President Donald Trump’s Jumbo Jet Obsession Through The Years

Forbes

As diplomats around the world struggle to figure out Trump, Qatar may have found the perfect way to please the American president—dangling a supersized gift to stroke his ego.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2025/05/13/its-huge-trumps-jumbo-jet-obsession-through-the-years/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, it's huge. Trump's jumbo jet obsession through the years.

00:07Donald Trump has plane envy. On Monday, he marveled, quote,

00:11you look at some of the Arab countries and the planes they have parked alongside the United

00:15States of America's plane. It's like from a different planet. To compensate, Trump is now

00:22considering accepting a plane from Qatar, an energy-rich monarchy that has long sought to

00:27curry favor with the U.S. president. About the gift offer, Trump said, quote,

00:32a very nice gesture. Also, a gesture that plays directly to the ego of a billionaire

00:38who has long preferred oversized planes, personalizing airliners too big to land in

00:44some airports over the more nimble jets that most executives prefer. Trump's planes,

00:50impractical as they may be, definitely make a statement. Aviation pro George Reinstra says,

00:57quote, from an ego standpoint, hey, you land with an aircraft like that,

01:01you can interpret that the way you want. Alan Marcus, a communications consultant who used to

01:08ride on Trump's old Boeing 727, interprets it like this, saying, quote, it's an extension of

01:14who's got the biggest penis. In the late 1980s, when Donald Trump was making all sorts of ego-fueled

01:21purchases, like the Plaza Hotel and a professional football team, he bought part of struggling

01:27Eastern Airlines, then converted it into Trump Shuttle, a service connecting New York, Boston,

01:32and Washington, D.C. The business flopped, but Trump snapped up one of its Boeing 727s

01:39and converted it into his personal jet. Trump's plane fit the era, velvety red chairs,

01:45rich wooden tables, thickly framed art. Marcus says, quote, it always looked good, but, for example,

01:53it didn't have noise arresters on it, so we couldn't land at LaGuardia after, I think it was

01:5711 o'clock at night. And I remember the first time I was on the plane, I said, what else is missing?

02:04Trump, whose representatives did not respond to a request for comment, decided to upgrade eventually.

02:10In 2008, he approached broker Ben Siriman, interested in a Boeing 767. Siriman pointed out that it would

02:19be hard to land in some places. In recounting the story, Siriman says, quote, so then he said,

02:26all right, find me a 757. The 757 is a slightly smaller model that was still too big to land

02:32everywhere. The broker connected Trump with a friend who lined up the plane of Microsoft co-founder

02:38Paul Allen, a 1991 Boeing 757. Before purchasing the plane, Trump contacted another aircraft

02:46professional, Eric Roth, who specializes in tricking out interiors of private planes,

02:52sending him to take a look and bring back photos. Trump went ahead with the deal and got to work on

02:57the redesign, ultimately spending roughly $37 million on the plane. Roth says, quote,

03:03as a developer, you're going to have plenty of architects and designers on staff,

03:07we're certainly at your disposal. And in this case, it wasn't that at all. It was just him

03:12and myself. Drawing inspiration from Trump's penthouse, Roth came up with a design featuring

03:19marble, creams, and an abundance of gold. Even the seat buckles received a 24-carat coating.

03:26Trump wanted a big TV with a great sound system to watch movies. He liked the idea of his family

03:31crest stitched into the headrests. And he had an unusual dining request. Roth laughs as he says,

03:38quote, an area in the galley for Oreos. I said to him, Mr. Trump, really? He goes, I love Oreos.

03:45Trump still owns the plane. He used Air Force One during his first term, then upgraded the 757 while

03:52out of office, adding, among other flourishes, a prominent American flag to its tail. Trump Force One,

03:58as the president's fans sometimes refer to it, became a moneymaker during the 2024 presidential

04:04race, with Trump's campaign funneling more than $5 million of donor money into his business

04:09as he jetted around the country. For full coverage, check out Dan Alexander

04:15and Kyle Kahn Mullins' piece on Forbes.com. This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes. Thanks for tuning in.

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