Trump was born in the New York City borough of Queens. He earned an economics degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. For 45 years, he managed The Trump Organisation, the real estate development firm founded by his paternal grandmother. His business career focused on building or renovating office towers, hotels, casinos, and golf courses. He started several side ventures and branded various productswith his name. He produced and hosted The Apprentice television series for 12 years. As of 2017, he was the 544th richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $3.5 billion.

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Trump had long expressed interest in politics. He entered the 2016 presidential race as a Republican and defeated sixteen opponents in the primaries. Commentators described his political positions as populist, protectionist, and nationalist. His campaign received extensive free media coverage; many of his public statements were controversial or false. Trump won the general election on November 8, 2016, in a surprise victory against Democraticcandidate Hillary Clinton. He became the oldest and wealthiest person ever to assume the presidency, the first without prior military or government service, and the fifth to have won the election despite losing the popular vote. His election and policies sparked numerous protests.

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In the first months of his presidency, Trump reversed several policies of former President Barack Obama: he withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Paris Climate Agreement, and he undid parts of the Cuban Thaw. His attempt to repeal and replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") was defeated in Congress. Trump appointed Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. He ordered a travel banon citizens from six Muslim-majority countries, which was partially implemented after several legal challenges. After Trump dismissed FBI Director James Comey, the Justice Department appointed his predecessor Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate Russia's interference in the presidential election, potential links between Russia and Trump campaign associates, and any related matters.

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Donald Trump was born on June 14, 1946, at the Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, Queens, New York City. He was the fourth of five children born to Frederick Christ "Fred" Trump (1905–1999) and Mary Anne Trump (née MacLeod, 1912–2000). His siblings are Maryanne (b. 1937), Fred Jr. (1938–1981), Elizabeth (b. 1942), and Robert (b. 1948).

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Trump grew up in the Jamaica Estates neighborhood of Queens. He attended the Kew-Forest School from kindergarten through seventh grade. At age 13, he enrolled in the New York Military Academy, a private boarding school, after his parents discovered that he had made frequent trips into Manhattan without their permission.

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In August 1964, Trump entered Fordham University. After two years, he transferred to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, because it offered one of the few real estate studies departments in United States academia at the time.

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In addition to his father, Trump was inspired by Manhattan developer William Zeckendorf, vowing to be "even bigger and better". While at Wharton, he worked at the family business, Elizabeth Trump and Son, graduating in May 1968 with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics.

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Trump was not drafted during the Vietnam War, nor did he enlist as a volunteer or as a Reserve Officer Training Corps candidate. While in college from 1964 to 1968, he obtained four student deferments. In 1966, he was deemed fit for service based upon a military medical examination, and in 1968 was briefly classified as fit by a local draft board, but was given a 1-Y medical deferment in October 1968, attributed to heel spurs. In 1969, he received a high number in the draft lottery, which made him unlikely to be called.