Forbes Values Mar-a-Lago at $560 Million, Undercutting New York Fraud Trial Assessment
The Forbes assessment provides an independent, market-based counterpoint to the trial figures. Real estate experts and Palm Beach brokers have long argued the club’s unique prestige, oceanfront location, and private membership model support a far higher value than the tax-assessor figure used in court.
Tommy Flynn
Forbes has significantly increased its valuation of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate to approximately $560 million, more than triple its 2018 estimate and nearly $190 million higher than the publication’s own figure from just one year ago.
The update appears in Forbes’ latest billionaire rankings released this month. The magazine noted that Mar-a-Lago, purchased by Trump in 1985 for roughly $10 million, has benefited from its status as the “winter White House” and strong demand for the exclusive Palm Beach club.
The new valuation stands in sharp contrast to the figure used by New York Attorney General Letitia James and Judge Arthur Engoron in the 2023 civil fraud trial. In that case, the state pegged Mar-a-Lago at just $18 million to $27.6 million, a number Trump and his attorneys repeatedly called “absurd” and “fraudulent.” Engoron cited the low appraisal as evidence of massive overvaluation in Trump’s financial statements.
During the trial, Trump testified that Mar-a-Lago could easily sell for between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, citing broker testimony and market conditions. The judge rejected that claim and ruled the property was grossly inflated for loan and insurance purposes.
The Forbes assessment provides an independent, market-based counterpoint to the trial figures. Real estate experts and Palm Beach brokers have long argued the club’s unique prestige, oceanfront location, and private membership model support a far higher value than the tax-assessor figure used in court.
No comment was immediately available from the New York Attorney General’s office.