Investing the bulk of your money in index funds during the great market run-up following the second World War and having the guts to ride out the storm when the market tanks periodically, I think is not trivial. There was a secretary in NYC who did that and died with an 11M fortune. She was clearly very successful.

I think Trump has been successful. Many people born into wealth lose it or at least don't grow it. So he deserves some kudos here.

I think people don't like to give him credit for anything, but if you "only" grow your fortune at the rate of the market, then you're really tracking the average success of American business. That's by definition better than 50% of public companies and in the top few percent of individuals. That's successful in my books.

This post is attracting quite a bit of negative attention, but I stand by my assessment as fair. If you disagree, maybe you want to point out how it's not fair? I think people just hate Trump (which I do as well, but I can separate concerns.)