Stay the course, says The Donald. Keep going. It’s a great place.
That’s the advice to the City of Ottawa from arguably the world’s most famous real-estate developer.
“I noticed when I came in, there is a beauty to it,” Donald Trump said Thursday while in town to speak at the Eastern Ontario Economic Showcase at Lansdowne Park. “High tech is down, but everything is down throughout the world. Just keep plugging.”
Trump joined Calgary billionaire Bret Wilson for a brief question-and-answer session with reporters before his speech, taking questions ranging from his opinions on the health-care debate in the United States (not an issue) to the strangest place he’s ever had sex (wouldn’t answer).
The secret to success, Trump said, is to know your subject really well, loving what you do and to never give up.
“Don’t quit,” he said. “I’ve seen it so often where guys are almost there and they quit, give up, and they’re losers.”
To a 19-year-old who wants to be just as successful in life, Trump advised that he go to college and get a good education.
Trump wouldn’t talk about how much he was paid to speak Thursday. Whatever the amount was, he said, it’s going to charity.
Asked about his television show, Trump said The Apprentice was the only successful prime-time show ever about business, before someone corrected him by pointing out Wilson’s show, Dragon’s Den, on CBC.
Wilson asked Trump what real-estate projects they could work on together in Canada. Trump said he’s waiting to see how his tower in Toronto turns out, but he added he would invest in Ottawa if he found the right project.
