Donald Trump and the other owners of Trump Tower describe the New York landmark as the most important new address in the world.

But Mr Trump is now considering a move to an even more important address -1600 Pennsylvania Avenue - also known as the White House.

Mr Trump and his family have always been interested in coveted real estate.

He learned the art of the deal from his father Fred. Banking on his skill as a carpenter, the elder Trump started his own construction business.

Donald Trump, the second youngest of five children, grew up working for his father.

It sparked an interest in real estate in the young Trump. He studied finance at the prestigious Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

A lesson for life

While at the business school, Donald Trump and his father bought an apartment complex out of foreclosure in Ohio.

The experience was formative. The Trumps obtained a loan above the purchase price of the building and invested the money in renovations.

With no money down, the Trumps were able to pay off their debts by attracting tenants to the refurbished building and by aggressively pursuing rents from tenants.

Donald Trump learned about buying properties wholly on credit, a lesson that would help and haunt him for the rest of his life.

However, the experience of being a take-no-excuses landlord turned him off the less glamorous aspects of real estate management such as rent collection.

He wanted to deal in privileged properties with pampered and well-paying clientele.

Buying big

Mr Trump returned to New York in 1973 and started his business, the Trump Organisation.

From the start, he built his real estate empire on mega-projects. In 1974, he bought up two Penn Central Railroad sites along the Hudson River following the railroad's demise.

Mr Trump is not short of money

Without an investment of his own, he convinced the city government to finance the construction of what would become the Jacob Javitts Convention Centre.

It cemented his position as a celebrity dealmaker, and the buzz surrounding the young real estate developer helped him to attract private financing and public backing.

In the case of Trump Tower, he was able to get tax abatements from the city for "moderate income housing."

In its own advertising, the Trump Organisation and other developers list the building as "the world's most luxurious condominium residences and hotel suites anywhere in the world."

The cost of one to five bedroom residences in the Tower ranges from $915,000 to more than $8m.

Media darling's downfall

"The Donald" was a media darling and a poster child for the "greed is good" 1980s.

The press covered his conquests and his acquisitions as front-page news - from his mega-yacht to his estate in Palm Beach Florida.

He then turned his sights on Atlantic City, building and buying properties, including the unfinished Taj Mahal hotel.

But highly leveraged deals, over-budget building projects and a softening of the New York real estate market drove "The Donald" to the brink of bankruptcy.

Personal problems

In announcing his presidential aspirations, Mr Trump has declared himself free of personal vice, saying he has never smoked and never had a glass of alcohol or even a cup of coffee.

The only vice he admits to is an affinity for beautiful women.

Apart from his titanic real estate deals, Mr Trump made the front pages during his high profile and, for his ex-wives, high-profit divorces.

Some sources estimate that his first wife, Ivana, walked away with $50m.

It is no wonder that he devotes an entire chapter of his book, The Art of the Comeback, to the subject of prenuptial agreements.

Comeback kid

But Mr Trump restructured his debt and regained his place in the real estate world.

Forbes lists him as the world's 145th richest person. The magazine estimates his net worth to be $1.6bn.

With the announcement of the formation of a presidential exploratory committee, Mr Trump signalled that his finances are in good shape again.

Unlike most exploratory committees that focus on raising funds for a potential candidate, his committee will play a strictly advisory role.

"The good thing about this is that I don't need the money,'' he said.