NAMES IN THE NEWS : Trump Split Good for Business

Donald Trump hates divorce but finds it is good for business.

“Getting a divorce is a very horrible thing on a personal basis. I hate it. I hate the concept of divorce. It’s not nice. It’s not something I relish at all,” Trump told Charles Gibson, co-host of ABC’s “Good Morning America,” in a taped interview to air April 2, opening day of Trump’s new Taj Mahal resort casino in Atlantic City, N.J.

Trump, who is being sued for half of his estimated $5-billion fortune by his estranged wife, Ivana, took Gibson on a tour of the new project.

The developer was asked if the publicity about his divorce and relationship with model Marla Maples will help or hurt business. “It brings people maybe for the wrong reasons,” Trump said. “I don’t like bringing people for that reason, but nevertheless, the controversy, probably, is not a negative thing in terms of a building or a business.

“The 200 (press) people we were expecting are now over 2,000,” Trump said of the hoopla surrounding the opening of the Taj Mahal. “I don’t know why exactly but perhaps, unfortunately, I can guess.”