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- <text id=90TT3454>
- <link 90TT0535>
- <link 89TT0135>
- <title>
- Dec. 24, 1990: The Trumps:Surviving At The Top
- </title>
- <history>
- TIME--The Weekly Newsmagazine--1990
- Dec. 24, 1990 What Is Kuwait?
- </history>
- <article>
- <source>Time Magazine</source>
- <hdr>
- PEOPLE, Page 75
- Surviving at the Top
- </hdr>
- <body>
- <p>By SOPHFRONIA SCOTT/Reported by Georgia Harbison
- </p>
- <p> Is this where it all ends? The glitz, the scrumptious
- scandal, the media parade that for 10 long months filled the
- eyes and ears of the citizenry, enabling every breakfasting
- American to pick up the paper each morning and ask, "What's
- Donald saying today?" or "What's Ivana accusing him of now?"
- or "How 'bout that Marla?"
- </p>
- <p> It was just last February when word got out that billionaire
- Donald Trump had left his Czech-born wife of 13 years, Ivana,
- and taken up with a 26-year-old nymph. Suddenly, everyone was
- a Trump watcher, relishing such headlines as GIMME THE PLAZA!
- and BEST SEX I'VE EVER HAD and devouring the drama that was
- played out from the ski slopes of Aspen to the sets of ABC's
- PrimeTime Live.
- </p>
- <p> The story reached its climax last week as a tearful Ivana
- left the Manhattan courthouse on the arm of her lawyer, having
- cut her losses and dissolved her marriage in a trice. It was,
- said Ivana, "a sad day for everyone, particularly our
- children." State Supreme Court Justice Phyllis Gangel-Jacob
- took only 10 minutes to grant Ivana a divorce decree, "based
- on Mr. Trump's cruel and inhuman treatment," which made it
- "improper" for the couple to remain married. The reference was
- to Donald's alleged affair with actress Marla Maples, who gained
- more than her allotted 15 minutes of fame by way of her
- proclaimed love for Donald.
- </p>
- <p> For those who find parting with the scandal difficult, not
- to worry: the final battle is yet to be joined. According to
- Donald's lawyer, Jay Goldberg, there are two parts to any
- marriage: "One, `Are we married?' and two, `Do I owe you any
- money?'" The marriage's dollar dealings will be sorted out at
- an April 11 trial, during which Trump will try to make his
- ex-wife stick to their prenuptial agreement, which says she
- walks away with only $25 million and the family mansion in
- Connecticut. But Ivana has shown signs of wanting much more. "I
- hope that Ivana will honor our agreement," Trump told TIME.
- "Some people thought $25 million sounded low; some thought it
- sounded high. She's lucky to have such an agreement."
- </p>
- <p> But with Trump's finances in disarray and his net worth
- rumored to be not even a fifth of what it once was, many
- believe Ivana waited too long, and will now be lucky to get
- even the $25 million. "She did the right thing but too late,"
- says Raoul Felder, a top Manhattan divorce lawyer. "She had the
- right medicine, but the patient is half dead."
- </p>
- <p> In the meantime, the divorce has spawned a new school of
- rumors, most prominently involving the future of young Ms.
- Maples. A relative pronounced a marriage to be imminent, but
- the Donald insists he is staying single--for now. "I'm not
- planning on getting married anytime in the near future," he
- says. In fact, it looks as if he will play the gay divorce for
- a while, since Marla is off in Los Angeles pursuing her acting
- career, and he continues to exude golden pheromones. Trump's
- people report that he is "seeing" others and receiving countless
- bouquets of flowers and calls from--what else?--"very
- attractive women." One of them he has been squiring is model
- Rowanne Brewer, but Donald cautiously says she's "just a
- friend"--the same thing he first said about Marla.
- </p>
- <p> As for Ivana, she'll keep the couple's three kids and
- continue to be the brave and smiling socialite. But it's
- doubtful that she'll remain head of Donald's Plaza Hotel, since
- he may sell a portion of the business. Chances are, though,
- that Ivana will make out. Trump says he has "no doubt that she
- will do very well in the years to come." And why shouldn't she?
- She had 13 years of learning from the ultimate dealmaker.
- </p>
-
- </body>
- </article>
- </text>
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