Elizabeth Trump: What We Know About Donald's Private Older Sister
Donald Trump and his five children — Donald Jr., Eric, Ivanka, Tiffany, and Barron, who were born over the course of his three marriages — are usually the subject of the plentiful controversies centering on the Trump family. Before Donald had his own children, however, his immediate family consisted of his parents, Fred and Mary Anne Macleod Trump, and his four siblings. They are, in order of age, Maryanne Trump Barry, Frederick Trump Jr., Elizabeth Trump Grau, and Robert Trump.
These days, Trump is down to one living sibling. Frederick and Robert have been dead for several years. According to People, Frederick, a former pilot, died in 1981 at the age of 42 after a heart attack. Robert, a former Trump Organization executive, died at the age of 71 in 2020 after a series of hospitalizations, per CNN. Meanwhile, Donald's oldest sister Maryanne, a retired judge, died in November 2023, per ABC News. She was 86. Maryanne's death means that Elizabeth — a former bank employee who is 81 years old as of 2024 — is his only living sibling.
Here's what we know about Elizabeth's very private life.
Elizabeth Trump Grau used to work for Chase Bank
Elizabeth Trump Grau took a much less public career path than Donald Trump and her other siblings. However, she was still very accomplished in her own right. According to The New York Times — which highlighted Elizabeth's 1989 wedding to James Walter Grau — she sought higher education at Southern Seminary College. Later, she embarked on a career as an executive assistant at Chase Bank. Meanwhile, James worked within the entertainment world as a producer and owner of a production company.
Over the years, Elizabeth has stirred very few conversations. However, she did make the news in 2011 when she, along with her then-surviving siblings, donated $1 million to the Hospital of Special Surgery to help honor their late parents, according to the organization's website. The donation also helped to fund The Mary and Fred Trump Institute for Implant Analysis, which aimed to improve mobility through researching joint reconstruction. "Receiving this donation on behalf of the Hospital is the most important and meaningful birthday gift I could have ever hoped for," said their late parents' former physician, Dr. Philip Wilson, whose 91st birthday inspired the donation.
Donald Trump mistakenly thanked her for supporting his political career
Prior to his death, Robert Trump was closely affiliated with Donald Trump's pre-white house business empire; however, Frederick Trump Jr. passed away long before the former president became a household name or made his first attempt at the White House. Meanwhile, Maryanne Trump infamously voiced her disdain for Donald's personality and business practices to his estranged niece, Mary L. Trump, who secretly recorded her aunt and has completely divorced herself from her uncle and family. "His g******** tweet and lying, oh my God," Maryanne said during one of the recordings (via CNN). "I'm talking too freely, but you know. The change of stories. The lack of preparation. The lying. Holy s***."
As for Elizabeth Trump Grau, it's unknown whether she supports her brother's political endeavors. However, Grau has never gone on record to endorse Donald — even though he once thought she did. In 2020, Donald took to social media to respond to an article claiming that Grau had publicly lent him her backing after he lost his re-election to Joe Biden. "This election inspired me to break my silence and speak out on behalf of my family," said the post (via The New York Times). "My brother Don won this election and will fight this to the very end..." However, the account turned out to be fake, prompting the usually quiet Elizabeth to condemn the ordeal. "I have no statement. I'm just annoyed about this whole thing," Grau said to Vice (via The New York Times).