It is considered to be the second White House and one of the most prestigious beach clubs in the world. For years, Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida has played host to the President’s close friends and distinguished guests. In fact, this famous luxury retreat has given its name to an intriguing beauty phenomenon.
Located just a few metres from the beach, the Palm Beach home of the billionaire and 45th and 47th President of the United States is much more than a second home. This sumptuous villa is proving to be a veritable cash machine for the businessman, as well as an increasingly important political hub.
A villa as royal as it is Hollywood
Mar-a-Lago is located in Palm Beach, the ultra-premium district of Florida that is home to many billionaires and celebrities, and takes its name from the Spanish for ‘from the sea to the lake’. A fitting title, given that the villa sits between Worth Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean. Surrounded by beaches, it was built between 1924 and 1927 by businesswoman Marjorie Merriweather Post and her husband Edward F. Hutton. Marion Sims Wyeth designed the architecture and Joseph Urban the decoration.
After the death of its former owner in 1973, the estate was transferred to the US government. It then became the official winter residence of the presidents. But it was difficult to secure the immense building while covering maintenance costs and annual taxes. The State finally sold the property to the Post Foundation in 1981, which put it up for sale for 20 million dollars.
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In 1985, the 69,000 square metre estate was bought for a few million dollars by Donald Trump, then a property tycoon. The 126-room Hispano-Moorish villa was renovated several times in the billionaire’s style. Opulence was the watchword, with crystal chandeliers, luxurious fabrics, marble and flashy ornaments. In short, the excess of Hollywood glamour married to the spirit of Versailles. Today, according to local real estate specialists, this extraordinary house is worth $350 million.
A (very) private club driven by Donald Trump
On the strength of this acquisition, Donald Trump split up his property to create a private club reserved for just 500 members, whose identities remain confidential for the most part. The businessman quickly saw this as a tempting financial windfall.
The annual entrance fee for this luxury beach club was set at 25,000 dollars in the 1990s, rising to 200,000 dollars in the following decade. After Donald Trump came to power, the rate skyrocketed to 700,000 dollars a year and 20,000 dollars in membership fees every 12 months. The latest membership cards are now worth a million dollars. Despite these exorbitant fees, the club is still going strong. Some members are even on the waiting list until a place becomes available.
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So why do the elite pay such high prices for access to this complex? For one thing, Mar-a-Lago boasts a small paradise of top-of-the-range entertainment. Swimming pools, spa, ballroom, tennis courts, golf course just a few minutes away, billiards room decorated with a portrait of the President, 58 bedrooms, 33 bathrooms, bars, restaurants… Enough to spend sumptuous weekends and buy a few Trump goodies in the shop. Not to mention the social events, concerts and galas that punctuate the address.
But what also attracts these VIP members is a perfectly preserved ‘entre-soi’. The wealthiest members only meet people like themselves whom they know from near and far, including businessmen, politicians, media executives, aristocrats and personalities from the worlds of film and music. In short, a microcosm that excludes anyone who doesn’t belong to their world. ‘At Mar-a-Lago, Trump lives like the Sun King in a sort of kitsch Versailles. He lives surrounded by a court, and when he appears, time stops and people want to touch him,’ said David Thomson, RFI correspondent in charge of following Donald Trump.
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According to Forbes magazine, the club would have brought in $40 million in 2023, double the figure for 2019 and almost triple the figure for 2014, before Donald Trump entered politics. A juicy business for the President when you consider that fixed costs are estimated at ‘only’ 12 million dollars.
The second White House
As well as being Donald Trump’s second home and private club, Mar-a-Lago has once again become a political centre since the businessman’s re-election. Nicknamed the ‘Winter White House’, the mansion is regarded as an epicentre of power. The President is said to have chosen his cabinet members here. It is here that he partly manages his administration and takes important political decisions. In addition to the conference rooms and offices, there are even rumours of a situation room.
This is hardly surprising, since Donald Trump had already used the premises for his political activities during his first term of office, from 2017 to 2021. He hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping for a meal there, for example. Many statesmen have visited this Florida address to meet the American President and discuss business, including recently his new protégé Elon Musk.
‘With the arrival of Donald Trump in the Oval Office, the United States is undergoing a palace revolution. Washington is no longer the seat of power. The new White House is in Florida, at Mar-a-Lago’, said M6 in a recent Exclusive Investigation report.
As usual, Donald Trump is stirring up controversy by choosing this location to run his country, not least because of the enormous security costs involved in relocating his offices. Paid for by the American taxpayer, his travels and the multiple teams providing his protection are drawing fierce criticism from the public.
The ‘Mar-a-Lago Face’ beauty phenomenon
In recent weeks, the prestigious Palm Beach villa has given its name to a surprising and almost laughable beauty phenomenon: the ‘Mar-a-Lago Face’. A community of internet users and the media have noticed that many of those close to the President have very specific physical characteristics that are linked to those of Donald Trump. His entourage seems to have adopted his famous orange complexion, created using UV rays, self-tanner and heavy make-up.
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High, excessively plump cheekbones, ultra-plump lips and drawn-out eyes are also increasingly common in his inner circle. In addition to cosmetic surgery, make-up is the predominant look for both men and women. ‘Their faces have all gone from conventional human appearance to exaggeration’, says The Hollywood Reporter, citing several celebrities who have succumbed to the “Mar-a-Lago Face”.
A plastic, stereotypical face, ticking the box of superficiality and far removed from the ‘no-makeup’ beauty trend, which appeals to the pro-Trump crowd and adds to a codified way of dressing.
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Featured photo: © Instagram Trump
