The 'A Small Loan of a Million Dollars' meme originated from a 2015 town hall interview where Donald Trump discussed his early business career. While attempting to sound self-made, his description of a million-dollar startup loan from his father as 'small' immediately went viral for being incredibly out of touch with the average person's financial reality. The phrase became a shorthand for acknowledging massive privilege disguised as hard work. Internet users frequently pair the quote with images of people complaining about 'struggling' while clearly being wealthy, or to satirize unrealistic success stories found in business and tech circles.