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Undated:
Phillip Gene "Phil" Ruffin
(born March 14, 1935) is an
American
businessman. He owns the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, in
addition to a number of other enterprises including hotels,
casinos,
greyhound racing tracks,
oil production,
convenience stores,
real
estate, and the world's largest manufacturer of hand trucks. He is also a
business partner of Donald Trump, with whom he co-owns the Trump International
Hotel in Las Vegas. Long a resident of Wichita, Kansas, Ruffin now lives in
Las Vegas,
Nevada. On the Forbes
2018 list of the world's billionaires, he was ranked #877 with a net worth of
US$2.7 billion.[1][2]
Ruffin's joint venture with friend
Donald
Trump involved a portion of the New Frontier land. The
Trump International Hotel and Tower, built immediately adjacent to the
Fashion Show Mall, broke ground in July 2005.[15]
The tower opened in March 2008, and plans for an identical second tower have
been announced. Ruffin has half interest in the development, having contributed
the land for his part of the deal.[16]
Political activities and Trump friendship
Ruffin is a longtime friend and business partner of
Donald
Trump, who was the
best man at Ruffin's wedding in 2008.[24]
“Few know Trump as well, or in as many capacities, as Ruffin,” reported the
Associated Press in March 2017. They met at Trump Tower “in the early 2000s”
when Ruffin was considering adding a Trump hotel to his Treasure Island casino.
That idea did not pan out, but some time later, in Las Vegas, “Ruffin took Trump
to a Nordstrom parking lot to show him a parcel of undeveloped land.” Ruffin
said, “This is where you ought to be,” and Trump “instantly made a decision” to
build there. Their wives are also good friends. Ruffin has described a Trump
handshake as “better than any contract.” In June 2018, Trump gave the Ruffins a
tour of Air Force One during a stop in Las Vegas.[25][26]
According to Trump, Ruffin accompanied him to Russia in 2013 during the former's
ownership of the
Miss
Universe pageant [27].
In 2015, Trump also mentioned Ruffin as a person that he would send as an envoy
to China if elected president; Ruffin said later that the remark was a joke.[24]
Ruffin loaned Trump his personal 737 BBJ jet to fly to Mexico City to meet with
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on August 31, 2016.
Ruffin gave $1 million in 2015 to the Make America Great Again PAC, a
super PAC supporting
Trump's campaign for the presidency.[24]
Ruffin's contribution made up more than half of all of the contributions
received by the super PAC ($1.74 million).[24]
The super PAC shut down and refunded Ruffin's money after the Washington Post
reported on its close association with Trump's campaign.[24]
At an event in January 2016, Trump praised Ruffin for making a $1 million
donation to veterans' groups.[24]
In April 2017, Ruffin said that he talks with Trump every fortnight or so. “If
something comes up, I’ll call him,” Ruffin stated. “They’ll always put me
through. But I don’t call unless it’s something important.” In May 2017, he
lamented that the news media had “a vendetta” against Trump. “I don’t know how
he can stand it,” Ruffin said. “Every day it’s something new. If he says good
morning, they find something wrong with that.” He added that Trump was “not used
to that level of criticism. He gave up a lot – the most luxurious life you can
imagine, and he did it to try to help the country.” Ruffin told the Las Vegas
Review-Journal in February 2018 that he was “thrilled to death” with Trump's tax
cuts.[28][29][30]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Ruffin
January 16:
The connection between these billionaires goes deeper than just land deals in
Las Vegas. Ruffin and President Trump have been friends for a long time now,
with Trump even serving as the best man as Ruffin’s wedding to 26-year-old
Ukrainian beauty queen Oleksandra Nikolayenko in 2008.
https://www.casino.org/news/wynn-land-deal-shows-deep-connections-wynn-trump-ruffin
February 27: Billionaire Phil Ruffin says
he’s the Kansan mentioned at Michael Cohen hearing
Ruffin’s connection to the president surfaced when Rep. Jackie Speier,
D-California, asked Cohen at a House Oversight Committee hearing who paid $25
million to settle a class action lawsuit brought by former students of the
defunct Trump University. The school promised insights into secrets of the real
estate business, but students said they were defrauded.
“I believe it was Mr. Trump. I don’t know the answer,” Cohen replied.
Speier responded that “there’s some reference to a businessman in Kansas being
involved in that. Are you familiar with that?” Cohen said he was not aware of
that person.
Ruffin, who co-owns the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas with the
president, said in a phone interview Wednesday he had no involvement in the
Trump University case.
