Claim: Fred Trump was a businessman.

Frederick Christ Trump -LRB- October 11 , 1905 -- June 25 , 1999 -RRB- was an American real estate developer and philanthropist , primarily in New York City , and father of Donald Trump , the 45th President of the United States , and Maryanne Trump Barry , a United States Court of Appeals judge .   Trump 's father , Frederick , died when Trump was 13 years old . By 15 , in partnership with his mother , Elizabeth Christ Trump , and non-family investors , Trump had begun a career in home construction and sales . The development company was incorporated as E. Trump & Son in 1927 , and grew to build and manage single-family houses in Queens , barracks and garden apartments for U.S. Navy personnel near major shipyards along the East Coast , and more than 27,000 apartments in New York City .   Trump was investigated by a U.S. Senate committee for wartime profiteering -LRB- 1954 -RRB- , and by the U.S. Justice Department 's Civil Rights Division for civil rights violations -LRB- 1973 -RRB- . According to The New York Times and The Washington Post , the latter incident inspired a song by tenant and folk singer , Woody Guthrie .