Five things to know about Donald Trump
More than a few doubted Donald Trump would really enter the 2016 presidential race. The flamboyant billionaire flirted with the idea in 2012 before publicly concluding that business came first, and he would return to his television show, "Celebrity Apprentice."
But in what appeared to be an unscripted, and certainly unfiltered speech in June, Trump announced in his famous Manhattan skyscraper, Trump Tower, that he was running for president to "make America great again." Before he even finish his announcement, though, he appeared to stumble, calling Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals during the course of the speech. But he never apologized and never recanted. He's "just telling the truth," he declares, and as it turns out, for the time being, many GOP primary voters like him for it.
The latest CBS News poll put him at 24 percent, more than 10 points ahead of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who's in second place with 13 percent. Now, Trump will take center stage at the first Republican debate Thursday night.
Here are five things to know about Donald Trump.
There’s some debate about his net worth
Just how rich is Donald Trump? It depends who you ask. When his campaign released his financial disclosure, it said his net worth was "in excess of TEN BILLION DOLLARS" (capitalization by his campaign).
Other organizations cast doubt on that number. Forbes - which says it has been "tracking Trump's net worth in great detail" since 1982, says it's closer to $4 billion. Bloomberg pegs it even lower at $2.9 billion, based on its Billionaires Index.
His wealth is mostly made up of his real estate holdings, including buildings in Manhattan, resorts in Florida and golf courses in Ireland (among other things).
There's also a Gucci store in Trump Tower that the Donald likes to boast is worth more than the super-wealthy 2012 GOP nominee, Mitt Romney (a Des Moines Register fact check confirmed he's right - it's worth at least $300 million, and could go for over $1 billion, and Romney's net worth is estimated to be about $250 million).
But he owns more than just buildings
Trump is the only presidential candidate - at least at the moment - who has his own board game: Trump the Game, which is based on his reality show, "The Apprentice." Players invest in real estate, try to win the most cash, and bankrupt the other players.
Reviews are mixed. One Amazon reviewer wrote, "Not really that fun. Twister is a much better game. Most people will probably be bored of this game after a little bit. I would not recommend to someone looking to use for a party. Play Trivial Pursuit instead."
Trump also has two fragrances to his name: "Empire," which Perfumania Holdings describes as, "the perfect accessory for the confident man determined to make his mark with passion, perseverance and drive." And then there's "Success," which "embodies the inspirational spirit of the Trump franchise."
He bottles water: Trump Natural Spring Water, which is served at his hotels and properties, naturally.
He has a Hollywood presence
Just as Trump is the only presidential candidate with a board game, he's also the only one with a Hollywood star - which Hollywood Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Leron Gubler recently said would remain in place in spite of the outcry over his comments about Mexican immigrants.
Trump first began hosting his own reality show, "The Apprentice," in 2004 and later added "The Celebrity Apprentice." According to his financial disclosure form, he's made $213,606,575 off the Apprentice.
He’s flirted with running for president before
This is Trump's first official presidential bid, but he's been mentioned as a potential candidate (by others or himself) in at least five elections.
In 1998, a New Hampshire Republican activist named Mike Dunbar said Trump "has what it takes" to be president when expressing his dissatisfaction with the actual GOP choices, according to USA Today.
In 2000 Trump quit the Republican Party, declaring them "just too crazy right," and joined the New York branch of the Reform Party. Though he said he might run that year, he decided not to - but still won the Reform Party's primary in California.
The presidency seemed like an alluring option again in 2008 and 2012 for Trump. He made several visits to key early voting states in 2012 and made headlines by questioning President Obama's birthplace, but ultimately opted out of a run, saying, "I am not ready to leave the private sector."
He’s a provocateur
Trump clearly enjoys flouting political correctness, and his supporters encourage it, even if he offends his fellow Republicans in the process. Here are some of those moments from just the first two months of his campaign.
On immigration, during his announcement speech: "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."
On Arizona Sen. John McCain, during the Iowa Family Leadership Summit: "He's not a war hero...he's a war hero cause he was captured. I like people that weren't captured, ok? I hate to tell you."
On rivals Rick Perry, the former Texas governor, and Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina senator, during an event in South Carolina: "This guy, Lindsey Graham, so he calls me a jackass this morning. And I said to myself, 'You know, it's amazing. He doesn't seem like a very bright guy, okay? He actually probably seems to me not as bright honestly as Rick Perry. I think Rick Perry is probably smarter than Lindsey Graham, but what do I know?" Trump then proceeded to give out Graham's phone number, and urged the audience to, "give it a shot."
Going back further, to 2011, he's famous for saying this about President Obama in 2011: "His grandmother in Kenya said, 'Oh no, he was born in Kenya and I was there and I witnessed the birth.' Now, she's on tape and I think that tape's going to be produced fairly soon ...The grandmother in Kenya is on record saying he was born in Kenya."