triplex penthouse on the uppermost floors was initially designed by Halston's Angelo Donghia and was relatively restrained in terms of decor. Subtle gold accents were tempered by black lacquered walls and onyx tables, and muted hues abounded.
It's now decorated in gold
After Donald dined with flashy Saudi arms dealer Adnan Koshnoggi, who had a larger and more lavish pad in the Olympic Tower condo building, the real estate mogul decided to go one better and redecorate his own home. He went for his now-typical no-holds-barred Louis XIV-style opulence, with just about everything dripping in 24-karat gold leaf.
There's something strange about the number of floors
Technically, Trump Tower has 58 storeys in total but Trump promoted it as a 68-floor building, which didn't go down too well with the architect Der Scutt. In fact according to Vanity Fair, the lifts actually go up to the fictional 68th floor. The property mogul says he was able to number the stories this way as the lower levels have high ceilings, enabling him to skip 10 levels.
There was a pool in one of the apartments
Back in 1982 before the tower even opened, Austrian socialite Verina Hixon, who was close to Mafia-connected concrete union boss John Cody, bought six apartments for $10 million (£7.2m) and proceeded to knock them together and install a pool, the only one in the building. Unable to pay in full for the alterations and mortgage, Hixon was sued by Trump along with the banks and eventually lost the merged property.
Mice, roaches and "filth flies" have plagued the building
The Trump Tower Grille, the building's flagship restaurant, has been slapped with a litany of health code violations in recent years according to an article by The Guardian. They include sightings of "live roaches" in 2016, reports of "filth flies" the following year, and incidences of "mice or live mice" infestations in 2018.
The Trump Tower Grille was slammed by a critic
A scathing review published in Vanity Fair in 2016 concluded that the Trump Tower Grille "could be the worst restaurant in America." As well as mocking the decor, critic Tina Nguyen found fault with just about everything from the "overcooked and mealy" steak to the fries, cocktails and desserts, and described the famed taco bowl as the most inedible thing she and her guest ate.
People sold up after Trump won the election
After Trump took a surprise victory in the 2016 US presidential election, residents began abandoning the tower in their droves and sales as well as rentals slumped big-time. In December of 2017, Vanity Fair reported that at least 14 condos had been put up for sale and asking prices had dropped by as much as 15%. Plus, out of the 14 rentals offered post-election, only five had been leased out.
The Pentagon paid over the odds for a condo in the building...
The same Vanity Fair report revealed that the Pentagon had agreed to rent a duplex on the floors below Trump's triplex at an astronomical $130,000 (£94k) per month, around three times the rent of the next most expensive condo in the tower and well above the market rate. All in all, the property, which was rented for 18 months, cost American taxpayers $2.4 million (£1.7m).
...but the Secret Service used a trailer outside
In contrast, the Secret Service baulked at the prices the Trump Organization was demanding. After negotiations to reduce the over-inflated rent collapsed, the agency vacated its unit in the tower, which was located below the Pentagon's duplex, and set up its command post in a makeshift trailer outside the building.
A protester scaled the building
Trump Tower became a magnet for protestors during the 2016 election campaign. In August of that year, a protestor scaled the high-rise using suction cups, and was only apprehended after law enforcement removed windows to intercept him. He was then pictured firmly in custody in Ivanka's branded shoe store.
There was a fatal fire in 2018
A major blaze broke out in the tower in April 2018, the second to hit the building that year, and burned through the 50th floor. The Fire Commissioner at the time, Daniel Nigro told CNN that the upper levels lack sprinklers but otherwise that the building "sure stood up quite well". Tragically, art collector Todd Brassner was killed and six firefighters suffered injuries in the inferno. It later emerged that Brassner had been desperate to move out and filed for bankruptcy in 2015. The Trump Tower board went on to sue the hard-up art aficionado's estate for non-payment of maintenance fees.
Apartment prices have plummeted of late
Gucci, which has its global flagship in the building and remains the tower's biggest commercial tenant, recently renewed its lease until 2026, but the good news for the Trump Organization stops there. Apartment prices have plummeted of late, hitting 15-year lows, and now sell for less per square foot than the New York City condo average, with realtors declaring the building one of the Big Apple's least desirable luxury properties.
Cristiano Ronald lost millions on an apartment
One of the apartment owners trying to sell up is none other than international football legend Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese soccer star bought a 2,500-square-foot unit in 2015 for $18.5 million (£13m), then put it on the market in 2019 for $9 million (£6.5m). Yet despite the enormous price cut, it failed to sell, and is now on the market for just $7.8 million (£5.6m).
Key tenants have not paid rent and moved out
Swanky suit-maker Marcraft Clothes, which offered $1,400 (£1k) Trump-branded suits in the heyday of The Apprentice once rented the entire 18th floor. According to the Washington Post the decadent offices were said to boast two bars for schmoozing customers, but then the brand fell $664,000 (£480k) behind on rent and went out of business last year – its assets having dwindled to $40.75 (£29.46) in a checking account and "1,200 damaged coats," according to court filings. Morris Bauer, a New Jersey attorney whom the company assigned to take over its assets and deal with its creditors said he wasn't sure what happened to the Trump Tower suite, but he knew Marcraft had vacated it.
Kris Jenner's former company was consumed by lawsuits
One floor up, Legacy Business School, which once boasted Kris Jenner as its chairwoman, was consumed by lawsuits, falling $198,000 (£143k) behind on payments to Trump Tower by October 2020, according to court papers, despite the school's annual tuition fees being a huge $70,000 (£51k). In February, investors who claimed to be the Legacy's majority owners sued the school's founder, Alessandro Nomellini, demanding Nomellini give up control of the school and its offices. They asked a judge to cancel the lease entirely, but Nomellini has challenged these claims in court. In a further twist Nomellini's attorneys have asked to withdraw from the case, saying that Nomellini had not paid their bills.
Ivanka Trump's former shoe supplier owed $1.5m in rent
Another major tenant, Marc Fisher Footwear, the company that made Ivanka Trump shoes for her now-shuttered shoe brand, racked up a massive $1.5 million (£1.1m) in unpaid rent, according to a lawsuit that the Trump Organization filed this year. The lawsuit said the shoemaker had stopped paying in November 2020, and owed more than $1.4 million (£1m). That suit was settled on undisclosed terms in April and reportedly the brand vacated Trump Tower.
Trump's PAC has paid $37k a month in rent
Trump Tower has one reliable tenant, however – the former president's own political operation Make America Great Again PAC, which has raised millions of dollars in donor funds. Starting in March it paid $37,541.67 (£27k) per month to rent office space on the 15th floor – a space previously rented by his campaign – according to campaign finance filings. Yet, a person familiar with Trump's PAC said that its staff do not regularly use the office space, so it calls into question whether this is the best use of donors' money. It has also been reported that for several months, Trump's PAC paid the Trump Organization $3,000 (£2.1k) per month to rent a retail kiosk in the tower's lobby – even though the lobby was closed.
But it's not illegal
This practice of converting political donations into private revenue for himself has raised eyebrows. "He's running a con," said Paul S. Ryan, a campaign finance expert at the watchdog group Common Cause. However, the payments do not appear to be illegal. As this kind of PAC has very few restrictions, Trump is free to spend the donor money at his own properties for as long as he wants. Trump spokeswoman, Liz Harrington, said: "We are paying market rate for leased office space used to help President Trump build a financial juggernaut to help elect America First conservatives and flip both the House and Senate to the Republicans in the midterm elections." She also said officials expected the lobby to reopen, but when it remained closed, the PAC stopped paying for it.
New York Attorney General Letitia James' investigation
In more recent times, New York authorities are currently probing whether Donald Trump's real estate business manipulated the value of his portfolio for tax and insurance purposes, according to court filings from 18 January 2022. New York Attorney General, Letitia James alleged that Trump submitted inflated valuations of a number of his properties including his Trump Tower triplex, claiming it was three times its actual size. According to theBBC, the civil investigation opened in 2019 aims to prove the government's claims that Trump inflated the value of his assets to banks when seeking loans.
Trump exaggerates the size of his triplex
NBC New York reported that since 2012 valuations carried out on Donald Trump's apartment in Trump Tower were based on the space measuring 30,000 square feet. Shown here with the former Japanese prime minister in the lavish apartment, it has been reported that the apartment is actually 10,996.39 square feet.
Fraudulent valuations?
"Because these valuations were performed by multiplying the number of square feet times a price per square foot, the reduction in the apartment's square footage in the valuation from 30,000 to 10,996 indicates that the valuations of Mr. Trump's triplex in 2015 and 2016 were overstated almost by a factor of three," James' office alleges. Alan Weisselberg, former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, admitted that the resulting $327 million (£243m) valuation had been an overstatement of "give or take" $200 million (£149m).
Trump Jr and Ivanka to testify?
According to The Guardian, Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump were called to testify under a subpoena issued by Letitia James in December 2021. On 17 February 2022, New York Supreme Court Judge, Arthur Engoron said that Trump, Donald Trump Jr, and Ivanka Trump, must comply with the legal orders that were issued. The BBC reported that James' investigation had uncovered "copious evidence of possible financial fraud" and Judge Engoron said it gives her a "clear right" to question under oath the former president and two of his children involved in the business.
Stuck a deal?
Yet, according to The Guardian, in March 2022 Donald Trump struck a deal to temporarily spare him from having to answer questions under oath. Under the new agreement between Trump and the attorney general's office, Trump and his two children must sit for depositions within two weeks of a ruling from the appeals court, if it upholds the lower-court decision requiring their testimony. Lawyers for the Trumps and Letitia James' office also agreed to an "accelerated briefing schedule" to speed up the appeals process, with court papers due by 31 March.
Trump disobeys court order
Most recently, on Tuesday 26 April 2022, after finding Trump in contempt of court for failing to comply with Letitia James' subpoena for the business-related documents,CNBC reported that Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron said that Donald Trump would have to start paying a fine of $10,000 (£8k) per day. "Mr. Trump has willfully disobeyed a lawful order of the court," the New York judge wrote in a three-page order.
$10,000 per-day fine
Engoron went on to write, that: "each day that passes without compliance" with James' subpoena "further prejudices" the attorney general's civil investigation, "as the statute of limitations continue to run and may result in [James] being unable to pursue certain causes of action that [she] otherwise would". Engoron wrote: "Having stipulated to produce all the documents by March 31, 2022, Mr. Trump may no longer challenge the validity of the subpoena."CNBC reported that Trump's attorney Alina Habba has said that she will file an appeal of Engoron's contempt-of-court finding against the former president and the daily fine.
A further blow
In a further blow, Donald Trump's longtime accounting firm Mazars USA severed ties with him earlier this year, saying his financial disclosures from 2011 to 2020 can "no longer be relied upon", according to a letter the firm sent to the Trump Organization. "We have come to this conclusion based, in part, upon the filings made by the New York Attorney General, our own investigation, and information received from internal and external sources," Mazars said in the letter, as reported by ABC News.
Dubious record keeping?
Shown here is the ex-president's Trump Tower office in 2016. To add to Trump's legal woes, there is a separate ongoing criminal investigation into the Trump Organization's practices of reportedly compensating top executives 'off the books' to help them avoid paying taxes, according to NBC News, and Trump's record-keeping practices also continue to come under the spotlight.
Will the case against Trump fall apart?
But the case against Trump has faced its own stumbling blocks as two of the lead prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney's team resigned in February 2022. The New York Times claims that the "new Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, had expressed doubts about moving forward with a case against Mr Trump", prompting prosecutors Carey R. Dunne and Mark F. Pomerantz to step down.
The failed plan for a Russian Trump Tower
Despite Trump's insistence that he has no deals with Russia, it seems that building a Trump Tower in Moscow was very much a goal of the Trump Organization. Robert Mueller's 448-page investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election discloses three separate proposals to develop a property in the city. Plus, signed legal documents between their business partner for the project, Andrey Rozov, and Trump outline detailed plans for the building itself, branding and facilities.
A glittering skyscraper
Further reports byBuzzFeed News show a design for the huge glass skyscraper that Rozov and Trump had planned to build in Moscow City, an up-and-coming development outside of the main metropolis which already houses some of the largest skyscrapers in Europe. Designed to be 100-storeys high, the modern obelisk would be crowned with a diamond shape and carry the Trump logo on multiple sides. According to a signed letter by Donald Trump from 2015, the tower would have "approximately 250 first-class, luxury residential condominiums" and "not fewer than 150 hotel rooms".
The Spa by Ivanka Trump
While local developer Andrey Rozov would build the tower, Trump's organization would provide access to the family name and would manage the building's luxury commercial spaces such as the bars, restaurants and the fitness centre. They also had the option to brand the opulent wellness space as 'The Spa by Ivanka Trump'.
Ivanka's vision
This version of The Spa by Ivanka Trump already exists in the Washington DC hotel owned by Trump International. Walls, curtains and floors were to be decked out in her signature rose gold hues and the proposed Ivanka spa experience in the Moscow tower would include a Himalayan salt room, a waterfall and 'curated rituals'.
Putin was to be given the $50m penthouse
As the tower was intended to be Europe's tallest building, the views from the penthouse would have been unparalleled and the penthouse was to be the crowning glory. Valued at $50 million (£36m), BuzzFeed News also reported that Trump's aide Michael Cohen had discussed offering the prize to Putin with his press secretary. In what would have been a canny marketing move designed to attract Russia's very richest and most powerful residents, the idea was "to give a $50 million penthouse to Putin and charge $250 million more for the rest of the units," Felix Sater told BuzzFeed News. "All the oligarchs would line up to live in the same building as Putin."
Loved this?Follow us on Facebook for more incredible inside stories from star homes
Be the first to comment
Do you want to comment on this article? You need to be signed in for this feature
Source: https://www.loveproperty.com/gallerylist/112888/the-shocking-secrets-of-trump-tower
Enviar um comentário for "Make America Great Again Hats Made of Asbestos"