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(#1) Mar-a-Lago Originally Belonged To Marjorie Merriweather Post, The One-Time Wealthiest Woman In The United States
Covering 62,500 square-feet, an opulent property like Mar-a-Lago had to be built by someone of truly massive wealth. That someone was Marjorie Merriweather Post, who had inherited Post Cereal and turned it into General Foods in the 1920s, becoming the richest woman in America in the process. In the early 1920s, Post decided that she needed to upgrade from her then-current Palm Beach mansion, dubbed Hogarcito. She found 17 acres that were a perfect fit for her entertaining needs.
Construction began in 1924 and was completed in 1927 at a cost of $7 million, or $90 million in 2018 dollars. Mar-a-Lago was so large that it stood out even in the affluent Palm Beach neighborhood. The property's name translates to "sea-to-lake," a nod to its location on the Palm Beach barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Intracoastal Waterway.
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(#2) Even In The ‘20s, Mar-a-Lago Was Criticized For Being Garish
With 58 bedrooms, 33 bathrooms, and a 75-foot tall tower, early neighbors found Mar-a-Lago to be a bit much. Even in the midst of the Roaring '20s and in a community as glitzy as Palm Beach, Mar-a-Lago stood out for its excess and was criticized by some as garish. One feature that detractors looked down on was the mansion’s perceived over-reliance on gold, including golden gates, gold bathroom fixtures, and a literal gold ceiling in the living room.
Marjorie Merriweather Post didn't care and even relished the criticism. She sometimes waited on a hidden balcony in her living room so she could see visitors' reactions (good or bad) when they took in her home for the first time.
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(#3) Mar-a-Lago Played Host To Epic Parties In Its Early Days
Marjorie Merriweather Post and her family lived at Mar-a-Lago off-and-on, but when they were there, Post put the property to good use by hosting extravagant parties for the rich and famous. She built the mansion for entertaining guests, and she brought in some of the most exciting acts imaginable at the time. The Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey put on a show in the ballroom featuring clowns and trapeze artists, and Post once arranged for an entire Broadway cast to perform for her guests. That’s not to say that she was solely interested in decadence. Post also used these parties to raise funds for charity and invited underprivileged kids to attend when she hosted the circus.
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(#4) The Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping Convinced Post To Turn Mar-a-Lago Into A Fortress For Her Kids
Mar-a-Lago houses all manner of security features, and it has been that way since 1932. That year, the Lindbergh baby kidnapping shocked the entire nation, but the tragedy shook up Marjorie Merriweather Post in particular. She responded by installing some serious security measures in her children’s rooms, including nursery-rhyme-inspired iron bars on the kids' windows. She also hired detectives from the famed Pinkerton Agency to protect her family while at Mar-a-Lago, a precursor to the Secret Service presence that would come in the future.
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(#5) Post Used Mar-a-Lago To Offer Occupational Therapy To Soldiers After WWII
Marjorie Merriweather Post was a successful businesswoman and an influential socialite, but she was also a major philanthropist who used her considerable assets to help those in need. Post stepped up in the wake of World War II by offering the Mar-a-Lago grounds as a center for convalescing soldiers. Entire buildings were converted to offer various forms of occupational therapy, easing soldiers' transition from the horrors of war back to everyday life. Surrounded by one of the largest mansions in the world, WWII veterans received training in a number of arts and trades, from carpentry to printing.
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(#6) John F. Kennedy Wrote His Inaugural Address Just Down The Road
Donald Trump wasn't the first president with ties to Mar-a-Lago's Palm Beach community. Several notable American families have long owned properties in the area, including the Fords, Du Ponts, and Kennedys. John F. Kennedy wrote his inaugural address at his father's estate on the north end of Palm Beach not far from Mar-a-Lago, where Donald Trump sat down to complete the same task 56 years later.
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(#7) Post Bequeathed The Property To The National Park Service, Hoping It Would Become A 'Winter White House'
Marjorie Merriweather Post always wanted Mar-a-Lago to live on after her passing, and she left it to the National Park Service in her will. Post envisioned Mar-a-Lago becoming a “Winter White House,” where presidents could ride out the colder months and entertain foreign dignitaries. However, there were some serious negotiations behind the scenes before the handoff actually occurred. The federal government only agreed to take on the property after Post promised an additional fund to provide maintenance in 1972.
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(#8) Before Post Gave Mar-a-Lago To The Federal Government, She Offered It To Florida
Before deciding on giving her home to the federal government, Post tried to give Mar-a-Lago to the state of Florida. She hoped that the state would turn the property into a center for advanced scholars, but state officials turned down her offer due to the high maintenance costs required for basic upkeep. Post only decided to write the federal government into her will as a backup option.
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(#9) The Government Returned Mar-a-Lago To The Post Foundation In 1981
Three different Presidents were given the option of using Mar-a-Lago as their winter White House, and all three passed on it. Richard Nixon toured the property, but preferred spending colder months at a friend's property further south in Key Biscayne. Both Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter found that the cost of maintaining Mar-a-Lago, which surpassed $1 million per year, far outstripped its diplomatic value. The trust fund Post had established for upkeep didn’t come close to covering the necessary maintenance. In addition, the property's close proximity to an airport made it a logistical nightmare for security. In 1981, the federal government officially returned Mar-a-Lago to the Post Foundation, and it went up for sale shortly thereafter.
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(#10) Donald Trump Offered A Large Sum For The Property, But Was Rebuked
In the early ‘80s, Donald Trump was beginning to expand his real estate interests outside of Manhattan, and he soon set his sights on Mar-a-Lago. Trump met with Post’s daughters and reportedly made them a generous offer somewhere between $15 and $25 million, but he was rebuked. Trump claimed that the daughters wanted more money, but others suspected that Trump’s overall reputation was not thought to be a fit with the Palm Beach community at the time, and he was being blacklisted.
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(#11) Trump Purchased The Land Between Mar-a-Lago And The Ocean To Pressure Its Owners Into Selling
The complete details of how Donald Trump acquired Mar-a-Lago may never be known, but to hear Trump tell it, the story qualifies as a concrete example of his deal-making prowess. Trump said that he bought the land between Mar-a-Lago and the ocean through a third party, and then threatened to construct buildings to block the mansion’s beach view. The Post family had an even tougher time finding a buyer with the beach under Trump's control, and they eventually sold the property to Trump for less than $8 million, a major discount on his original offer.
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(#12) Trump Saw His Purchase As A Victory Over Palm Beach Elites
While dueling with the Post family over Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump also waged a war of words with the Post family and the community of Palm Beach in general. He described Post Foundation head Dina Merrill as “Mrs. Post’s arrogant and aloof daughter, who was born with her mother’s beauty but not her brains.” Trump saw his acquisition of Mar-a-Lago as a victory against the Palm Beach elites, and clashes between him and his neighbors, along with the municipal government, soon became frequent occurrences. On one occasion, Trump dismissed allegations that he had been refused membership at the local Bath and Tennis Club as "utter bullsh*t," saying, “They kiss my ass in Palm Beach. Those phonies!”
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(#13) He Decided To Run The Historic Property As An Exclusive Club—One Whose Membership Fees Doubled When He Won The 2016 Election
Trump floated a few ideas for what to do with his newly purchased mega-mansion, including dividing it up into eight smaller but still rather considerable homes. Instead, he decided to turn Mar-a-Lago into a private club and resort. He poured millions into renovations, as the property had been left in disrepair while awaiting sale. He built up hype for the club by giving away memberships to celebrities and other notable figures.
Membership fees, set at $100,000 up front and $14,000 per year as annual dues, ensured that members would come solely from the upper echelons of society. Of course, Mar-a-Lago’s profile and social cache was raised considerably when Trump was elected President in 2016 – a fact reinforced when membership fees doubled to $200,000 a head after his victory.
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(#14) As Trump's “Weekend White House,” Mar-a-Lago Is More Connected To The Federal Government Than Ever
Marjorie Merriweather Post intended for Mar-a-Lago to become a winter White House after her death, but her dream has come true in a way she could have never predicted. Under the presidency of Donald Trump, Mar-a-Lago has been dubbed the “Weekend White House” for how often Trump has visited the property on official business and for recreation since taking office. Trump has hosted a number of international VIPs there, including Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Logistical issues and the semi-private nature of Mar-a-Lago still make it a problematic place for the President to conduct his business. The President has been criticized for conducting sensitive business at the resort, and security costs are considerable for each visit, but Trump showed little sign of slowing down his use of the property over his first year as president.
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Mar-a-Lago resort is currently Donald Trump‘s private luxury estate in Palm Beach, Florida. The Mar-a-Lago resort was built in the 1920s. The original intention of Maholy Merived Post, the heir of the American food company General Mills, was to make it a winter sanctuary for the president of the United States. In 1980, the Mar-a-Lago resort was officially declared as a national historic landmark in the United States.
After Donald Trump took office as President, many meetings and foreign affairs events were held in the Mar-a-Lago resort, which is known as the Winter White House. There is more surprisingly presidential history about the Mar-a-Lago resort which shown by the random tool.
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