He inherited $300 million from his father when Fred died, probably controlled a good chunk of it before that because of Fred's Alzheimer's, and most importantly, because of nepotism in the Trump organization, inherited a wealth of connections and friends inside the real estate industry that a common man such as myself will never have.
With those connections:
"Oh, he's Fred Trump's son! I know Fred. I'll give him a great deal."
Without:
*throws proposal in the trash* "We don't accept anything unsolicited."
You're neglecting the timeline. Donald Trump bought the property for Trump Tower in 1979, and the last vacancy was filled in 1983. Fred Trump died in 1999, 20 years after Donald started the work on the Trump Tower, 15 years after it was finished.
There's no denying the family connections led to a lot of proposals not being thrown in the trash (and Fred did
loan the younger a million bucks), but it's factually incorrect to say Donald Trump would have been nothing had he not inherited his father's wealth. He had a significant reputation all his own by the time Fred Trump died.
I don't like Trump, I've said it a bunch of times, but I also said that, as with previous elections, I was going to have to waste considerable breath defending him from BS charges.