There's a new member of the club these days: The Donald.

That is billionaire Donald Trump, 57, surfing back into the public consciousness on a wave of publicity from his reality show, "The Apprentice." The real estate developer, owner of high rises and a low profile in recent years, has returned to the A-list.

Trump has managed a bold return to the land of bold-faced names. He is working on a book; Trump recently boasted that he received a $5 million advance for "Trump: How to Get Rich" (Chapter One: Write a book with a $5 million advance).

He is developing real estate projects in Manhattan, Chicago, Los Angeles — seven new skyscrapers in all. Trump has launched a new line of spring water, modestly named "Trump Ice."

He appeared on the cover of Newsweek, was the subject of a Fortune magazine profile, and is once again in demand by the media: Trump's office claims it fields more than 50 interview requests per day.

Even when he's bad, Trump's good: His ritual dismissal of candidates on the television show — done with a wave of his hand and a quick "You're fired!" — has given the country a new catchphrase.

Trump, cashing in where Clara "Where's the beef?" Peller did not, has even filed papers to trademark the expression. Last week, nearly 20 million Americans tuned in to hear Trump utter the phase, making his show No. 6 in the Nielsen ratings.

"He's had his ups and down," talk-show host Larry King said in introducing Trump at a recent appearance. "Now, it's lately been nothing but ups."

An open casting call for the next season of "The Apprentice" drew 2,000 Donald wannabes, with another 11 cities set to host similar events. The tryouts, naturally, were held at the Trump Building in Manhattan.

"It's the hottest thing on television," Trump proclaimed to reporters last week, a bit of vintage braggadocio dating back to his meteoric rise in the '80s.

Trump emerged during that decade as one of the nation's hottest developers, attaching his name to buildings, casinos, yachts, board games. His divorce from wife Ivana, who had dubbed him "The Donald," was splashed across the tabloids.

The requisite backlash followed. Spy magazine was soon denouncing Trump as "the short-fingered vulgarian," and "Doonesbury" creator Garry Trudeau made Trump a target.

By the early '90s, Trump had lost an estimated two-thirds of his $1.5 billion empire. He bounced back, though, re-emerging in 1997 with a book, "Trump: The Art of the Comeback."

By then, Trump said, his net worth was back above $3 billion. Three years later, he was considering a run for president.

And then a funny thing happened: Trump opted not to run, and "The Donald" seemed more like "the donald." While still a ubiquitous New York presence, Trump's profile became considerably lower than his eponymous tower.

That changed when he was approached by "Survivor" creator Mark Burnett with the idea for a Trump-centric reality show. Trump went along with the idea, and a star was reborn.

At this point, it seems there's just one thing troubling Trump: repeated questions about his hair. Is the aerodynamically troubling do a toupee? A comb-over?