Memoir: Donald Trump’s nephew Fred Trump writes about his complicated relationship with the family

It couldn’t have been an accident that I ended up in commercial real estate.

I’d grown up around the business, after all, though watching my father’s rocky relationship to the field probably should have sent me running for the emergency exit. The lesson I learned from his bitter experience wasn’t that there was something wrong with the industry. I’d seen my grandfather and a couple of uncles make successful careers in real estate. The lesson I learned was, “Don’t work for your family.” And I vowed that I never would. My father might have had a smoother run if he’d worked for the Dursts or the Silversteins or one of New York’s other family building dynasties, although I’m not sure he ever would have loved the field. It’s no place for free spirits. But maybe he wouldn’t have been judged so harshly and he might have been spared the need to take everything so personally.

Who knows?

My first job out of Lehigh was at Edward S Gordon, one of the largest real estate service companies in New York. The company leased office space, ran buildings, and advised clients on all aspects of that world. It was Lisa’s dad – no one in my family –...

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