Mar-a-Lago

Mar-a-Lago ( from the Spanish for ''sea to lake'') is a resort and national historic landmark in Palm Beach, Florida, owned by former U.S. president Donald Trump. Trump acquired Mar-a-Lago in 1985 and referred to it as his " Winter White House" and "Southern White House" during his presidential tenure. Since 1994, the 126-room, mansion has become the "Mar-a-Lago Club", a members-only club with guest rooms, a spa, and other hotel-style amenities. Trump has designated Mar-a-Lago as his primary residence since 2019. It is located in Palm Beach County on the Palm Beach barrier island, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east and Florida's Intracoastal Waterway to the west.

Mar-a-Lago was built for businesswoman and socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post, former owner of General Foods Corporation, between the years 1924 to 1927. At the time of her death in 1973, Post bequeathed the property to the National Park Service, hoping it could be used for state visits or as a Winter White House, but because the costs of maintaining the property exceeded the funds provided by Post, and because it was difficult to secure the facility (as it is located in the flight path of Palm Beach Airport), the property was returned to the Post Foundation by an act of Congress in 1981.

Mar-a-Lago was purchased by Trump for around $10 million. He used the mansion as a residence for eight years, before converting it into the Mar-a-Lago Club. His family maintains private quarters in a separate, closed-off area of the house and grounds. Trump frequently visited Mar-a-Lago during his tenure as president of the United States. He would host meetings with international leaders there, including Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe and Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping.

It is the second-largest mansion in the state of Florida (after Versailles in Windermere). In 2018, ''Forbes'' estimated the value of the estate at around $160 million, claiming it had appreciated since Trump's purchase.

Origin of the name

''Mar-a-Lago'' means "sea-to-lake" in Spanish, referring to the fact that the resort extends the entire width of Palm Beach, from the Atlantic Ocean to what is now the Intracoastal Waterway–formerly Lake Worth.

History

Design

Marjorie Merriweather Post, heiress to the Post Cereals business, paid for the house to be built with her husband Edward F. Hutton. She hired Marion Sims Wyeth to design it and Joseph Urban to create interior design and exterior decorations. Post spent US$7 million (equivalent to $ million in ), and it was finished in 1927.

The house has 58 bedrooms, 33 bathrooms, a pietra dura marble-top dining table, 12 fireplaces, and three bomb shelters. Mar-a-Lago was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1980. and  

On April 18, 2012, members of the American Institute of Architects' Florida chapter ranked Mar-a-Lago fifth on the ''Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places'' list.

Federal government and foundation

Post, who died in 1973, willed the estate to the United States government as a Winter White House for presidents and visiting foreign dignitaries. Richard Nixon preferred the Florida White House in Key Biscayne, however, and Jimmy Carter was not interested. The federal government soon realized the immense cost of maintenance and the difficulty of maintaining security for diplomats, and returned it to the Post Foundation in 1981. It was then listed for sale for $20 million. Dina Merrill and Post's two other daughters did not maintain the property in the meantime, anticipating a sale, but there was so little interest that its demolition to build smaller homes was approved.

Trump ownership

Donald Trump learned about the estate after unsuccessfully trying to purchase and combine two apartments in Palm Beach for his family. He offered the Post family $15 million for it, but they rejected it. Trump purchased the land between Mar-a-Lago and the ocean from Jack C. Massey, the former owner of KFC, for $2 million, stating he intended to build a home that would block Mar-a-Lago's beach view. The threat caused interest in the property to decline, and Trump ended up getting the property for $7 million in 1985. Different sources have put the combined total cost of the purchase at around $10 million. The minimum acceptable bid had been $20 million, and the interior furnishings were appraised at $8 million.

After purchasing the estate, Trump did extensive renovations, adding a ballroom. The club also has five clay tennis courts and a waterfront pool. His wife at the time, Ivana Trump, was put in charge of running the property.

In the early 1990s, Trump faced financial difficulties. While negotiating with his bankers, he promised to divide Mar-a-Lago into smaller properties, alarming Palm Beach residents, so the city council rejected his plan to do so. Trump instead turned the estate into a private club in 1994, fighting off what he considered to be excessive restrictions.

The new club hosted concerts by Céline Dion and Billy Joel and had beauty pageant contestants as guests. Mar-a-Lago has frequently hosted the International Red Cross Ball, an annual "white tie, tails, and tiara" event. Founded by Post, it has a history of support of the mission of the American Red Cross.

According to financial disclosure forms filed by Trump, the Mar-a-Lago Club had $29.7 million in gross revenues in the period June 2015 through May 2016. The club had revenues of $25.1 million for calendar year 2017, $22 million in 2018, and $21.4 million in 2019.

In a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James, it was revealed that Trump inflated the value of Mar-a-Lago to $739 million, when the property should actually be valued at $75 million.

Trump presidency

President Trump referred to Mar-a-Lago as his "Winter White House", and on occasion his "Southern White House", which is what Post originally intended for the property.

During Trump's presidency a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) was operational at Mar-a-Lago; it was removed after he left office. The SCIF was used for communications with the White House Situation Room and Pentagon. The Mar-a-Lago Crowd, an informal group organized by President Trump which oversaw many of the activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs during the Trump administration, frequently met at the club.

Notable presidential visits

Donald Trump's first visit to Mar-a-Lago as president of the United States took place on the weekend of February 3–6, 2017. On Saturday, he hosted the Diamond Red Cross Ball at Mar-a-Lago Club, while on Sunday, he watched Super Bowl LI at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. On the weekend of February 10–12, 2017, President Trump and his wife Melania hosted Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe and his wife. This was the first use of Mar-a-Lago to entertain an international leader, a task that has traditionally been held in the White House. On this occasion one of President Trump's first international security crises happened, that of a North Korean missile launch. Trump and Abe conferred in full view of the other diners.

During the third weekend visit to Mar-a-Lago on February 17–20, President Trump conducted a campaign rally at the Orlando Melbourne International Airport. He also conducted interviews for a replacement National Security Advisor and named General H. R. McMaster as Flynn's successor on February 20, 2017.

After President Trump's fourth weekend visit on March 3–5, 2017, questions were raised about the access his paying club members have to him and his entourage. A number of Democratic senators asked the President to release visitor logs of Mar-a-Lago and as well as a list of the members of the private club. Subsequently, the "Mar-a-Lago Act" was introduced, legislation requiring publication of logs of visitors at the White House and other places where the president conducts business. After a lawsuit was filed, a judge ordered, in July 2017, that these logs be released in September.

President Trump's fifth presidential visit took place on March 17–18. Guests included Melania's parents, Viktor and Amalija Knavs.

During his next visit April 6–9, President Trump hosted the Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping for the first two days. At Mar-a-Lago, the decision to strike a Syrian airfield was made. The following Easter weekend was also spent with family members at Mar-a-Lago.

On April 4, 2017, prior to paramount leader Xi's visit, ShareAmerica, a website run by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs, published a blog post describing Mar-a-Lago's history. On April 5, 2017, the U.S. embassy in the United Kingdom's website shared snippets of the original blog post on its own blog, and the U.S. embassy in Albania's Facebook page shared the original post. On April 24, 2017, Democratic senator Ron Wyden, House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, and ethics observers like former ambassador Norman Eisen, questioned the use of official government resources promoting a private property owned by Trump. By April 25, 2017, ShareAmerica and both U.S. embassies in the United Kingdom and Albania removed their respective posts. ShareAmerica, replaced their post with the following statement, "The intention of the article was to inform the public about where the president has been hosting world leaders. We regret any misperception and have removed the post."

In November 2017, President Trump returned to Mar-a-Lago for a Thanksgiving celebration, and one month later he returned for his tenth presidential visit during his Christmas vacation.

In 2018, President Trump visited Mar-a-Lago eight times prior to the seasonal closing in May. During this time he had a summit meeting with Shinzō Abe on April 17–18.

In November 2018, President Trump returned to Mar-a-Lago for Thanksgiving. One month later, President Trump canceled his planned Christmas vacation in Mar-a-Lago following the federal government shutdown. In November 2019, he returned to Mar-a-Lago for Thanksgiving, and a month later returned for Christmas.

On March 7, 2020, President Trump hosted Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro for a working dinner, where the two leaders discussed the U.S.-led effort to oust Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, a future trade deal and peace for the Middle East. Also at the dinner was Bolsonaro's press secretary, , whose wife informed others on social media on March 11, 2020, that he had tested positive for COVID-19 after he had returned from the United States via Miami to Brazil. Others attending the dinner included Vice President Mike Pence, Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner.

Security zone

When President Trump was in residence as president, the Palm Beach region became a zone of temporary flight restrictions affecting flights and air operations severely within a 30 nautical mile (55.56 km) radius. Coast Guard and Secret Service secured the two waterway approaches, ocean and lake, and Secret Service cordoned off streets to Mar-a-Lago during the president's visits. The Coast Guard also attached an elite Maritime Safety and Security Team with unique capabilities that specialized in maritime security. By the third weekend in February 2017, nearby Palm Beach County Park Airport (Lantana Airport) had been shut down for three consecutive weekends, accumulating significant financial losses for multiple businesses.

The Mar-a-Lago Club

The primary business occupying the estate is the Mar-a-Lago Club, which opened in 1994 and operates as resort and hotel for dues-paying members, and rents out estate venues for private events. Operating the mansion as a club in this way, while continuing to live on the premises, allows Trump to significantly reduce his tax bill, by identifying a range of items used to maintain the mansion and his lifestyle as being legitimate business expenses.

Membership at the Mar-a-Lago Club required a $200,000 initiation fee. In 2012, reportedly in response to reduced demand following the Bernie Madoff scandal which affected many affluent Palm Beach residents, the fee was lowered to $100,000. The fee returned to $200,000 in January 2017 after Trump was elected president, with $14,000 annual dues. Overnight guests paid up to $2,000 a night.

The membership list of Mar-a-Lago has long been shrouded in secrecy. The 2020 book ''The Grifter's Club'' had access to old membership records from the club, which confirmed that Jeffrey Epstein had been a member until 2007, and reveals that he was expelled "after Epstein harassed the daughter of a member", according to another Mar-a-Lago member. The book alleges that the girl was a teenager at the time, and confirms that Epstein is listed in club membership records as "Account closed 10/07", in contrast to cases of members resignations, where "Resigned" is normally noted.

As of January 2017, the club was nearly at its maximum capacity of 500 paying members and was admitting twenty to forty new members a year. Members as of 2017 include oil executive Bill Koch, financier Thomas Peterffy, New Jersey Democratic Party leader George Norcross, lobbyist Kenneth Duberstein, real estate developers Bruce E. Toll

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