The Ledger / Phil Ruffin
Phil Ruffin
◼ Origin
Phil Ruffin built a portfolio of Kansas hotels and retail fuel stations before acquiring Treasure Island Hotel & Casino from MGM Mirage for $775 million in 2009. He co-owns Trump International Hotel Las Vegas (50/50 with Donald Trump) through Trump Ruffin Commercial LLC and acquired Circus Circus Las Vegas from MGM Resorts in 2019 for $825 million.
◼ Self-Made Verdict — YES
Built casino and hospitality portfolio from personal capital starting with hotels and gas stations; no documented inherited enterprise.
◼ Documented marks
01
Sole owner, Treasure Island Hotel & Casino (Las Vegas Strip) and Circus Circus Las Vegas (acquired 2019, $825M); 50% co-owner of Trump International Hotel Las Vegas with Donald Trump
02
NLRB issued three separate unfair labor practice complaints against Trump Ruffin Commercial LLC (2014–2016) for union-busting: firing a union supporter, denying transfer to a union supporter, suspending five workers for wearing union buttons, and refusing to recognize the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 after a December 2015 NLRB-certified election
03
Trump Ruffin ultimately paid $11,200 in back wages to two workers in settlement; the company was ordered to recognize and bargain with the union
04
Ruffin is a longtime personal friend and major donor to Donald Trump; married Ukrainian model Oleksandra Nikolayenko in 2008
05
Magic City Casino Miami acquired 2019; also owns retail fuel stations and hotel properties across Kansas
No inheritance, or primary accounts documented for this billionaire yet.
◼ List of charges
Total sentence
0–0 years
That is
0.0–0.0 life sentences
(using 78 years as one life)
These are moral charges, not legal ones. The actual legal system has not — and will not — bring them.
More ledger entries