Successful businesswomen at the forefront of huge empires.
Elaine Wynn and Ivana Trump are archetypes of successful women at the forefront of huge economic empires. Although their respective husbands, Steve Wynn and Donald Trump, played the leading roles, the truth is that without the charisma and active participation of their wives, their empires would never have been possible; a fact that became evident when they continued with their successful professional careers after divorcing.
Elaine Wynn, philanthropist and billionaire
In 1942, Elaine Farrell Wynn was born into a middle-class family in New York City. Although unusual at the time for a woman, she attended George Washington University, graduating with a degree in political science.
Throughout her life, Elaine had an on-and-off relationship with businessman Steve Wynn, to whom she got married in 1963. They divorced in 1986, and remarried in 1991. Nine years later, they divorced for good, and Elaine kept the home they shared, a mansion at the Southern Highlands Golf Club.
Even the personal discord with Steve Wynn did not stop the two from rowing in the same direction, business-wise. Together they founded Mirage Resorts, and Elaine played a pivotal role with her former husband in the resurgence of the Las Vegas Strip, where the Bellagio hotel became the symbol of the city.
With a net worth in excess of $2 billion, Elaine Wynn is also known for her support of various education causes, as well as of the performing and visual arts. She is currently chairperson of the board of Communities in Schools, a non-profit organisation that supports vulnerable children.
She is also co-chair of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and she has acquired an outstanding art collection over the years. In 2013, she purchased Francis Bacon’s “Three Studies by Lucian Freud” for more than $142 million, and anonymously lent it to the Portland Art Museum.
Ivana Trump, an astute business mind.
Ivana Marie Trump was born in 1949, in the former Czechoslovakia. Although she was most widely recognised as a businesswoman, she also played a prominent role as a model, writer and designer.
After her marriage in 1977 to the man who would later become US President, Donald Trump, she immediately made it clear that she had no intention of being a traditional housewife. Her goal was to play an active role in the Trump empire, whose power was reflected in the construction of the company’s flagship, Trump Tower; an impressive skyscraper on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York.
It was Ivana who endowed the tower with an enormous golden fountain in the lobby, and she was responsible for decorating it in marble and brass, as a symbol of power. After the Trump Tower, the empire continued its expansion with casinos and the management of the Plaza Hotel. In the meantime, the Trump marriage was consolidated with three children, and Ivana’s US citizenship was granted in 1988.
Ivana Trump played a key role in founding the Trump Entertainment Resort, where she held managerial positions that helped propel the emporium, at the same time that her marriage was deteriorating due to her husband’s extramarital affairs.
Their divorce turned into a bitter legal battle, with Ivana demanding half of everything Donald owned, including inherited family assets. The divorce settlement came in 1992, and Ivana received $25 million in cash, the family’s 41-room mansion in Connecticut, several million dollars a year in alimony, all her jewellery, and 49% of the house in Palm Beach.
Contrary to what might be assumed, Ivana remained active in the business world after her divorce, successfully developing a solid career in the world of fashion, perfume, jewellery, and personal development books in which she provided advice on how to succeed in life.
After her divorce from Trump, Ivana married Riccardo Mazzucchelli, a millionaire with a mining business, but they separated two years later. She later exchanged rings with Italian actor Rossano Rubicondi, 24 years her junior, but this marriage also came to an end.
Over the years, she managed to mend her relationship with Donald Trump, and of course, they continued to do business together; such as the million-dollar commercial they filmed for Pizza Hut in 1988. They continued to see each other on a regular basis until Ivana’s death on 14 July this year.
