Mar-a-Lago story: How it went from Post Cereals heiress estate to Donald Trump's members-only club

Today, Mar-a-Lago is strongly associated with former President Donald Trump, but the club has an intriguing history as an estate and a National Historic Landmark.

The Palm Beach, Florida property was not always a members-only club or used for official purposes. It was first a large mansion built by Marjorie Merriweather Post, heiress of what was formerly known as Post Cereals (now named General Foods Corp.) to live there as a home.

After Post died in 1973, she bequeathed the property to the National Park Service in hopes that it would be used for state visits or as an official residence for United States Presidents. However, the upkeep cost was more than Post had originally provided, eventually returning it to the Post Foundation in 1981.

In 1985, Donald Trump purchased the 17-acre Florida property for around $8 million, although some sources estimate the total combined cost to be around $10 million.

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When he was president from 2017 to 2021, Trump used the estate as his "Winter White House", and it was used as a vacation home during the winter months.

Here, WWD breaks down everything you need to know about the Mar-a-Lago Club. Scroll to find out more.

When was Mar-a-Lago built?

Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Walter McBride/MediaPunch/IPx

The Mar-a-Lago property, which means "from the sea to the lake" in Spanish, was purchased in 1924 for Post and her husband Edward F. Hutton to live there. She hired Marion Sims Wyeth and Joseph Urban to design and create the house, which was completed in 1927.

According to the Smithsonian, Post spent about $7 million to build and furnish the house, located on Palm Beach Barrier, an amount that today stands at about $110 million.

Why was Mar-a-Lago built?

Marjorie Merriweather Post at a birthday reception for Queen Elizabeth II at the Bri...