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TR U M P STR A TEGI ES FO R R E A L ESTA TE

for more than he paid for the entire property. Today, Mar-a-Lago,
which was falling apart when Trump bought it, has been totally refur-
bished and is a very exclusive and beautifully restored estate and
country club with a membership roster that reads like “Who’s Who.”
After Trump first bought the property, the expenses of operating
and owning were overwhelming considering how little use Trump
made of the estate. After thinking about the problem, Trump thought,
“Why don’t I create an elite country club and get 200 to 300 wealthy
people to share the costs?” Before his idea became reality he had to
fight a major battle to obtain the right to operate the facility in its
present fashion. When he first bought it, city officials and the powers
that be didn’t like the idea of Trump, a newcomer who was not part
of the old money families of Palm Beach, coming in and creating a
country club on the Mar-a-Lago property. Little did they know what
a tenacious adversary Trump would become.
To get approval, Trump threatened to subdivide the property which
was his legal right. He never intended to do this but he used it as
leverage to get what he wanted, because he knew the last thing the
city wanted was a flock of new houses on this landmarked property.
(This is a good example of exploiting the other side’s weakness in a
negotiation.) The political fight got so nasty that the West Palm Beach
airport appeared to alter their takeoff and landing patterns to fly over
Mar-a-Lago to weaken Trump’s resolve. Trump sued the County Air-
port facility claiming the noise and vibrations from low flying aircraft
would damage a historic federal landmark (which Mar-a-Lago was).
Finally, recognizing their potential liability and the expense and em-
barrassment the local government would sustain, they gave Trump the
approval he sought and Trump’s lawsuits were terminated. Trump was
now ready to implement his plan to turn Mar-a-Lago into a luxurious
country club. This involved restoring the property to its former mag-
nificence while adding improvements to make it attractive to mem-
bers willing to pay $200,000 or more to join.

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