Your latest book of business advice is called “Think Like a Champion,” but isn’t it the American infatuation with thinking like a champion that got us into the financial mess?

I would say no. I think it was the greed of a fairly small group of people that got us into this mess. The vast majority of people did not get us into trouble.

What do you think of Edward Liddy of A.I.G., whose name has become synonymous with corporate bonuses?

Edward Liddy is in totally over his head, just as I think many bankers are right now in over their heads. I don’t know why bankers get paid $30 or $40 or $50 million, and what they’ve done is lost more money than any human beings in history.

Do you feel that real estate guys like yourself at least leave the world with buildings, while bankers leave us with nothing?

I respect bankers because they really do make it possible for people like me to build terrific jobs, whether it’s the West Side of Manhattan or Trump Tower or so many other jobs that I’ve done. Many of the best bankers are in the midsize-and-smaller banks and frankly, those are the banks that aren’t in trouble. They didn’t do the ridiculous transactions.

I hear you are personally acquainted with Bernie Madoff, who visited your country club in Palm Beach.

I met Madoff a number of times at Mar-a-Lago. He loved golf, and I’d also see him at my golf club, which is nearby. One time he said to me, “Why don’t you invest with me?” I said jokingly, “No thanks, I can lose my own money.”