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Re:Charisma / Power by krapp on Monday January 16, 2017 @10:16PM (#13414939)
Trump is many things, and charismatic may be one of them, although personally I don't see it, but "a powerful builder" is not one of them.

Trump doesn't build buildings - he licenses his name to buildings other people build. He doesn't even own most of the properties that bear his name. The only thing he can feasibly claim to have built is his own celebrity, and prior to his recent status, his celebrity might generously be described as b-list - he was a reality show star who was once a professional wrestling celebrity heel and sometimes guest starred as himself on various tv shows.

The distinction is important, I believe, because to me, "builder" implies someone with a passion and a deep understanding of the art of whatever they make their living at. I don't see a passion about architecture or design from Trump, nor do I get a sense that he understands how they work, or that he cares.

Re:Charisma / Power by adventured on Monday January 16, 2017 @10:39PM (#13415042)
Most of the mega developers do not own all of what they build or buy into. The richest real estate billionaires of the last 50 years, most of them develop large projects in investment groups. You're presenting a hollow argument against Trump, judging by the investment style of his billionaire real estate peers.
Re:Charisma / Power by krapp on Monday January 16, 2017 @10:42PM (#13415053)
>The richest real estate billionaires of the last 50 years, most of them develop large projects in investment groups.

They don't deserve to be considered "builders" either. Certainly not "builders of buildings."

Re:Charisma / Power by owebmaster on Tuesday January 17, 2017 @04:18AM (#13416087)
So by this thinking, no "business" co founder is a builder, because they don't build software.
Re:Charisma / Power by krapp on Tuesday January 17, 2017 @06:21AM (#13416595)
What one builds is important, when describing the core competencies of a person.

Describing Trump as someone who builds his buildings gives him credit for a depth of insight and an active hand in the process of architecture, and the gp comment that appears to liken him to Steve Jobs further implies that Trump has an equivalent level of talent and genius in his field. I see no evidence that he is to real estate what Steve Jobs was to Apple computers.

Donald Trump is a builder of fortunes, of his own celebrity and business relationships. As such, I would judge him on the quality of the network he surrounds himself with, because his core competency appears to be choosing people to build things for him.

And I wouldn't necessarily claim that any business co-founder is a builder. Otherwise, I might as well say I build rockets if I invest enough money into SpaceX.