Ivana Trump had a strict strategy when it came to raising her three children with Donald Trump — keep them busy, teach them discipline, and make sure they understand the value of a dollar. In a Fox interview to promote her 2017 book, “Raising Trump,” the late Czech-American businesswoman and former model shared how she instilled a strong work ethic in Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric from an early age.
Raising Trump
“I gave my kids enough money to be able to treat their friends — buy the pizza or buy the hamburger — and take them out,” Ivana, who died July 14, 2022, explained. “But that was it.”
Rather than spoiling them with wealth, Ivana claimed she prioritized hands-on parenting with a focus on responsibility. Her kids weren’t allowed to lounge during their summer breaks. “I would take the kids to Europe in the months of June and July,” she said. “In the month of August, they had to return back to America.”
Once back, the Trump kids were expected to get to work. “From 10 years old, they were working—cutting the grass on golf courses. They had to go clean up the boat in Atlantic City, which I ran, because there was a shipyard.”
She added, “Ivanka was working in the flower shop and all that, and they were making four to five dollars an hour, 9 to 5.”
Ivana’s goal wasn’t just to keep them occupied but she said she wanted to teach them the value of earning and negotiating. She recalled a moment with her eldest son: “Eventually, Donald Jr. was about 14, and he came to me and said, ‘Mom, why don’t you raise us from $4 to $6?’ And I said, ‘You know why?’ He said, ‘Why?’ I said, ‘Because you didn’t ask. You don’t ask, you don’t get.’”
Ivana once said giving kids too much money just gives them more access to trouble. “If you give them the money, they go shopping,” she said. “Then they have money to buy drugs and alcohol. Keep them on a really low budget.”
She also said she believed in a tightly scheduled day full of school, activities, and homework to prevent bad behavior. “Teach your kids discipline. You have to keep them busy, busy, busy.”
She left behind $34 million at her death, according to Forbes. According to Vanity Fair, in her 1991 divorce settlement from Donald, she settled for $14 million. The outlet reported she took the deal “because her team worried Trump was going bankrupt.” He also gave Ivana their Greenwich estate and agreed to pay $650,000 annually to support their children.
