Trump reportedly made tens of millions in the Great Recession by partnering with multilevel marketing companies - The Week Magazine

Thanks to The Apprentice, President Trump was able to secure $230 million in licensing and endorsement deals, The New York Times reports, doing everything from shilling nearly obsolete video technology to co-writing a book called Think Big and Kick Ass: In Business and Life.

When The Apprentice premiered in January 2004, Trump boasted he was able to recover from financial setbacks because of his "brain" and "negotiating skills." Tax records obtained by the Times show that this confidence and ability to market himself attracted several companies. For example, Trump received $7.3 million for showing up to Learning Annex speaking engagements, the Times reports, and earned $1.4 million in royalties for his Think Big and Kick Ass book, co-written by the Learning Annex's founder.

The biggest deal Trump signed was with ACN, a multilevel marketing company that has been accused of using predatory tactics to lure in its workforce. Independent sales agents sign up to sell ACN's products, like satellite television and video phones, from their homes, but regulators found that a vast majority don't make any money — officials in Montana said that on average, participants in the state paid $750 in fees to ACN but received only $53 in return. ACN has settled with state regulators, without admitting wrongdoing.

ACN paid Trump $8.8 million, and he promoted ACN products in DVDs and on The Apprentice, the Times reports. ACN's website also featured a gushing testimonial from Trump, who said the company "has a reputation" for "success that's really synonymous with the Trump name and other successful names, and you can be part of it." A class action lawsuit is now pending against Trump, with one plaintiff saying she signed up to sell ACN products after she "watched clips of ACN appearing on Celebrity Apprentice."

ACN wasn't the only multilevel marketing company Trump worked closely with during the Great Recession's unemployment crisis. In 2009, he struck a $2.6 million deal with a vitamin company, Ideal Health, that changed the name of its product to Trump Network, the Times reports. Trump regularly gave speeches and appeared in videos encouraging people to sign themselves and loved ones up for starter kits costing nearly $500.

In one video, Trump said the Trump Network was there to "give millions of people renewed hope," and had "an exciting plan to opt out of the recession." Ideal Health was sold within a few years and then fell into bankruptcy. Read more at The New York Times. Catherine Garcia