This post is one of several on business heirs apparent. Let us know in the comments whether you think about Ivanka Trump, and be sure to check out the other heir apparent posts.

Ivanka Trump, 26, daughter of Donald Trump, is an heir apparent to her dad's real estate and entertainment holdings. Her business title is the vice president of real estate development and acquisitions at the Trump Organization, which is a holding company for many of Trump's businesses (Trump's casinos are part of Trump Entertainment Resorts (NASDAQ: TRMP).

Ivanka, while arguably the most famous of Trump's children, isn't his only heir apparent. Her siblings Donald, Jr., and Eric are also currently executive vice presidents, according to Wikipedia. But she stands out as the one likely to claim the top job given her love of the limelight -- she is a frequent cover girl and has appeared on the Apprentice -- as well as her oft-proclaimed drive to succeed in business.

However, I for one am getting sick of all the talk about her heir apparent status. Money-losing casinos, licensing deals for everything from hotels to cologne, and a TV show that's been in rapid decline since the end of its first season? That empire? What's second prize, 50 shares of Bear Stearns?

Today's New York Times contains a full-page ad for Donald Trump's The Celebrity Apprentice. Right below a picture of his wildly unattractive visage, we read -- in italics and bold -- that "Once again, Donald Trump's 'The Apprentice' comes out on top," followed by some pretty obscure statistics cherry-picked to show that the show is actually a hit: #1 among 18 to 49-year-old adults on Thursday nights three times, for example.

The ad also brags about the ratings success of the first season of Trump's show -- which was way back in 2004. Taking out full-page ads to rest on your laurels is a pretty interesting marketing strategy.

What's interesting is that, by more objective standards, The Celebrity Apprentice is a flop. PerezHilton reported that the number of viewers watching the show declined a shocking 26% from its premier to its second episode. The 8.2 million viewers the show attracted in its second week was less than half of what the original Apprentice got in its prime.

Here's a tip to NBC and "Mr. Trump": if you have to take out full-page ads with obscure statistics to try to convince people that your show is a hit, your show is a flop.

In a related story, Trump Entertainment Resorts (NASDAQ: TRMP) closed on Tuesday at $3.43 -- a year ago it was trading over $17 a share. Hey Donald, put that in your full-page ad.

Ratings for Sunday night's debut of the sixth installment of The Apprentice were terrible. There were 600,000 fewer viewers than last year, though there was a slight increase in the coveted 18- to 49-year-old demographic, Reuters says, citing data from Nielsen Media Research.

This underscores the declining popularity of the show and the risks of reality television. Unlike scripted shows, producers usually can't count on a big payday in the syndication market. Does anyone really want to see Joe Millionaire again?

The Apprentice wasn't supposed to be a star vehicle for Donald Trump. It just worked out that way much to the delight of NBC and its corporate masters at the General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE). Efforts to expand the show with Martha Stewart were a dismal failure, so everyone is stuck with the Donald. He quite simply has worn out his welcome atop the pop culture zeitgeist. The fight he's had with Rosie O'Donnell hasn't helped the show's ratings either

Trump was the only thing that NBC had going for a while but that's no longer the case thanks to hits like The Office and Deal or No Deal. It's now theoretically possible for NBC head Jeff Zucker and NBC Universal CEO Robert Wright to summon the chairman of Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. (Nasdaq:TRMP) to their board room and you know...