The Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida owned by U.S. President Donald Trump appears to have recorded a sharp increase in revenue after his return to office. Despite a membership fee reaching $1 million (about 1.5 billion won), it is seen as a result of political and business figures flocking there to get closer to the Trump administration.
According to the 2025 financial disclosure report submitted to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) on the 4th (local time), President Trump earned $77.5 million (about 120 billion won) from Mar-a-Lago during this term. That is more than a 50% increase from the previous year ($50 million) and about three times the 2020 income.
Mar-a-Lago is a luxury resort in Palm Beach, Florida, where President Trump spends much of his leisure time, including winters, and it is called the "Winter White House." After President Trump won the 2024 election, the presidential transition committee was also set up at Mar-a-Lago.
Since last year, President Trump has visited Trump National Doral and Mar-a-Lago, two other resorts in Florida, more than 20 times, hosting high-dollar fundraising dinners costing over $1 million per person and meeting foreign dignitaries. Last year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Mar-a-Lago and met with President Trump.
As Mar-a-Lago has established itself as a key venue to meet President Trump in person, people flocked there despite the high club membership fee. According to CNN in the United States, before Trump was first elected in the 2016 presidential election, the membership fee was $100,000 (about 150 million won), but after several increases, it reached $1 million in 2024.
Robert Weissman, co-president of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, said, "The reason people go to Mar-a-Lago is to get closer to the president," adding, "If you can say even a word to the president, the value far exceeds the membership fee."
Political events by Trump's close associates have also been held one after another at Mar-a-Lago. The Super PAC (special political action committee) "MAGA Inc." supporting President Trump has hosted multiple "candlelight dinners" priced at $1 million per person, attended by prominent figures such as Elon Musk. The Republican National Committee (RNC) also held several fundraisers at Mar-a-Lago ahead of this year's midterm elections. The RNC spent more than $1 million last year and this year at Mar-a-Lago and Trump National Doral alone.
Corporations with interests before the federal government also came to Mar-a-Lago. Aerospace company XTI Aerospace held a dinner there in Nov. last year. According to the Financial Times (FT), Pfizer's top management also held an external executive meeting at Mar-a-Lago early last year ahead of President Trump's second inauguration.
Trump National Doral, another resort owned by President Trump, also enjoyed a boom. President Trump earned $122 million (about 190 billion won) from this resort alone last year. The Trump administration plans to host the Group of 20 (G20) summit there in Dec.
The Independent in the United Kingdom said, "The revenue increases at Trump's Florida resorts are part of the vast financial gains since returning to the White House," adding, "Donors and Silicon Valley corporations executives are coming to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach to meet Trump."
CNN added, "This financial disclosure shows how closely Trump's private business is intertwined with his political activities as president," noting, "The revenue from the resort business is relatively overshadowed by more than $1.4 billion (about 2 trillion won) in income from cryptocurrency ventures such as the Trump meme coin and World Liberty Financial, co-founded by President Trump's sons."