FILE – An aerial view of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate is seen Aug. 10, 2022, in Palm Beach, Fla. PALM BEACH — Not far from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago compound in Palm Beach, cosmetics heir William Lauder bought the estate of the late conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh for $155 million.
“At the end of the day the market dictates value,” he said. “If you had that property on the market for $18 million, there would be 100 people lined up to buy it. And it’s an historical landmark. I would put it in the category of a Henry Flagler estate.” “Clearly supply and demand is what drives up the price,” he said. ”The assessor will determine what the taxes cost. That has nothing to do with the actual value of the property.”
James in her lawsuit asserted that Trump inflated the value of his properties by as much as $2.2 billion. She is seeking a penalty of $250 million. One of the real estate professionals who suggested it is worth more than $1 billion was Lawrence Moens of Palm Beach, who was called to testify via deposition for the defense as an expert witness.“In his sworn deposition, when asked “who were the dozen or so buyers that you were referencing in your report, Lawrence Moens replied: could dream up anyone from Elon Musk to Bill Gates and everyone in between. Kings, emperors, heads of state. But with net worths in the multiple billions.
Yet, James asserted in her lawsuit that Trump falsely valued the resort at $347 million to $739 million from 2011 to 2021. The numbers were based, she said, “on the false premise that it was unrestricted property and could be developed for residential use.” Some of Trump’s neighbors alleged that he violated a 1993 agreement with the town that limits the number of days club members can stay in the estate’s guest suites.