Wrong. His father partnered with him in his first deal which was a little talked about slumlord apartment complex he bought while in college. He made 6mil on that deal... If that isn't help I don't know what is. All my dad gave me was a pat on the back - so I'd say 6mil counts for something.
He also used all of his father's contacts to get himself through the door when it came to school (Wharton's) then parlayed his namesake into the Manhattan entrepreneur/bourgeois scene.
His father is a huge reason he's where he is today.
Interesting. I read some books about him but never read that. 6 mil is definately a nice foundation to start, and contacts help.
The biggest thing to me was the debt he got into and still managed to bounce back. Ive known people who have also claimed to have lost high six figure/millions and bounce back. I admire those stories. His means a lot less if he was doing it all relatively risk free.