{"slug":"trump-pre-presidency-business-failures-airlines","title":"Trump Airlines, Trump Steaks, Trump Magazine: Serial Business Failures","date":"1988-01-01","lastUpdated":"2007-04-01","description":"Beyond the Atlantic City casino failures, Trump's career included a series of other prominent business ventures that failed: Trump Airlines (Eastern Air Shuttle, 1988–1992), Trump Steaks (2007), Trump Magazine (2007), Trump Vodka (2007), and others. Each was launched with significant fanfare and media attention and failed within years. Trump has nonetheless consistently claimed business success as the central credential of his presidential fitness.","summary":"Trump purchased the Eastern Air Shuttle for $365 million in 1988 and renamed it Trump Shuttle. Unable to make debt service payments on the junk bonds used to finance the purchase, Trump lost control of the airline to creditors in 1992 — it operated for only four years. Trump Steaks were sold through The Sharper Image beginning in 2007 and discontinued within two months due to poor sales. Trump Magazine was launched in 2007 and folded within five months. Trump Vodka was launched in 2005 and discontinued by 2011. The pattern across these ventures was consistent: launch with celebrity promotion, heavy licensing of the Trump name, and eventual failure attributed to market conditions.","category":"corruption","severity":"major","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/11/us/politics/trump-failed-businesses.html","title":"Donald Trump's Business Record","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-failures/","title":"Trump's business failures: A comprehensive accounting","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/trump-airlines-steaks-magazine-failures","title":"Trump's failed business ventures","publisher":"The Associated Press"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["business-failures","pre-presidency","Trump-Airlines","Trump-Steaks","corruption","branding"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"1988-01-01","title":"Trump purchases Eastern Air Shuttle — $365M in debt","summary":"Trump purchases the Eastern Air Shuttle for $365 million, financed primarily with bank loans. He renames it Trump Shuttle and launches with promotional fanfare."},{"date":"1990-01-01","title":"Trump Shuttle defaults on debt payments","summary":"Trump is unable to make debt service payments on the Trump Shuttle acquisition. Control shifts to creditors. The airline operates in a financially distressed state."},{"date":"1992-01-01","title":"Trump loses control of airline — creditors take over","summary":"Trump loses control of Trump Shuttle to creditors. The airline is sold and rebranded. Trump's four-year ownership of an airline ends in default."},{"date":"2005-01-01","title":"Trump Vodka launched — discontinued 2011","summary":"Trump Vodka launches as a luxury vodka brand. It fails to gain market share and is discontinued by 2011."},{"date":"2007-04-01","title":"Trump Steaks launched — discontinued within two months","summary":"Trump Steaks launch at The Sharper Image. They are discontinued within two months due to poor sales. Trump Magazine also launches and folds within five months."}],"location":{"name":"New York, NY","lat":40.7128,"lng":-74.006},"custom":{"era":"pre-presidency","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"Investors and creditors who financed failed ventures; employees who lost jobs in business failures; shareholders and bondholders of publicly traded entities","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"Founder and named brand; used personal brand to launch ventures that failed while often retaining licensing fees","institution":"Trump Organization"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2007-04-01","summary":"Documented from reporting during 2016 presidential campaign."}]}}