Here's Just How Absurd Valuing Mar-a-Lago at $18 Million Is

In just one of countless absurd rulings against Donald Trump, Judge Arthur Engoron recently ruled that Trump has misrepresented the value of Mar-a-Lago to lenders as being between $426.5 million and $612.1 million, claiming that it was only worth between $18 million and $27.6 million. As a result of this dubious ruling, Judge Engoron ruled that some of Trump’s business licenses in New York be rescinded. 

While it’s only marginally less absurd than valuating Mar-a-Lago at $27.6 million, the “$18 million” figure has been making headlines, as seemingly everyone can immediately tell how ridiculous it is. 

For starters, Trump purchased Mar-a-Lago in 1985 when it had a listing price of $20 million - and that $20 million is in 1986 dollars. Even if the price of Mar-a-Lago only increased with inflation, it would be worth roughly $58 million today. In other words, Judge Engoron’s ruling implies that Mar-a-Lago lost 65% of its value over the same time period where real estate prices increased nearly fivefold. (of note, some sources claim that Trump was able to negotiate the purchase Mar-a-Lago for half its listing price, though it's unclear exactly how much he spent).

Though she too has no idea what she’s talking about, even corrupt New York AG Letitia James, who campaigned on prosecuting Trump, claimed Mar-a-Lago was worth at least $75 million when she alleged that Trump overvalued it. 

Furthermore, unlike other properties, Mar-a-Lago’s value is derived not just from the physical property itself, but the income it generates as a business. While recent data is unavailable, it brought in 25.1 million in 2017, $22 million in 2018, and $21.4 million in 2019. 

Past estimates of Mar-a-Lago’s value have ranged, but even the lowest were at least fifteen times higher than what Judge Engoron claimed. Forbes magazine pegged its value at $350 million in 2022, which they described as a “conservative” estimate, while more aggressive estimates went as high as $725 million. 

Above all else, valuation does have a subjective component, and ultimately an asset is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. It’s not as if the lenders that Trump was claiming Mar-a-Lago was worth up to $739 million didn't have the ability to contest that, or perform their own analysis, which they likely did. Financial firms tend to do their due diligence when lending out millions of dollars (with some notable exceptions throughout history, of course). 

While we can be grateful that Judge Engoron isn’t in the real estate business - it’s more unfortunate that he’s in the legal business.