Trump University Houston Chronicle ad pitches profiting from 'largest real estate liquidation'

On September 24, 2009, Trump University placed a full-page advertisement in the Houston Chronicle promoting free "investor workshop" sessions, four per day from September 27-30, across the Houston area. Published near the depth of the foreclosure crisis, the ad declared the "time to invest in Texas real estate is NOW!" and promised readers they could "learn from Donald Trump's handpicked experts how you can profit from the largest real estate liquidation in history." It marketed Trump personally as "the most celebrated entrepreneur on earth," with the free workshops serving as the entry point to Trump University's escalating paid programs. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's consumer-protection division later concluded the operation's promises were "virtually impossible to achieve" and internally sought a $5.4 million settlement before the office dropped its probe when Trump University withdrew from the state. The crisis-era marketing and the "handpicked experts" claim became central evidence in subsequent student class actions and the New York Attorney General's fraud suit.