Much was made last week over claims made by former President Donald Trump that his Mar-a-Lago home might be worth $1.8 billion. His own company said in 2020 that the Palm Beach appraiser’s value of $27 million was correct.
Trump didn’t actually state that the property was worth that much money. But in a social media post, he called into question the valuation of a New York State judge last Tuesday that placed Mar-a-Lago’s value in the range of $18 to $27.6 million.
“This highly partisan Democrat ‘Judge’ (All the Clubs, etc.) just ruled that Mar-a-Lago was WORTH just 18 Million Dollars when, in fact, it may be worth 100 times that amount,” the former president wrote in a post to his Truth Social platform.
The question of the value of Mar-a-Lago arose after New York State Attorney General Letitia James sued former President Trump, the Trump Organization, and three family members, alleging they overvalued assets and exaggerated Trump’s net worth while securing loans and insurance to build his real estate empire.
Though the Trump Organization seemed to agree with the $27 million valuation in 2020, it still listed the property as being worth $490 million on financial documents given to banks, the New York Attorney General’s office claimed.
The Rich Lists!
Trump’s valuation of the Mar-a-Lago property – even on the low end of $490 million and not $1.8 billion – would still place it well above the most expensive house for sale anywhere in the United States.
According to Homedit.com, a house known as “The One” in the posh Bel-Air neighborhood of Los Angeles was recently on the market for $295 million, while the Chartwell Estate, located in Beverly Hills, California, was sold for $350 million. That latter residence previously served as the exterior for the home of TV’s “The Beverly Hillbillies,” and it does the show’s version one better, as it has a 75-foot pool.
Home or a Palace?
Perhaps Trump’s inflated price was just to keep his home in the same price range as some residents of those who wielded more than wealth. At $490 million, Mar-a-Lago would have a higher value than Windsor Castle in the UK, which is reported to be worth around $236 million.
Of course, even the former president can’t expect to live like a monarch – although $1.8 billion would still put Mar-a-Lago on par with the Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul. Built to partially conceal the financial decline of the Ottoman Empire in the 1830s and including walls covered in gold and crystal, the palace of Sultan Abdülmecit is currently valued at $1.5 billion.
From there, Trump would have a hard time keeping up with the Joneses, and might even feel like a middle-class viewer of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.”
King Charles III’s Buckingham Palace home is reported to be worth around $7.2 billion, while the Tokyo Imperial Palace is valued at about $12.25 billion.
Though not actually a royal palace today, but instead a museum, the Louvre is valued at $45.5 billion – and that does not include the art inside. Of course, someone like Trump would probably see fit to redecorate if he were to move into the 16th-century Parisian residence of the King of France.
Now if the Trump family were more into a home in the country, they’d need to come up with $50.7 billion to purchase the Palace of Versailles (not that it is actually for sale). And that is still eclipsed by the Forbidden City Complex in Beijing. Trump will have to settle for Mar-a-Lago, and only dream about what real luxury might be.
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
