Donald Trump, the property magnate with a fondness for putting his name to really tall buildings, signed his name to a monumental lawsuit yesterday, suing the author and publisher of a new biography for $5bn (£2.8bn).

The lawsuit, filed in a state court in New Jersey, seeks US$2.5bn in compensation and US$2.5bn in punitive damages from Warner Books and Timothy O'Brien, the publishers and author of TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald.

He accuses Mr O'Brien, who is a business reporter for the New York Times, of knowingly making false and malicious statements about Mr Trump and his personal and business dealings.

"Rather than sitting back and letting false statements be published without challenge, I believe it is important to expose irresponsible, malicious and false reporting," the construction and casino king said in a statement.

Mr Trump was infuriated when TrumpNation estimated his net worth at only $150m to $250m, rather than the billions Mr Trump says he is worth.

Lawyers for Mr Trump sent Warner Books a letter last November demanding a total recall of the biography as well as a public correction and apology.

Warner Books said in a statement: "We have every confidence in Tim O'Brien - he's one of the nation's leading business investigative journalists, and we firmly believe in Tim's research for this book."

Mr Trump's fortunes have fluctuated over the years. Several of his corporations filed for bankruptcy protection in the 1980s and 1990s. But Forbes magazine has valued his interests at $2.7bn, making him the 83rd richest man in the US - a fact pointed out in the statement yesterday.

Mr Trump became famous as a property developer but became even more of a household name in 2003 with the hit television series, The Apprentice, where his peculiar hairstyle and signature line - you're fired - made him an unlikely star.

But he definitely did not welcome the additional exposure of TrumpNation, although in trademark style he could not resist a last shot at Mr O'Brien for producing a "terribly written" book - and a tiny bit more self-promotion. "Trump is himself the author of five No 1 bestselling books," the statement said.