How much is Trump’s Mar-a-Lago worth? It depends on who you’re asking

Editor's Note: This story was updated Sept. 27, 2023, to reflect the latest judicial ruling in the case.

So what is former President Donald Trump's elaborate and historic Mar-a-Lago actually worth?

It depends on who you ask and what criteria you use to value it.

“It’s priceless,” quipped one seasoned Palm Beach real estate professional, who like others on Palm Beach’s real estate industry spoke about Mar-a-Lago and Trump only on condition of anonymity.

Another didn't hesitate to provide a number: “I’d put Mar-a-Lago's value (conservatively) at $450 million,” the seasoned real estate agent said.

The value of the 17-acre estate with its mansion-turned-private-club made headlines in September 2022 as a key component of New York Attorney General Letitia James’s civil suit against Trump, his three eldest children — Donald Jr., Eric and Ivanka — and other defendants regarding the finances of The Trump Organization. Trump, the suit claims, fraudulently and regularly overvalued his real estate holdings, including Mar-a-Lago, to suit his own ends.

The suit claims Trump falsely inflated his wealth by billions of dollars to obtain loans to the Trump Organization with “more favorable terms than would otherwise have been available to the company,” according to a statement issued by James.

The action, which also includes insurance- and tax-fraud accusations, is seeking at least $250 million in restitution payments along with other sanctions.

The Trump and family members have denied any wrongdoing, and the former president dismissed the suit as another political “witch hunt.”

Suit says Trump inflated values: Trump, family members sued by New York AG Letitia James, accused of massive fraud

Exclusive to the Daily News: Trump’s property-tax bills in Palm Beach County could rise 44% to $2.16 million

The suit says that between 2011 and 2021, The Trump Organization assigned to Mar-a-Lago a value high that topped out at $739 million. Those values, according to James’ statement, were “based on the false premise that (Mar-a-Lago) was unrestricted property and could be developed and sold for residential use, even though Mr. Trump himself signed deeds donating his residential development rights, sharply restricting changes to the property, and limiting the permissible use of the property to a social club.”

The statement continued: “In reality, the club generated annual revenues of less than $25 million and should have been valued at closer to $75 million.”

Judge rules in civil case involving charges Trump overvalued his properties

Ruling Sept. 26 in the case, New York Supreme Court Judge Arthur F. Engoron agreed that Trump and his company for years defrauded banks, insurance companies and others by inflating the values of his assets, including the Mar-a-Lago Club, the Associated Press and other media outlets reported. Trump's exaggerated values, the judge said, falsely represented his true net worth and helped him obtain financing and close business deals.

Among other sanctions, the judge said Trump's punishment would include rescinding some of Trump's New York business licenses, a move that would sharply curtail his Trump Organization's ability to do business in New York.The civil suit included claims that Trump had valued The Mar-a-Lago Club at as much as $749 million, should its land be redeveloped with houses. That amount was a gross exaggeration, James said, since deed restrictions on the property prevent the historic estate from being used for anything but a private club.

That $75 million value she assigned to Mar-a-Lago may strike some Palm Beach real estate watchers as miniscule, considering the size and prominence of the estate. Several residential properties much smaller that Mar-a-Lago, for example, have sold at prices exceeding $75 million over the past few years.

But not everyone calculates values in the same way.

How county officials assign Mar-a-Lago a value

Take, for example, the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s office, which annually generates property values to compute the annual tax rolls. The agency’s property values tend to be on the conservative side, real estate observers say.

In last year’s tax rolls, Mar-a-Lago was assigned a total market value of $27.6 million. And although the 2022 rolls haven't been finalized, the latest value assigned to Mar-a-Lago is $31 million, according to preliminary estimates released in August.

And how does the property appraiser arrive at its figures? It treats Mar-a-Lago as a private club — and that means it uses a different formula than it would in assigning value to a private residence. Using what is known as the “income approach,” county appraisers estimate the club’s revenue and expenses and determine its net operating income, which is then “capitalized” to set the value. By law, the financial data supplied by a club is kept confidential.

In the case of The Mar-a-Lago Club, the market value is always identical to the taxable value used to figure the final tax bill. The new tax roll’s values won’t be finalized until the end of October.

And although Mar-a-Lago is the primary residence of Trump and former first lady Melania Trump, they have never applied for a homestead exemption, which, if granted, could give them a tax break.

Hurricane season!  From the archives: How might Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club weather the storm?

Building Mar-a-Lago: How Marjorie Merriweather Post created her Palm Beach showplace

When asked to estimate a value of the club, two Palm Beach real estate agents said they wouldn’t venture a guess at any value unless they could review the club’s financial statements. Such figures became press fodder during Trump’s presidency.

According to financial-disclosure reports filed during the Trump administration, Mar-a-Lago's revenue in 2017 was $25.1 million, which dropped to $22.7 million in 2018. There was a further drop in 2019 to $21.4 million and then a rebound in 2020 to $24.2 million.

In May 2016, before he was elected president, Trump reported revenue for Mar-a-Lago at $29.7 million.

What if Mar-a-Lago were for sale?

The former president has never publicly expressed a desire to sell Mar-a-Lago. But if he did, the club would most likely be positioned to would-be buyers as an income-producing asset.

But it’s also a one-of-a-kind trophy property, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Intracoastal Waterway with a mansion originally built in 1927 for cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post and her then-husband, stockbroker E.F. Hutton.

Several agents and brokers said that if sold in this market, Mar-a-Lago would be worth about $400 million at a bare minimum and perhaps as much as $550 million or even more.

The land-use deed restriction dictating Mar-a-Lago can be used only as a social club dates to the mid-1990s. Trump negotiated it with town officials after he began pursuing plans to convert the mansion he bought in 1985 into The Mar-a-Lago Club. He paid a recorded $5 million for Mar-a-Lago, reportedly paying $3 million more for the furnishings and another $2 million for its beachfront parcel.

The deed restriction would seem to prevent anyone from buying the estate for use as a private residence rather than a club. But one Palm Beach real estate source who is familiar with the deed language offered a theoretical scenario where someone could buy and use Mar-a-Lago solely as a family estate.

Trump could sell the buyer the property as a private club — and the new owner could then cancel every membership and instead treat the property as a “club with one member,” the source said.

During the original club negotiations with Trump, the town also demanded an agreement that the property never be subdivided. That deed restriction echoes one issued on the property by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

If a single buyer did purchase the property for use as a club with only one member, the subdivision clause would not be violated, the source said.

‘A phenomenal estate with a spectacular legacy’

Should Trump ever decided to part with Mar-a-Lago, it’s a safe bet that it would sell for far more than $31 million.

But just how much?

“It’s a phenomenal estate with a spectacular legacy,” said one Palm Beach real estate source.

Seven years, $450 million: How billionaire Ken Griffin created Palm Beach’s largest estate

Big bucks: Palm Beach billionaires’ wealth tops $408 billion, our analysis of latest Forbes data shows

The property’s size sets it apart in Palm Beach, the source said, as does the landmarked mansion that has been featured again and again on news reports worldwide over the past six years.

The same real estate pro mentioned the recent sale of another commercial trophy property in Palm Beach County. Today known as The Boca Raton, the former Boca Raton Resort & Club sold in 2019 for a reported $875 million — which included the historic hotel and a members-only club — to a company led by billionaire Michael Dell.

The pool of buyers for Mar-a-Lago who might pay millions for Mar-a-Lago, the source acknowledged, is likely a rarified group.

“But the 10 people who could? Who knows? And no comment.”

*

Darrell Hofheinz is a USA TODAY Network of Florida journalist who writes about Palm Beach real estate in his “Beyond the Hedges” column. He welcomes tips about real estate news on the island. Email dhofheinz@pbdailynews.com, call (561) 820-3831 or tweet @PBDN_Hofheinz. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: How much is Trump’s Mar-a-Lago worth? It depends on who you’re asking