Ivana Trump, a longtime businesswoman and ex-wife of Donald Trump, has died at her home in New York City, the former president posted on Truth Social.
There was no word on a cause. Ivana Trump is the mother of Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric Trump. She was 73 years old.
“I am deeply saddened to inform everyone who loved her, which is many, that Ivana Trump passed away at her home in New York City. She was a wonderful, beautiful, incredible woman who led a great and inspiring life. Her pride and joy were her three children, Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric. She was as proud of them as we all were of her. Rest in peace, Ivana!” Donald Trump aware.
Eric Trump too aware on Instagram, saying in part that her mother was “a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and a loving mother and friend.”
Raised in communist Czechoslovakia, Ivana Trump partnered with Donald Trump on some of his most high-profile real estate projects. The two divorced in 1992 following her tabloid affair with Marla Maples, who later became Donald Trump’s second wife and mother of his daughter, Tiffany.
In his book, “Trump: The Art of the Deal,” Donald Trump referred to Ivana Trump as a “great manager” and described her as “demanding and very competitive.” He also put her in charge of running Trump’s Castle in Atlantic City, instead of hiring an outside general manager.
“When it comes to running a casino, good management skills are just as important as the specific gaming experience,” he wrote. “She agreed with me.”
When the couple finally settled in, Ivana walked away with $14 million, plus other perks like a huge mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut.
“My mother is an exuberant woman, full of a passion for life and adventure that made it difficult for her to stay in one place for long,” Ivanka Trump wrote in her 2009 book, “The Trump Letter.” “My parents are surprisingly similar in that way. They’ve grown apart, and even when they were together they seemed to be cut off in different ways, but they share one approach to life: everything, all the time.”
After the divorce, Ivana Trump married and divorced two more times while maintaining a globetrotting, jet-setting lifestyle.
In 2017, he told “CBS Sunday Morning” that turned down an offer from Donald Trump being an ambassador to her native Czech Republic, citing her “freedom” and “perfect life”.
“I was just offered to be the American ambassador to the Czech Republic, and Donald told me. He said, ‘Ivana, if you want it, I’ll give it to you,'” Trump said in the interview. “But I like my freedom. I like to do what I want to do, go where I want to go with who I want to go. And I can afford my lifestyle.”
“Okay, why would I go and say goodbye to Miami in the winter, goodbye to Saint-Tropez in the summer, and goodbye to spring and fall in New York?” She continued. “I have a perfect life.”
This story has been updated with additional details on Thursday.