I have read Trump's books and biography around 2004 and 2005.  And, got some idea how he became who he is.

 

"...surely Mr. Trump must be fairly smart to have been as successful as he has been in business..." 

 

Bill, if you inherited 2,200 free and clear rental properties in and around New York, decades ago, and kept  investing this income in real estate and the stock market, with the compounding returns, you would have done better than Trump...without declaring 5 bankruptcies and getting sued nearly 2000 times  And, IMO you are as smart as Trump, if not smarter.  However, Trump has a talent.  Which is lying with a straight face and creating perspectives for the dumb people.  And, that perspective becomes the reality of the dumb people.  Although lying is a quality for some but most honest people would decline to have.  Even if you are as smart, or even smarter, you wouldn't be as successful as Trump due to you having higher moral values than Trump has.  You wouldn't be able to lie, cheat or double-cross people as easily.  

 

Also, if you think about our differences, our differences come as a result of our IQ's, educational and moral upbringing.  We look at the same facts and come out with different conclusions.  WHY?  This is where our IQ's come in to the picture.  Each one of us have millions of bits of pieces of useless and useful information floating in our brains.  How we connect the dots, in between those information, make us who we are and what type of conclusions we can come up with from the same facts.  

 

Also some people have TALENTS.  Those are different then the IQ's.  Talented people, such as musicians, athletes or talent in mechanics or whatever...can be very successful in life without having the high IQs.  There will be geniuses but because they won't be able to relate to the regular people and communicate at their level, they could even be considered crazy or people with mental problems.  A person with a very high IQ will have to learn to slow down their brains in order to communicate with the rest of the people or will be considered they are missing something under the hood.

 

BTW, FYI, I did not speak a word of English until I was in my 20's.  I learned it without a formal education.  Since then, I have completed 2 different masters, in CAD-CAM manufacturing and real estate field in general, including general construction and development.  And, I had mechanical engineering, economy and interior design background before coming here.  

 

Also for your information, IF IT WASN'T FOR THE IMMIGRANTS LIKE ME, THIS COUNTRY WOULD BE A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY.  So, when you see an immigrant, THANK THEM for making America great. And, I am thankful to America providing me a democratic foundation for me to achieve what I have so far.