Donald J. Trump was born on June 14th, 1996 in Queens, NY to Fred and Mary Trump, and is the second youngest of five children. His father was a wealthy real estate developer in New York City, born himself in New York to German immigrants, and his mother was born in Scotland. As a boy, Trump attended The Kew-Forest School, a college preparatory school in Forest Hills. At 13, Trump left the school and entered the New York Military Academy where he completed secondary school. He was given the rank of captain at NYMA in his senior year. For his first two years of college, Trump studied at Fordham University. He then transferred to the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, where he studied economics. While completing his studies, he was employed at his family's company, then called Elizabeth Trump & Son. He graduated with his Bachelor's degree in 1968. His time in school enabled him to avoid the Vietnam War draft, and after graduating was given a final deferment for medical reasons which Trump has cited to have been "heel spurs."

One of Trump's first real estate endeavors was undertaken while he was still a college student working at Elizabeth Trump & Son. By the time he had graduated college, Trump has said his net worth was roughly $200,000. (Adjusted for inflation, that's over $1 million today!) Trump was given control of his family's company in 1971, and shortly thereafter renamed it The Trump Organization, the name with which we are familiar today. In 1972, Trump sold the project he'd been invested in during his undergrad years for nearly $7 million. By 1973, Donald Trump - as president of The Trump Organization - was in charge of thousands of apartments all across New York City. His early years as a developer and real estate owner/investor were not without controversy, however. The Justice Department in 1973 accused Trump and his father of discrimination against black would-be tenants, as they were rejecting their applications. The Trumps claimed they were simply screening low incomes. The case was eventually settled, with no discrimination ever admitted or proven.

The Grand Hyatt Hotel's construction in 1978 was Trump's first major deal in Manhattan. Part of this deal was a $1 million loan from his father, which Trump has repeatedly cited throughout his current presidential campaign. In 1981, the building fated to be renovated and transformed into Trump Plaza was purchased. However, that year fortune shared a table with tragedy. Trump's older brother Fred Jr., who had been struggling with alcoholism, died of his addiction. Trump has stated that witnessing his brother's struggle convinced him never to drink or smoke, a unique conviction to hold one's self to in the business world. Despite the painful loss, fortunes improved in years following. The iconic Trump tower was completed in 1983. But much like a decade prior, this too was mired in controversy. A contractor working on the project was accused of using undocumented Polish immigrants for long hours of labor, paying them minimal wages. Trump testified years later that he had no knowledge of the workers circumstances, and the case was settled in 1999 after sixteen long years in the courts.

After Trump Tower's construction, The Trump Organization continued to expand. Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino opened in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1984; the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida was purchased in 1985; the Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City was bought in 1988 and opened under Trump's name in 1990. The Trump Organization also expanded into other areas of interest outside of real estate, branching into sports and entertainment. One of his signature successes in this foray was "The Apprentice," the reality TV show in which Trump was both host and producer. It debuted in 2004 and has run for fifteen seasons thus far. (NBC recently ended its business relations with Trump and the show's future has been left in question, though it has not formally been canceled.)

Even with all of his successes, Trump has had his share of troubles. Businesses under company's umbrella have declared bankruptcy four times: Trump Taj Mahal in 1991, Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in 1992, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts in 2004, and Trump Entertainment Records in 2009. Trump has claimed that these bankruptcies were simply a means to "pare debt." In early August of this year, it was announced that Trump Taj Mahal would be shutting down in October amidst labor disputes and strikes, though it is only fair to note that Trump's current stake in that particular business is small and it is largely under different ownership. He has also frequently been audited by the IRS, the currently ongoing audit being cited as the reason for his unwillingness to release his tax returns. (This has become a common point of criticism by his opponents.) Most recently is the controversy surrounding Trump University, a real estate training program that has led to lawsuits over allegedly making false claims, cheating consumers, and failing to get a business license. Trump has criticized the judge presiding over two of the lawsuit cases as implicitly biased, a move which has led to even further controversy and drawn even more media coverage of the issue. In spite of any business shortcomings, however, it is undeniable that Donald Trump has been economically successful. Trump has estimated his worth today as over $10 billion. Forbes has estimated his wealth as closer to $4.5 billion, still a wholly impressive number.

While Trump has a long history in the world of businesses, and certainly an impressive resume in that regard, his history in politics is less impressive. Unlike all of his opponents throughout the election process, Trump has never held elected office. However, this does not mean that he's never dipped his toes into political waters. For decades Trump has made his political views public and has not shied away from political discussion. He was a vocal supporter of Ronald Reagan's presidential bid and supported George H. W. Bush in his initial run. (He, in fact, was floated as a potential running mate for George Sr. on the 1988 GOP ticket, though was ultimately passed over in favor of Dan Quayle.) He's been relied on as a benefactor to many politicians on both sides of the aisle, including the Clintons. He had also toyed with the idea of running for president long before his 2016 campaign.

He first considered a campaign back in the late '80s, though chose not to pursue. Even after deciding not to run, he continued to tease the issue, speculating on an unlikely future run in a discussion with Oprah on her show in 1988. (Video of this interview can be found here.) In 1999, Trump launched a presidential exploratory committee to run within the Reform Party but dropped out after early general election polling suggested he'd only get 7% of the vote in a three-way general election. Despite his exit from the race, he still managed to win the Reform Party's California and Michigan primaries. Trump left the Reform Party a couple years later after people such as David Duke become involved with it, registering instead as a Democrat for several years. During this period he expressed his support for some form of universal healthcare and, though initially he was a reluctant supporter prior to its start, became a vocal opponent of the war in Iraq not long after it began. He returned to the Republican Party in 2008 to endorse John McCain for President, where he has remained save for a brief stint as an independent prior to his 2012 endorsement of Mitt Romney.

In early 2015, speculation of a Trump presidential campaign swirled through the media, and in June he formally announced his candidacy and launched a campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. Despite facing over a dozen other contenders, many of them big names with long resumes such as Jeb Bush, Rick Santorum, and John Kasich, he managed to sweep through all of them, his only serious challenger to the nomination being Ted Cruz. Trump secured the nomination by May, and was formally nominated at the 2016 Republican National Convention having won a vast majority of states, delegates, and 44.9% of the popular vote. Indiana Governor Mike Pence was chosen as his running mate. His primary opponent for the presidency is Hillary Clinton, though third party candidates such as Gary Johnson and Jill Stein appear to be picking up more steam than usual in this election cycle.

Many view Trump's election as the 45th President of the United States to be an unlikely scenario, even now despite the closeness of the race. But it's worth keeping in mind that this has been the sentiment from the very beginning, and he has a track record of proving naysayers wrong. That said, nobody can predict the future. Trump is undoubtedly the most polarizing and unconventional presidential candidate in recent history. His supporters love him, his opponents hate him. Controversy seems to follow him wherever he goes, to an even greater degree than his main opponent. But he has a strong following. Whether he wins or loses the election come November, his candidacy has been one for the history books. For better or worse, Donald J. Trump has forever changed the political landscape, and only time will tell how this affects future elections.