In 1973, Marjorie Merriweather Post donated her Palm Beach estate to the U.S. government to be used as the "winter White House. Marjorie Merriweather was one of the world's wealthiest women when she finished building Mar-a-Lago in 1927, and it cost around $7 million. Marjorie Merriweather hired Marion Sims Wyeth to design it, and Joseph Urban to design interior and exterior decorations. It had an annual maintenance cost of $1 million. It was returned to Post's estate in 1980, and later, it was purchased by Donald Trump in 1985.
Donald Trump’s first offer for the property $15 million was turned down. Trump then purchased the land between Mar-a-Lago for of $3 million and the ocean stating he intended to build a home that would block Mar-a-Lago's beach view. The threat caused interest in the property to decline, and Trump ended up getting the property for $5 million in 1985, and he paid an additional $3 million for Post's antiques and furniture.
Trump renovated the mansion, adding a 20,000-square-foot ballroom to the 58 bedrooms, 33 bathrooms, a 29-foot-long pietra dura marble top dining table, 12 fireplaces, and three bomb shelters. The club also has five clay tennis courts and a waterfront pool.
It was used as a private residence until 1995. In 1995, Mar-a-Lago became established as The Mar-a-Lago Club, and he built a 20,000-square-foot ballroom with $7 million in gold leaf and, He also spent $100,00 on four gold-plated sinks. There's gold everywhere. Mar-a-Lago is the only private club worldwide to attain the prestigious 6-Star Diamond Award.
Mar-a-Lago has 126 rooms, space of 110,000-square-foot and the house contains the Mar-a-Lago Club, a spa, and other hotel-style amenities. The Trump family maintains private quarters in a separate area of the house and grounds.