“The Apprentice” brought Donald Trump new celebrity as a reality-TV star and paid pitchman endorsing products and get-rich-quick strategies at a time when he needed a financial lifeline, according to his tax records. https://nyti.ms/3kWYj4b ">https://nyti.ms/3kWYj4b&q...

Trump earned millions of dollars for ad campaigns and speaking gigs. No endorsement, it seemed, was too small.
— $100,000 for Trump ringtones
— $500,000 to pitch Double Stuf Oreos
— Another half-million from Domino’s Pizza
— $850,000 to push laundry detergent

A multilevel marketing company that was accused of taking advantage of investors paid Trump nearly $9 million, and he earned $15 million for licensing his name to a line of Serta mattresses. He got $15 million more for Trump neckties, shirts and underwear. https://nyti.ms/3kWYj4b ">https://nyti.ms/3kWYj4b&q...

Trump’s reality-TV celebrity also helped him secure seven-figure licensing deals with hotel builders, some with murky backgrounds, in former Soviet republics and other developing countries. https://nyti.ms/3kWYj4b ">https://nyti.ms/3kWYj4b&q...

In his zeal to squeeze more dollars out of his “Apprentice” fame, Trump signed on to an array of questionable products and services, including some that claimed to sell insights into his business expertise even as his balance sheet showed red ink. https://nyti.ms/3kWYj4b ">https://nyti.ms/3kWYj4b&q...

Read more about how “The Apprentice” rescued Donald Trump, bringing him new sources of cash and a myth that would carry him to the White House: https://nyti.ms/3kWYj4b ">https://nyti.ms/3kWYj4b&q...