TRENTON -- Donald Trump once owned three Atlantic City casinos, all of which bore his name. He spent years as the star of his own reality show. He claims to be worth $10 billion.

But Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, said during a television interview that aired Sunday that he understands why he appears to be so popular among working-class people.

Appearing on CBS's "Face the Nation," the real estate mogul said it's largely because he's a "job creator," having created "tens of thousands" of jobs.

He added that part of it is that his father, Fred Trump, was a real estate developer in Brooklyn in Queens. That, Trump said, allowed him to grow up "working with people that worked on building houses and building whatever."

As for the fact that he's never had to take on a second job or ride a bus to work?

"I have the ultimate bus, right?" Trump said. "I just call it a 727. I mean, you know, and now it's a 757, actually, when you think of it."

"But somehow," he continued. "I've always had great relationships with the workers. I work with them. I used to work, during summer, building houses in Brooklyn and Queens. I mean, I just work with them. These are incredible people."

Trump holds a double-digit lead in the national polls over his 11 GOP rivals, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

The businessman is spending the weekend holding multiple rallies in Iowa, the state that will host the nation's first presidential caucuses Monday.

The latest Des Moines Register/Bloomberg poll, released Saturday, shows Trump ahead of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas in the race for the Republican nod, 28 to 23 percent.

Trump told "Face the Nation" host John Dickerson that he believes he has a strong chance of winning Iowa but that it's not necessary for him to win the GOP nomination in the end. He noted that he also has a double-digit lead in New Hampshire, the state that will host the country's first presidential primaries Feb. 9.

"I don't have to win it," Trump said of Iowa. "I have a very substantial lead in New Hampshire. But I think it would be really good to win Iowa. I'd like to win Iowa."