The Deutsche Bank Lifeline- Part-03
How Trump Found a New Bank — and New Trouble.
After being blacklisted by almost every major U.S. bank,
Donald Trump found a new financial lifeline — and a new set of risks.
Here’s how it unfolded:
📈 Key Points for Part 03
🔵 Deutsche Bank: The Only Bank Left
- Trump received hundreds of millions in loans from Deutsche Bank — even when no other U.S. bank would touch him.
- Later investigations revealed Deutsche was fined heavily for laundering Russian money.
- Some investigators have long speculated:
Was Russian money quietly helping Trump stay afloat?
🌍 How Russian Money Started Flowing
🔵 Mid-to-late 1990s into early 2000s:
- After the fall of the Soviet Union, billions in shady Russian money poured into real estate markets worldwide — especially New York, Florida, and London.
- Trump’s access to U.S. loans collapsed.
- Suddenly, wealthy Russians and ex-Soviet officials became major buyers at Trump properties.
🏢 Examples:
- Trump Tower and Trump World Tower (near the UN):
- Many units bought by Russians.
Florida developments:
- Reuters found over one-third of buyers were Russian nationals.
Trump Soho Hotel (opened 2010):
- Financed in part by Bayrock Group, with strong Russian connections (led by Tevfik Arif, an ex-Soviet official tied to oligarchs).
🔵 The 2008 Financial Crisis: A New Surge
- Trump properties kept getting bailed out — often by anonymous foreign money.
- In 2008, at a real estate conference,
- Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. openly admitted:
"Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets...
We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia."
🧠 Quick Summary
How Trump Lost His Inheritance: Overleveraged casino/hotel expansions + lavish personal spending + bankruptcies.
When Russian Money Started Flowing: Late 1990s into early 2000s — Russian condo buyers and investors.
Nature of Russian Involvement: Primarily through real estate purchases and anonymous offshore financing.
📢 Next up: Trump’s Art of the Deal Chronicles — Part 04:
Real Estate, Russia, and the Empire Rebuilt.