Donald Trump tells West Point graduates 'lot of trophy wives don't work out', cites real estate mogul Levitt as example
He shared a story of a "man who was admired for real estate all over the world." The man, he said, was William Levitt.
According to Trump, Levitt was a perfect example of someone who 'lost momentum" when he left his company and fled with a 'trophy wife.'
"He built Levittown. He started as the man who built one house, then he built two, then he built five, then he built 20, then he built a thousand and then he built 2,000 and 3,000 a year. And he got very big," Trump said in a speech during the US Military Academy (USMA) Class of 2025 Graduation Ceremony on Saturday.
"It's a long time ago, but he was the first of a really, really big home builder, and he became a very rich man," Trump added. It was then, the man decided to sell off his company.
"He was offered a lot of money by a big conglomerate, Gulf and Western big conglomerate," Trump said, adding that the "conglomerate" didn't do real estate and had no knowledge about it.
"But they saw the money he was making, they wanted to take it to a public company, and they gave him a lot of money, a tremendous amount of money, more money than he ever thought again," Trump said.
Trump said Levitt sold this company and had nothing to do. He added that the Levitt, the real estate mogul, took a 'tremendous' sum of money, got divorced, and then remarried.
"He ended up getting a divorce, found a new wife. But you say a trophy wife, I guess we could say a trophy wife. It didn't work out too well," he said.
The US President then went on to share his "tips" with the West Point graduations, saying, 'I must tell you, a lot of trophy wives don't work out, but it made him happy for a little while, at least. But he found a new wife. He sold his little boat.'
Trump said as time went by, the man got bored, and 15 years later, "the company that he sold to called him, and they said, the housing business is not for us."
The US President told the graduates, "You have to understand, when William Levitt was hot, when he had momentum, he'd go to the job sites every night. He'd pick up every loose nail. He'd pick up every scrap of wood. If there was a bolt or a scrap or a screwing in the ground, he would pick it up, and used it the next day and putting together a house.
"But now, he was spoiled and he was rich," Trump said as he shared the anecdote about the late real estate developer William Levitt, a billionaire friend who Trump said lost momentum..
Wearing a red 'Make America Great Again' hat, Trump gave the commencement address at West Point this year. The Republican president told the 1,002 members of the class of 2025 at the US Military Academy that the United States is the 'hottest country in the world' and underscored an 'America First' ethos for the military.
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