Mar-a-Lago is one of the most exclusive private clubs in the country.
So who can afford a $200,000 membership at a Palm Beach club owned by an ex-president?
Rich and famous people, that's who.
Here are Mar-a-Lago's celebrity members.
In 2017, Politico obtained Mar-a-Lago membership lists that named at least 25 current or former
company CEOs, as well as dozens of lawyers, doctors, investors and philanthropists.
Among them was author James Patterson, who has called Palm Beach home for decades.
In 2010, the best-selling author sold his Everglades Island home to move into a $17.4
million oceanfront mansion.
Located at 710 Ocean Boulevard, which is nicknamed Billionaires Row, the 21,000-square-foot home
is next to John Lennon and Yoko Ono's former residence and is also close to Mar-a-Lago.
In addition to his proximity to the club, Patterson also appears to be friendly with
Trump.
He received the National Humanities Medal from the president in 2019 and has never been
openly critical of him, once telling The Palm Beach Post,
"I don't think Trump intentionally breaks the law — ever."
What's more, it seems being a member of Mar-a-Lago has helped fuel his work.
While penning Filthy Rich: The Jeffrey Epstein Story, the author used his connections at
the club to dig up new information on the convicted sex offender.
The author told The Palm Beach Post that a former Mar-a-Lago spa manager told him Trump
banned Epstein from the club, because he acted inappropriately towards underage girls at
the spa.
Patterson also reportedly learned about another Mar-a-Lago member who told Trump that the
disgraced financier had acted inappropriately towards his daughter Ivanka.
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has been close with Donald Trump for years,
so it's no surprise that he's one of Mar-a-Lago's celebrity members.
Belichick and Trump are so tight, in fact, that the NFL great once wrote such a supportive
letter to Trump that the then-presidential hopeful actually read it during a rally in
New Hampshire in 2016.
In the letter, Belichick congratulated Trump on a, quote, "tremendous campaign" and sang
his praises, writing,
"You have dealt with an unbelievable slanted and negative media, and have come out beautifully
— beautifully.
You've proved to be the ultimate competitor and fighter [...] Your leadership is amazing."
The note concluded with Belichick telling his friend,
It sounds like a full-on endorsement, but the coach appeared to backtrack on his words
when, days later, he told reporters, quote, "my comments are not politically motivated."
However, he couldn't help but concede that he had a friendship with Trump and, as Tom
Brady highlighted during the same press conference, Trump has been a longtime supporter of the
New England Patriots.
Shock jock Howard Stern and his wife, Beth Stern, love Palm Beach so much that they eventually
hope to leave New York and call Florida home year-round.
Back in 2013, the radio personality and his wife, a model and animal rights advocate,
bought a 19,000-square-foot oceanfront mansion located at 601 N. County Road for a cool $52
million.
Speaking with City and Shore about the investment, Beth gushed,
"I'm excited to be part of the community.
I hope people are open to me participating."
Explaining why she and her husband wanted to make the move, she continued,
"Ultimately, we felt Palm Beach was the right choice for us.
We have friends in Palm Beach and have spent many weekends, so we just ended up having
a little life there, and we said let's start looking at houses."
Another draw?
Mar-a-Lago.
In 2017, Politico confirmed that Beth is a member and while the lists they consulted
didn't appear to name Howard outright, the longtime friend of Trump is no stranger to
the private club.
In 2017, he called Mar-a-Lago, quote, "heaven," per The Palm Beach Post.
Additionally, in 2019 Stern revealed to The New York Times that he's actually been at
the club on some momentous occasions.
Stern told the paper,
"I was at Mar-a-Lago around when it was announced that Donald was going to run for president."
Not only does Donald Trump have a close friend in New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick,
but he's also tight with Avram Glazer, the co-owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Manchester
United Football Club.
In addition to sharing a love of football with Trump, Glazer is also a well-known fixture
in Palm Beach and a member of Mar-a-Lago.
What's more, he's no stranger to making headlines.
Over the years, Glazer and his wife, Jill, have regularly been in the news due to their
real estate dealings.
First, for selling their landmarked house at 5 Middle Road for $12.6 million in 2014,
then for being sued by the general contractor who worked on their new home.
In 2018, Benitz Building LLC, which renovated the property at 195 Via Marina Avenue that
the couple bought in 2007 for $9.3 million, took the Glazers to court for unpaid "labor
and construction costs."
According to The Real Deal, Benitz Building LLC worked on the house from 2014 to 2017
and was owed $572,950.
Additionally, support of Trump appears to run in the Glazer family.
In March 2018, The Undefeated noted that Avie's brother, Edward Glazer, donated $98,000 to
Trump's 2016 campaign and gave another $250,000 toward the president's inauguration.
Edward Glazer also hosted a fundraising bash for Trump's reelection at his California home
in 2018.
James Dolan, the executive chairman of Madison Square Garden Sports Corp., which controls
the New York Knicks, New York Rangers, and Rockettes, has never shied away from openly
speaking about his ties to Donald Trump.
As he told ESPN in 2018,
"I've known him for a long time.
I got married at Mar-a-Lago.
I'm a member of Mar-a-Lago, and I support him as a friend."
Dolan even slammed Trump critics, reasoning,
"You don't have to agree with everything that he's doing in order to support him [...] I
don't understand people who wish our president to do badly.
Why would you wish your president to do badly?
It's like wishing that your milkman will bring you sour milk."
And his support goes far beyond a few nice words.
In September 2016, Dolan donated $300,000 to Trump Victory, as well as $2,700 directly
to Trump's campaign.
He then pledged $125,000 toward Trump's re-election campaign, per NJ.com, and made headlines when
he had the Rockettes perform at Trump's inauguration.
As Marie Claire learned, Dolan held a meeting with the dancers to address their qualms about
the performance in which he told them,
"It's a huge moment in the country's history.
[...] We are an American brand, and I think it's very appropriate that the Rockettes dance
in the inaugural and 4th of July and our country's great historical moments."
Chris Ruddy, the CEO of Newsmax Media and a former journalist for The New York Post,
became "the King of Trump TV" when Donald Trump got serious about running for office.
As the Financial Times notes that Newsmax became one of the first national media organizations
to take Donald Trump and his 2016 presidential campaign seriously.
Throughout Trump's presidency, Newsmax wrote about the former reality TV star in positive
terms, and continued to support Trump to the very end, even backing his claims of voter
fraud in 2020.
Speaking with The New Yorker, Ruddy, who founded the conservative media company in 1998, explained
his stance, saying,
"[Trump] was President of the United States, so we have been editorially supportive of
him and his policies.
I'm not thinking that we're here to say he's a great guy.
We're here to say, 'We agree basically with his tax deregulation and free-market approaches
to government policy.'"
That said, the longtime Mar-a-Lago member was honest about his relationship with Trump,
noting,
"We're friends.
He's called me twice in the past five days."
Ruddy's affinity for Mar-a-Lago was put on display in 2018 when he decided to conduct
an entire Financial Times interview at the club, boasting that he often brings guests
to the exclusive establishment.
And when critics wondered if Trump's constant trips to Mar-a-Lago would pose a conflict
of interest, Ruddy defended his friend and the club, telling The New York Times,
"It's a myth to think that anybody could just join the club and go speak to the president."
George Norcross and Donald Trump's friendship goes way back.
According to WNYC, Trump became a "New Jersey political insider" while operating his since-demolished
Atlantic City casino and it was all thanks to Norcross.
They shared a personal and business relationship in which they golfed together.
Trump even granted the insurance executive and South Jersey Democratic Party boss the
insurance contract for his Atlantic City casino.
According to Philly Mag, Norcross was also invited to Trump's wedding to Melania.
As the future president once enthused,
"I love being with George because every outing is a competitive one."
And it seems he also loved Norcross' political influence.
In 2003, for example, Trump was accused of using their friendship to pass "a favorable
piece of legislation" regarding taxes on his casino.
Then in 2006, Trump filed a libel suit in Camden County against Tim O'Brien, who penned
Trump Nation, because, according to WNYC, that was "Norcross' power center" and The
Apprentice star allegedly believed he'd be able to swing the verdict in his favor.
Not surprisingly, The New York Times was able to confirm that Norcross is a member of Mar-a-Lago,
and Insider NJ went as far as to describe them as, quote, "2 Peas, 1 Pod."
According to Palm Beach Daily News, they're so close that Trump even gave Norcross his
blessing on the purchase of a Palm Beach home, calling the property, quote, "spectacular
— an exquisite location."
William "Bill" Koch may be "the Kochs' lesser-known other brother," as Vanity Fair called him,
but his resume isn't any less impressive.
As the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Oxbow Carbon LLC, Koch has
a net worth of $1.6 billion, per Forbes.
That said, Bill Koch earns more than enough to pay for a membership at Mar-a-Lago, which
he has, according to The New York Times.
Koch, a Palm Beach resident, became estranged from his brothers, Charles G. and David H.
Koch, after he sold them his shares in their father's company, Koch Industries, in 1983.
He further alienated himself from his siblings in 2016 when he openly supported Donald Trump's
bid for president — something his brothers refused to do publicly, despite being Republicans.
As Page Six reported, Koch and his wife actually hosted a fundraiser in support of Trump at
their Cape Cod home, with tickets costing between $2,700 and $50,000.
Boston radio host Howie Carr has an impressive resume, but his support of Donald Trump has
made some question his career.
As Carr boasts on his website, he's a Boston Herald columnist, a New York Times best-selling
author, and a radio host who's been inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.
But in 2018, Boston magazine couldn't help but wonder if Carr sold out or bought in after
he transformed from a fearless journalist into one of Donald Trump's loudest supporters.
The criticism of Carr's Trump support didn't make the broadcaster any less vocal.
For one, he hosted Trump onto his radio show repeatedly throughout his campaign, including
election night, per Boston magazine.
Then, in 2017, Carr and his wife Kathy joined Mar-a-Lago.
Jump to 2018 and Carr published a book called What Really Happened: How Donald J. Trump
Saved America from Hillary Clinton.
The list goes on, culminating in January 2021 with a Boston Herald column titled "Thanks
for everything, President Trump."
In it, Carr lists off all the reasons he is thankful for Trump.
Carr concludes the piece with this:
"[A]ll of us Deplorables [...] just want you to know how much we appreciate the four years
you gave us to prepare and fortify ourselves for the impending disaster ahead.
We'll be back, Mr. President, and so will you."
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