Donald Trump was a Queens boy

Donald Trump is one of New York’s 20 most influential politicians of the past 20 years. See the full list.

Perhaps in another universe, the Donald Trump story would’ve turned out differently. A private school kid growing up in Queens starts out at his father’s real estate company, which is focused on building middle-class housing in the outer boroughs. But the son has bigger dreams. He receives a “small loan of $1 million” from his father and sets out for the bright lights of Manhattan. He gets the real estate empire, the casinos and the gold penthouse in the sky. A Queens boy made good. If only that’s where the story ended. The mogul became a reality TV star and then rode down a golden escalator in 2015 to announce a run for president. He was the first New Yorker elected president since FDR. And the country has been bent to his whims ever since.