Rejected by Bolsonaro, Trump’s resort is a destination for celebrities and tycoons

Instead of handing over the face to Lula da Silva, Bolsonaro decided to live in the United States for a while.

Although there is no officially announced destination, one of the initially speculated locations was Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida.

But plans would have changed to a different place than this property that belongs to former President Donald Trump and is home to a luxury resort frequented by celebrities, politicians and tycoons.

HOW IS THE RESORT?

• There are about 126 rooms spread over almost 10,000 square meters of the property.
• The club has a luxurious spa, beauty salon and gym with state-of-the-art equipment. It also has tennis courts, golf and croquet courts, as well as swimming pools and whirlpools.
• Mar-a-Lago is also sought after by the elite to host weddings, parties and other gala events.
• A day at the resort can cost up to US$2,000. The club membership fee, which doubled after Trump’s victory in the 2016 election, is US$200,000. Members still pay an annual fee of US$14,000.
• The mansion, known as the “Winter White House”, was purchased by Trump in 1985 for US$10 million. Ten years after the acquisition, the former president turned it into a luxurious private club for Palm Beach’s elite. Today, Forbes values the property at around US$350 million.
• The resort was built nearly 100 years ago by heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, and Trump shelled out a hefty sum to restore the mansion. Part of the furniture was auctioned off and replaced with reproductions. In 2005, he added a 6,000-square-foot ballroom to the property.

FAMOUS GUESTS

• Jennifer Lopez, Oprah Winfrey, Martha Stewart, Tiger Woods, Billy Joel, Vanessa Williams, Liza Minnelli and Sylvester Stallone have stayed or visited the place.
• Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley stayed at the resort on their honeymoon in 1994.
  Former US Presidents Richard Nixon and John Kennedy have also traveled to the site.
• During Trump’s tenure, Mar-a-Lago hosted meetings with world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

RESIDENCE HOUSED CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS

In August of this year, Mar-a-Lago was the subject of an FBI investigation against the former president. Agents seized confidential US government documents at the site, which hosted charity dinners and weddings with members of the elite and wealthy people.

With information from UOL