Topline
Former president Donald Trump, along with his sons Eric and Don Jr., harshly criticized a New York judge’s determination this week that Trump and the Trump Organization committed fraud by inflating the value of their assets, including the family’s iconic Mar-A-Lago estate—doubling down on their claims that the property is worth more than $1 billion.
Former President Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
Key Facts
The former president slammed New York Judge Arthur Engoron, calling him “unhinged” and a “political hack judge” in a tirade on his social media platform Truth Social, lauding Mar-A-Lago as “the most spectacular parcel of real estate in Palm Beach, and perhaps all of Florida,” arguing the estate is “worth, perhaps, 100 times more than he values it.”
Eric Trump on X also decried the ruling and speculated the property is “worth we’ll [sic]
over a billion dollars making it arguably the most valuable residential property in the country,” while Don Jr., wrote: “If Mar-A-Lago is worth $18 million . . . I’ll take 10 please!!!”
Engoron’s determination that Trump inflated the value of the estate cites an appraisal by the Palm Beach County Assessor, which found the market value of the 17.5-acre property between 2011 and 2021 between $18 million and $27.6 million.
According to a 2023 market appraisal report by the city of Palm Beach, the total value of the property is $37 million, an increase of $6 million from last year and nearly $10 million more than the appraised value Engoron cited in his ruling this week.
Earlier this year, Forbes estimated the property is worth a more generous $325 million, after reviewing its financial history and consulting eight real estate experts.
But Trump and other defendants in a civil fraud case brought by New York’s Attorney General claim the property is worth more than $1.5 billion, according to an affidavit from attorney Lawrence Moens, who called Mar-A-Lago an “exclusive and extensive family compound in the most desirable sections of Palm Beach,” saying he is “confident” he could find a potential buyer “in short order.”
Trump’s financial documents also pegged the value of the estate at between $427 million and $612 million, which Engoron called “an overvaluation of at least 2,300%” compared to the assessor’s report.
Key Background
Trump purchased Mar-A-Lago in 1985, turned it into a social club in 1995, and signed a 2002 deed restricting subdivisions and redevelopment, including to create single-family homes, in exchange for a lower tax rate. The property—which was built in the 1920s for socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post—has generated the former president tens of millions of dollars each year as a social club and through initiation fees, including roughly $10 million in 2014, $22 million in 2015 and $29 million in 2016. During Trump’s presidency, Mar-A-Lago became a welcome spot for politicians and foreign leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Big Number
$10 million. That’s how much Trump is estimated to have spent on Mar-A-Lago when he purchased the nearly 100-year-old property in December 1985, including $5 million for the property itself, according to Palm Beach property records, in addition to its furniture and an adjoining oceanfront parcel.
News Peg
Engoron ruled on Tuesday that Trump, his business associates and the Trump Organization committed fraud, ruling that evidence against the defendants “clearly contain[s] fraudulent valuations,” including for Mar-A-Lago, as well as his Trump Tower penthouse and an estate in Westchester County, New York. The ruling came less than a week before the case heads to trial, and roughly a year after Trump was sued by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who alleged Trump inflated his net worth by roughly $3.6 billion.
Further Reading
Trump Committed Fraud By Inflating His Assets, Judge Rules (Forbes)
How Trump, Master Of Avoiding Paper Trails, Finally Got Caught With One (Forbes)
