Jessica Estepa

USA TODAY

To Eric Trump, nepotism is just a way of life.

At least that's how he tells it in an interview with Forbes, which published Tuesday.

"Nepotism is kind of a factor of life," he said in the February interview. "We might be here because of nepotism, but we're not still here because of nepotism. You know, if we didn't do a good job, if we weren't competent, believe me, we wouldn't be in this spot."

Eric, the second son of President Trump, was handed the reins to the Trump Organization, along with older brother Donald Trump Jr.

But even that took time, according to Eric Trump. It might have been a different story had his father become president four or eight years ago.

"I think we probably would have been too big of question marks for him," he said. "I think in so many of the deals that we've done, whether it be kind of all of the golf courses or the wineries or this or that — and the operations of them and hiring for them, the building of these buildings, the financing of these buildings and everything else that we do on a daily basis, I think hopefully we earned our stripes. And I think that’s ultimately why we’re in the seat we’re in."

President Trump has favored placing his children in positions of power. Last week, daughter Ivanka announced she was taking an unpaid position as assistant to the president. Her husband, Jared Kushner, serves as a senior adviser to Trump and is also unpaid.

Read Eric Trump's interview with Forbes here.