Turns out Mar-a-Lago wasn’t overvalued, Tish

Always in His Presence · Mar 19, 2026

Turns out Mar-a-Lago wasn’t overvalued, Tish

Forbes just estimated the value of Mar-a-Lago at about $560 million, again exposing the fakery in New York state Attorney General Tish James’ 2023 civil fraud persecution of President Trump.

James argued that Trump had wildly inflated the value of the resort and other properties to get better loan terms from Deutsche Bank.

Democratic hack Judge Arthur Engoron agreed, calling Trump’s half-billion-dollar estimate for the Palm Beach palace “an overvaluation of at least 2,300%, compared to the assessor’s appraisal.”

Bogus assumption No. 1 was that tax assessments reflect real market value; No. 2, that a sophisticated global powerhouse like Deutsche Bank would ever take a borrower’s word for what his assets are worth.

As National Review’s Andrew McCarthy notes, Forbes’ new list of billionaires bumped Trump into the ranks of the 1,000 richest people in the world, partly based on valuing the president’s Xanadu in the ballpark of Trump’s “original fraudulent” estimate.

Vambram · Mar 19, 2026

I'm glad that others are finally admitting that the NY State AG was wrong.

Richard T · Mar 19, 2026

I agree valuations can be quite iffy and it was a dumb court case as there was no victim.
I tried to once sell a lot that I could not sell for even 20,000 when it was assessed at 50k. I would have appealed having it on the market a year, but I did not want the appraised price to go down. Meanwhile the same county valued a large mansion and lot at 2 million that sold for 4 million. What a way to jam up the little guy. Trump is far richer on his crypto and Trump media deals so he is moving up the list. I do question some of that activity in crypto and some of the deals he gave and got with those he pardoned.

Hans Blaster · Mar 19, 2026

Are we talking about the same magazine that would use the values given by "Mr. Barron" based on Trump's "feels" when assessing the casino moguls wealth?

Aryeh Jay · Mar 20, 2026

Hans Blaster said:
Are we talking about the same magazine that would use the values given by "Mr. Barron" based on Trump's "feels" when assessing the casino moguls wealth?

This is about Donald J Trump and not some "Mr. Barron".

Gene2memE · Mar 20, 2026

Cool. Is that what it was worth when the ORIGINAL valuation was made? Or has something changed since 2011?

Is he going to start paying local property taxes based on that appraisal? Or maintain those paid under the Palm Beach County assessor's valuation (of under $28 million?)

Because if that valuation holds retroactively back to 2011, then it looks like he's evaded about $80 million in local property taxes over the last 15 years.

And that's just raw - Florida adds a 7% interest rate on unpaid property taxes. That means the actual bill would more than double once you add interest.

AND Florida charges a 10% administrative fee as well to collect on unpaid taxes.

DaisyDay · Mar 20, 2026

Always in His Presence said:
Turns out Mar-a-Lago wasn’t overvalued, Tish

Forbes just estimated the value of Mar-a-Lago at about $560 million, again exposing the fakery in New York state Attorney General Tish James’ 2023 civil fraud persecution of President Trump.

James argued that Trump had wildly inflated the value of the resort and other properties to get better loan terms from Deutsche Bank.

Democratic hack Judge Arthur Engoron agreed, calling Trump’s half-billion-dollar estimate for the Palm Beach palace “an overvaluation of at least 2,300%, compared to the assessor’s appraisal.”

Bogus assumption No. 1 was that tax assessments reflect real market value; No. 2, that a sophisticated global powerhouse like Deutsche Bank would ever take a borrower’s word for what his assets are worth.

As National Review’s Andrew McCarthy notes, Forbes’ new list of billionaires bumped Trump into the ranks of the 1,000 richest people in the world, partly based on valuing the president’s Xanadu in the ballpark of Trump’s “original fraudulent” estimate.

That opinion piece (all the links in the editorial are to other NYP stories) is political fluffery. The reason a "sophisticated global powerhouse like Deutsche Bank would ever take a borrower’s word for what his assets are worth" is because the loan is like a loss leader - his other business is worth the risk.

Always in His Presence · Mar 20, 2026

How Much Is Mar-a-Lago Worth?

What caught my eye was Forbes’s $560 million valuation of Mar-a-Lago, the president’s Palm Beach resort club and residence that has become his “winter White House.”

That is way up from $370 million just a year ago, a reflection of how, as Forbes puts it, “personal assets belonging to Trump have flourished as people aim to curry favor with him or at least show their support.” But more relevant for present purposes, the Forbes valuation sheds light on a dispute in the civil fraud case that Trump used to great effect.

Hans Blaster · Mar 20, 2026

Always in His Presence said:
How Much Is Mar-a-Lago Worth?

It's gaudy, so I wouldn't pay a nickel for it. The land could be sold for lots to rich people to build their own gaudy mansions on it.

Always in His Presence said:
What caught my eye was Forbes’s $560 million valuation of Mar-a-Lago, the president’s Palm Beach resort club and residence that has become his “winter White House.”

That is way up from $370 million just a year ago, a reflection of how, as Forbes puts it, “personal assets belonging to Trump have flourished as people aim to curry favor with him or at least show their support.” But more relevant for present purposes, the Forbes valuation sheds light on a dispute in the civil fraud case that Trump used to great effect.

If we accept this change, take the rest of the "growth" in Trump's wealth since last year, subtract $0.2B, and you get the money he made accepting bribes and payoffs as president.

essentialsaltes · Mar 20, 2026

Other personal assets belonging to Trump have flourished as people aim to curry favor with him or at least show their support. That includes Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach, which has benefited from politics more than any other property. Referred to as his winter White House, it’s where he’s meets world leaders (Zelenskyy and Netanyahu, among others) hosts allies (Musk, Changpeng Zhao) and launches missiles (Syria, Iran). Bought by Trump in 1985 for an estimated $10 million, Forbes now pegs its value at about $560 million, up nearly $370 million a year ago and more than triple its 2018 value. [when he was also president and people were currying favor]

So it's more accurate to say that it's finally worth half a billion dollars, some 15 years after his hinky valuations got started. And most of the reason is that billionaires want to suck up to the president at a place where they know access to the president is possible if they splash enough money around. You can also see how the power of the presidency has lined Trump's pockets.

iluvatar5150 · Mar 20, 2026

Hans Blaster said:
It's gaudy, so I wouldn't pay a nickel for it. The land could be sold for lots to rich people to build their own gaudy mansions on it.

It actually couldn’t. The deed restrictions on it are why the county valued it so low.

Always in His Presence said:
How Much Is Mar-a-Lago Worth?

What caught my eye was Forbes’s $560 million valuation of Mar-a-Lago, the president’s Palm Beach resort club and residence that has become his “winter White House.”

That is way up from $370 million just a year ago, a reflection of how, as Forbes puts it, “personal assets belonging to Trump have flourished as people aim to curry favor with him or at least show their support.” But more relevant for present purposes, the Forbes valuation sheds light on a dispute in the civil fraud case that Trump used to great effect.

This author says that Trump’s valuation was high and that part of its present value comes from demand from people seeking to curry favor with him.

Are those really arguments you want to be championing?

Always in His Presence · Mar 20, 2026

Hans Blaster said:
If we accept this change, take the rest of the "growth" in Trump's wealth since last year, subtract $0.2B, and you get the money he made accepting bribes and payoffs as president.

Donald Trump has not been criminally charged with bribery or accepting payoffs during his presidency. To say so is inflammatory and even the ladies on the View will not say it - because they fear being sued for defamation.

essentialsaltes · Mar 20, 2026

Always in His Presence said:
Donald Trump has not been criminally charged with bribery or accepting payoffs during his presidency.

DOJ rules prevent any president from being charged during his presidency.

Always in His Presence · Mar 20, 2026

iluvatar5150 said:
This author says that Trump’s valuation was high and that part of its present value comes from demand from people seeking to curry favor with him.

Are those really arguments you want to be championing?

As opposed to championing a Attorney purposely devaluing the property so she can fulfill a campaign promise and curry favor with Democrats who can enhance her career - only to have the whole thing thrown out on appeal?

Always in His Presence · Mar 20, 2026

essentialsaltes said:
DOJ rules prevent any president from being charged during his presidency.

He was not charged during the four years he was out of office and we had to suffer through Biden.

essentialsaltes · Mar 20, 2026

Always in His Presence said:
He was not charged during the four years he was out of office

Right, but the topic at the moment is the rapid gains in his wealth in 2025 and 2026 (i.e. after he became president again). He can't be charged for anything he does in that time frame until he leaves office.

Always in His Presence · Mar 20, 2026

essentialsaltes said:
Right, but the topic at the moment is the rapid gains in his wealth in 2025 and 2026 (i.e. after he became president again). He can't be charged for anything he does in that time frame until he leaves office.

and no one except anonymous posters on a forum are suggesting it. Why? Because people in the real world know the statements have to be verifiable, or it is slander.

iluvatar5150 · Mar 20, 2026

Always in His Presence said:
As opposed to championing a Attorney purposely devaluing the property so she can fulfill a campaign promise and curry favor with Democrats who can enhance her career - only to have the whole thing thrown out on appeal?

Who’s championing her? I’m not.

But I do recall you and so many others clutching your pearls over Hunter Biden allegedly profiting on his proximity to the presidency. And now you’re here waving around Trump’s doing that as if it’s a good thing.

Hans Blaster · Mar 20, 2026

Always in His Presence said:
Donald Trump has not been criminally charged with bribery or accepting payoffs during his presidency. To say so is inflammatory and even the ladies on the View will not say it - because they fear being sued for defamation.

Are you this generous with everyone who is apparently committing crimes in plain sight, or just Donald Trump?

Hans Blaster · Mar 20, 2026

Always in His Presence said:
and no one except anonymous posters on a forum are suggesting it. Why? Because people in the real world know the statements have to be verifiable, or it is slander.

You should get out more often. I've heard many people, public people, make or insinuate such claims. I just did a simple "Trump Saudi bribe" search on the old google machine and skipped past the AI junk and I got:

From the description of an episode of "Pod Save America" titled "Trump & Saudi Arabia: A Tale of Corruption":

Tommy and Ben discuss Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Washington, his request for F-35 fighter jets and a NATO-like security guarantee, the real estate deals the Trump family might get in return, and how corruption is driving US foreign policy, including in the case of a gold-bar bribe from the Swiss.

The New Republic:

America Has Never Seen a President This Corrupt

Trump’s brazen use of the White House to advance his family businesses should be one of the biggest scandals in the country’s history.

newrepublic.com

same, via Yahoo! News:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-corruption-business-officially-expands-214057666.html

The Atlantic:

Why the Gulf Monarchs Shower Trump With Gifts

Until now, no president had yielded to royal temptations from abroad.

www.theatlantic.com

The Guardian:

Trump’s family is embroiled in a $500m UAE scandal. We’ve hardly noticed | Mohamad Bazzi

A crypto startup founded by Trump’s family signed a huge deal with the UAE president’s brother. Where’s the political fallout?

www.theguardian.com

Robert Reich on Substack:

Trump’s Calamitous Crypto Corruption

It’s enriching him and his family but endangering you, me, and the entire economy

robertreich.substack.com

I think that makes my point. There are plenty of people willing to say with their own names and livelihoods on the line that Trump is corrupt and bribed. They don't look a-scared of Trump and his band of lawyers.

Turns out Mar-a-Lago wasn’t overvalued, Tish

Jesus is the only Way