Mar-a-Lago is President Donald Trump's primary residence, a resort club for the extremely wealthy, and an estate with more history than you might expect. First built in 1927 by the Post heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, Mar-a-Lago has since gone on to become one of America's infamous properties.
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00:00Mar-a-Lago is President Donald Trump's primary residence, a resort club for the extremely
00:05wealthy, and an estate with more history than you might expect. First built in 1927 by post-serial
00:10company heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, Mar-a-Lago has since gone on to become one
00:15of America's most infamous properties.
00:18According to a 2017 write-up in Town & Country magazine, Mar-a-Lago was designed to have
00:2258 bedrooms and 33 bathrooms at the cost of $7 million, double its initial price. In 2020,
00:28the same property would have cost around $105 million to build. But Marjorie Post wasn't
00:33deterred by the high price. She had more than enough money.
00:36Today, Marjorie Post isn't a household name, but in 1927, she was. Marjorie Post was heir
00:42to Post Serials, then known as Postum, inheriting it when she was just 27 years old. By all
00:47accounts, she was a savvy businesswoman, but she liked to spend her money as much as make
00:51it. She would eventually own one of the world's largest sailing yachts, a triplex penthouse
00:55in New York, and an extensive art collection.
00:57Marjorie Post was both a socialite and a philanthropist, not only creating a multitude of networking
01:02opportunities among the rich and elite, but also working on charitable contributions later
01:06in life, particularly to do with World War II, when she opened the estate to veterans
01:10in need of occupational therapy. It only makes sense that Mar-a-Lago, now known for its high
01:15society members, would become a part of her legacy.
01:19According to Timeline, Marjorie Post once complained in a letter to her cousin that
01:22the cost of building Mar-a-Lago continued to rise, and that her husband was less than
01:26pleased. It's not surprising. She had just finished building a 10,000-square-foot home
01:30before she started the project, after all. In the letter, she mentioned having to sell
01:33some of her Postum stock to cover the costs, stock that would have undoubtedly continued
01:37rising given the history of the serial company. Part of this had to do with the complex architecture
01:42she desired.
01:43Marjorie Post was known for uncompromising standards, once stating,
01:46"...there are others better off than I am. The only difference is I do more with mine.
01:50I put it to work."
01:51When completed, Mar-a-Lago was a full 17-acre estate, with an 11,000-square-foot house,
01:5658 bedrooms, and 33 bathrooms. Inspired by palaces in Europe and Spanish Moorish architecture,
02:02it was all built to discriminating specifications. Sometimes referred to as America's Xanadu,
02:07it's known for being incredibly ostentatious, and to many, to the extent that it crosses
02:11the line into poor taste.
02:14Mar-a-Lago wasn't always a retreat for the wealthy and politically powerful. In the 1940s,
02:19Acts were erected throughout Mar-a-Lago for the support of returning veterans. Workshops
02:23for leather, sculpting, furniture repair, printing, and carpentry were all created to
02:27ease the transition, according to the Palm Beach Daily News. Later, Mar-a-Lago would
02:31become the host to the Red Cross Ball, showing Marjorie Post's continued interest in charitable
02:35acts.
02:36Mental health treatment became critical following World War II, with many experiencing what
02:40was then known as war trauma or combat exhaustion. The veterans themselves were not housed at
02:45Mar-a-Lago, but rather at the Breakers, operating as the Rehm General Hospital. Nonetheless,
02:50opening her home to veterans is one of Post's lasting legacies.
02:54Marjorie Merriweather Post, who passed away in 1973, had always wanted Mar-a-Lago to be
02:59useful after she was gone. Her initial idea had been to give it to the state of Florida,
03:03but the state declined. The Post Foundation then tried to give it to the federal government.
03:08President Richard Nixon even scoped out the property in 1974, per The New York Times,
03:12but the federal government ultimately declined the property in 1981. From the government's
03:16perspective, this was absolutely the right move. The annual cost of maintaining the estate
03:20would have been $1 million. While Mar-a-Lago could have been more of a luxurious Camp David,
03:25the truth of the matter was that it required a staff of over 20 year-round gardeners alone,
03:29according to Town & Country. Ultimately, issues of cost and zoning were too difficult to surmount.
03:34Ironically, Mar-a-Lago was presented to the federal government as a winter White House,
03:39something that it would, in a way, eventually become. A white elephant gift, it was eventually
03:43put up for sale on the private market for $20 million.
03:46"...big meeting at Mar-a-Lago, call it the Southern White House, which it actually is."
03:51In 1969, Mar-a-Lago was established as a National Historic Site and briefly turned over to the
03:56National Park Service. In 1972, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places,
04:01but in 1980, it was returned by Congress to the Post Foundation. Once again, it was found
04:06to be a little too expensive for anyone, including the National Park Service, to maintain.
04:11Mar-a-Lago has remained a National Historic Landmark in name and is one of 2,500 such
04:15landmarks in the United States. Both the location's architecture and its history were cited as
04:19reasons for landmark status, and being turned over to the National Park Service was one
04:23of the last moves to try to save the property from private sale. The architecture of the
04:27property had influences from Spain, Venice, and Portugal, and the natural beauty of the
04:31site and its history more than qualified it at the time.
04:35So everyone had turned down Mar-a-Lago, the state government, the federal government,
04:39and even the National Park Service. All that was left was to put it up for private sale.
04:43Ironically, this was probably because the Post Foundation, too, found it too expensive
04:47to continue to maintain.
04:48Donald Trump bought Mar-a-Lago in 1985 for $10 million, far under the $20 million asking
04:54price for the property. As Forbes reported, the $10 million for Mar-a-Lago parceled out
04:58to $5 million for the house, $3 million for furnishings, and $2 million for beachfront
05:03property across the street. Rumor had it that Trump had threatened to block Mar-a-Lago's
05:07beach view after purchasing property between it and the beach, according to USA Today.
05:12It's proven that he bought that property, and though the threats are unverified, with
05:15this tactic, the purchase would have plummeted the property's value.
05:18Regardless, the $10 million purchase reportedly made Trump about $22 million in revenue in
05:232018, yielding some substantial returns. And that's one of its worst-off years.
05:28Trump has also come under fire in the press for allegedly benefiting financially from
05:32the presidency, with the acknowledgment that any time President Trump visits Mar-a-Lago,
05:36the revenue to Trump from taxpayers from those kinds of visits can be in the tens of thousands
05:40of dollars, according to NPR.
05:42And we very much appreciate your being at Mar-a-Lago.
05:46The first high-profile lawsuit involving Mar-a-Lago was litigation over an illegal 80-foot flag.
05:51Donald Trump had the flag installed without permit in the 1980s, and both its size and
05:55location violated local ordinances. In 2006, as Jacksonville.com reports, Trump sued the
06:01town for $10 million for their demands to remove the flag, eventually increasing this
06:05to $25 million in damages. So in 2007, the town fined Trump $1,250 a day. Ultimately,
06:12a settlement was reached.
06:13Trump moved the flag and contributed $100,000 to charities, most of the amount given to
06:18veteran-related causes.
06:19The second such lawsuit is a little more complex. In 1996, when Trump attempted to increase
06:24the capacity of Mar-a-Lago, he was unable to do so because of noise and traffic restrictions.
06:29He sued the town of Palm Beach on the basis that he was being discriminated against for
06:33running a non-segregated club, a club which included Black and Jewish members. It was
06:37true that Mar-a-Lago was the first non-segregated club in the region, though it was never proven
06:42that the city council was targeting Mar-a-Lago for that reason.
06:45Finally, in 2015, there was a $100 million lawsuit that Trump filed over the fact that
06:49planes kept disrupting the airspace over Mar-a-Lago. But this lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed.
06:56In 1994, Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley spent their honeymoon at Mar-a-Lago. But while
07:01Michael Jackson may have been arguably the most famous guest, there were many celebrities
07:04who visited, even if they may not have maintained $100,000 memberships.
07:08Other celebrities seen at Mar-a-Lago over the years included Elton John, Rod Stewart,
07:12William Shatner, James Taylor, and Woody Allen. Notably, those who attended Mar-a-Lago's festivities
07:17don't seem to have very much in common, ranging in industry and politics. With Mar-a-Lago
07:21having nearly a hundred-year reputation for socializing and network-building, it's understandable
07:26why that might be.
07:27Interestingly, one person not welcome at Mar-a-Lago is the infamous Jeffrey Epstein. In the Grifters
07:32Club, Trump, Mar-a-Lago, and the selling of the presidency, it's alleged that he was a
07:35member for some years, but was ultimately banned by Trump for hitting on the teenage
07:39daughter of a guest. Mar-a-Lago had initially denied the claims that he was a member.
07:45It costs nearly $2,000 to dine at Mar-a-Lago per year, but you might not want to. The kitchens
07:50received nearly 80 health and safety violations between 2014 and 2017, according to the Los
07:55Angeles Times. These include foods held at inappropriate temperatures, food well past
08:00its expiration, and mold in the ice machine.
08:02There were also slabs of missing concrete and a lack of smoke detectors for the hearing-impaired,
08:07both of which could combine into a uniquely dangerous situation. In an estate that makes
08:11millions per month, these are pretty dramatic oversights.
08:14Of course, there's a reason why Mar-a-Lago is still open. It eventually did pass its
08:18health and safety inspections. And interestingly, in 2015, it had only experienced two violations,
08:23while in 2016, there were 11 â signs that the resort had been slipping well before the
08:29presidency.
08:30Mar-a-Lago requires an initiation fee to be a member. While it was $100,000 for some time,
08:35it was brought up to $200,000 in 2017. Few are aware of exactly what perks this membership
08:40entails. The information and the member list is exclusive.
08:44Membership requests were much higher after Trump became president, and the initiation
08:48fee was increased to $200,000 at that time, even though the president is not intended
08:52to financially benefit from the office. The resort, on the other hand, stated that it
08:56had been considering the increase for some time.
08:58In addition to the $200,000 that members pay, members also hand over $14,000 in annual dues,
09:04so it isn't just a one-time fee, but also a recurring charge.
09:08Since Mar-a-Lago doesn't have its own golf course, what's included?
09:11There are privileges at Trump's own golf courses, access to two pools, tennis courts, a croquet
09:16court, a beach club, a discount on guest suites, the main house, and the dining area. The networking
09:21opportunities and prestige, however, are likely the main draw.
09:25Quite a few speculate that Mar-a-Lago could be underwater by 2100, with simulations by
09:29the National and Oceanic Atmospheric Administration depicting it being 10 feet underwater. Findings
09:35indicate that South Florida sea levels could rise by 3 feet by 2050, or 7 feet by 2100,
09:41both of which could cause significant damage. That's not too far off. It could begin taking
09:45a dramatic toll only 30 years from now.
09:48South Florida has already been experiencing some significant damage due to flooding, and
09:52in 2017, environmental experts testified at a hearing on climate change that Trump's resorts
09:57could eventually be damaged by the phenomenon. They did so based on the idea that Trump would
10:01be generally more willing to react to environmental concerns if they directly impacted him and
10:07They didn't succeed. But with a 400 percent increase in high-tide flooding in South Florida
10:11from 2006 through 2016, it's likely that it's only a matter of time. If nothing else, it
10:17will be an interesting end to a legacy that was first begun by a socialite searching to
10:20build the perfect home.