Eric Trump: From Georgetown Graduate to Executive Vice President
Eric Frederick Trump, born on January 6, 1984, is an American businessman, political activist, and former reality television presenter. He is the third child and second son of Donald Trump and his first wife, Ivana Zelníčková. Best known as the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, Eric Trump's journey includes his education, career, and personal life, all of which have kept him in the public eye.
Early Life and Education
Growing up in New York City, Eric Trump attended the elite Trinity School until 1997. Following his parents' divorce in 1990, he joined his older brother, Donald Trump Jr., at The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1851, The Family Boarding School, as it was first called, became one of the country’s elite preparatory schools. Ivy-clad stone buildings and leaded glass windows were built to help mold brilliant young men, eventually sending them off to Princeton or its ilk.
After graduating from high school, Eric broke with family tradition by matriculating at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., instead of the University of Pennsylvania, like his father, brother, and sister. In 2006, Eric Trump graduated from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University with a bachelor's degree in finance and management, with honors.
Life at The Hill School
Classmates remember a gangly, blonde-haired boy that most often wore an old baseball cap, a crew neck shirt under a black fleece, and well-worn khakis. It was easy to forget his last name. At Hill, they say, Eric was not a Trump, he was just Eric. Eric lodged with the other eighth-grade boys, or second formers as the school called them, in a set of charming but rickety small houses opposite the headmaster’s house.
During his early years at Hill, academics were not Eric’s strong suit. In particular, students mocked Eric for his clumsy grasp on Spanish - he once mistook a classmate’s wild gibberish for the language. Nevertheless, Eric worked hard to get higher grades. Eric was close with a local student named Matthew Williams, a five-year boy so devoted to the Hill that he tattooed “Whatsoever Things Are True” on his left leg.
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Career at the Trump Organization
After college, Eric Trump joined the Trump Organization in 2006 as executive vice president of development and acquisitions. He broadened the company’s real estate portfolio and expanded the Trump Golf Collection from three properties to 19. In 2012, Forbes recognized Eric Trump among their top “30 under 30” in real estate.
Role During Donald Trump's Presidency
When Donald Trump became president in 2016, Eric and his older brother, Donald Trump Jr., were named directors of a trust that holds the family business interests. Eric Trump has stated that since his father became president, the family stopped doing international business deals. However, this claim has been disputed by various sources.
Television Appearances
From 2010 to 2015, Eric Trump appeared on NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice as a boardroom judge alongside his father, Donald Trump Sr., his older brother Donald Trump Jr., and his older sister Ivanka Trump.
Eric Trump Foundation
In 2007, Eric Trump established the Eric Trump Foundation, a public charity to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Tennessee. On November 30, 2012, the foundation committed to raising $20 million over ten years for the naming rights to the new Eric Trump Foundation Surgery & ICU Center in the Kay Research and Care Center.
Controversy and Suspension of Fundraising
In June 2017, Forbes reported that the Eric Trump Foundation shifted money intended to go to cancer patients to the Trumps' businesses. The report alleged that more than $1.2 million of the donations went to the Trump Organization for the use of Trump's Westchester golf course. In December 2016, Eric Trump decided to cease all direct fundraising efforts of his foundation. He stated on his foundation's site: "Effective December 31, 2016, I have decided to cease all direct fundraising efforts of my foundation…in order to avoid the appearance or assertion of any impropriety and/or a conflict of interest."
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Personal Life
Eric Trump married Lara Lea Yunaska on November 8, 2014, at his father’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida. They have two children: Eric "Luke" Trump, born in September 2017, and Carolina Dorothy Trump, born in August 2019. The family splits their time between their home in Westchester and an apartment in the Trump Parc East building located on Central Park South. In May 2021, Eric Trump and his wife, Lara Trump, moved to Jupiter, Florida, from Westchester, New York. Both men also live in Jupiter. Eric Trump lives in the Trump National residential community, and Donald Trump Jr. lives in the nearby Admirals Cove enclave.
Other Notable Facts
- Height: At 6-foot-5-inches tall, Eric Trump is notably tall.
- Special Deputy: On Oct. 8, 2024, Eric Trump was appointed as a St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office special deputy during a visit there.
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