Every year beleaguered former president Donald Trump moves to his New Jersey golf club Bedminster for the summer, taking the whole circus of operations with him. Making the most of the amenities at this magnificent 1930s clubhouse, Trump hosts meetings and rallies while he fundraises for his second presidential run. But what do we know about his residence in the Garden State? Click or scroll on to see inside this luxury mansion and discover its inner workings, from Secret Service scandals, sensitive documents and fraud lawsuits to the con man who infiltrated Trump's inner circle...

After leaving office, Donald Trump eschewed New York and Washington to establish his permanent residence in Florida, in his private members' club in Palm Beach. But every year the Mar-a-Lago resort closes from May through the summer, when hurricane season and stiflingly hot temperatures rock the region. Seeking cooler climes, Trump heads to New Jersey for the warmer months, reportedly moving all of his business dealings to Bedminster. 

Trump National Golf Club Bedminster is an exclusive golfing retreat that Donald Trump purchased for a reported $35 million (£28.9m) in 2002, two years after it fell into foreclosure and changed hands. One thing's for sure, the estate's luck has certainly turned around since it was absorbed into the Trump Empire. This palatial property has a fascinating history and many a tale to tell...

Previously referred to as the Summer White House, Trump’s National Golf Club in Bedminster was once named Lamington Farm, occupying 535 acres of lush green countryside in central New Jersey. Located just 45 minutes west of New York City, an executive at a New York insurance brokerage snapped up Lamington Farm in 1917 and renamed the estate after himself – and it soon became known as the Cowperthwaite place.

In 1939, renowned architect Mott B. Schmidt was commissioned by Morgan Cowperthwaite’s son, John K. Cowperthwaite, to design and build the grand red brick Lamington House, which would become the Trump National’s clubhouse. Schmidt was also responsible for designing homes for the Rockefellers and the Vanderbilts, as well as Gracie Mansion’s Susan B. Wagner wing. 

The Cowperthwaite family maintained the estate until 1981 when the renowned and controversial automaker, John Z. DeLorean, purchased the rambling Somerset County acreage for a reported $3.5 million, around $11.9 million (£9.8m) in today's money. DeLorean, whose winged-door car design was made famous by the 80s blockbuster film, Back To The Future, lived in the estate’s Georgian-style red brick manor house, the current clubhouse, until 2000. 

Here, the DeLorean is pictured back at Bedminster in 2015, as shared by the club's Instagram. Unfortunately, a supposed ‘entrapment’ case with the FBI over a $24 million (£19.8m) drugs deal, following economic troubles in his business, rendered DeLorean and his motor company bankrupt. Despite being acquitted, he sold the estate at a bankruptcy auction in 2000 for a reported $15 million (£12.4m) to a course developer. Donald Trump then snapped up the Bedminster estate in 2002. 

Under the Trump National Golf Club brand, Bedminster was transformed into a luxury member's club – it opened in 2004, just in time for that year's Fourth of July celebrations. Trump's multimillion-dollar renovation included the development of two 18-hole, world-renowned golf courses designed by renowned architects Tom Fazio and Tom Fazio II, which quickly gained the club recognition. The estate also boasts a 16-acre practice facility, an indoor golf learning centre and even equestrian facilities. 

According to Page Six, membership initiation fees for Trump National Golf Club Bedminster cost more than $350,000 (£288k), while annual fees are said to be between $14,000 (£11.5k) and $25,000 (£20.6k) reports the publication. However, membership comes with its perks. As well as world-class golf, members also have access to a heated swimming pool, eight tennis courts, a basketball court, a state-of-the-art fitness centre and even a helipad for flying visits.

Members can also rent one of three luxury cottages or 11 suites during their stay. According to Town & Country, the Trump family also owns personal cottages here. In 2015, Ivanka and Jared Kushner secured planning approval to expand their vacation cottage at the estate by 2,200 square feet. And in 2017, Trump himself received approval to add a 500-square-foot, two-storey balcony and porch onto a villa he uses on the property.

The estate holds a special place in Ivanka and Jared's hearts after they tied the knot within the grounds in 2009. The New York Times reported that the club was her something “borrowed”. Wedding and event designer Preston Bailey said Ivanka made his role easy. “She’s a lady that is very clear in her direction.” Bailey also designed the Mar-a-Lago weddings of Melania and Donald Trump, and Eric Trump and Lara Yunaska. He said the whole family has a preference for “gold and white with French influence", and that Trump himself was hands-on for every event.

It's clear that no expense had been spared on the club's outfitting. State-of-the-art men's and women’s locker rooms await near the Bedminster clubhouse, kitted out with plush carpeting, intricate panelled ceilings and gold-framed portraits on the walls. Floor-to-ceiling windows provide views out across the golf course itself and the separate 'village', where the swimming pool and fitness centre are located.

The exclusive men's locker room bar lounge sits within the main clubhouse, boasting rolling views across the estate through its floor-to-ceiling windows. Plush leather Chesterfield sofas and armchairs adorn the richly patterned carpet, while one of many terraces offers space for alfresco dining. From holiday parties to soirées, membership includes access to numerous club events. 

Decorated in a traditional style, it's not just a corporate venture for Donald Trump – he's also used Bedminster for presidential business. Just two weeks after his election win in November 2016, according to The Independent, he invited the club's wealthiest members to help him interview candidates for positions in his administration.

Unsurprisingly, Donald Trump’s stays at his luxurious golf retreat have not been without controversy. Records released in July 2021 indicate Donald Trump charged the Secret Service nearly $10,200 (£8.4k) for its use of guest rooms at his New Jersey golf club in May 2021 for an 18-day stay – that’s about $566 (£466) per night at the resort. The Secret Service also released documents including a “hotel request” form that covered the period from 28 May to 1 July 2021, as well as bills indicating $3,400 (£2.8k) worth of resort charges for January, February and early May 2021. The agency did not disclose the reason behind those charges, which were placed before Trump’s arrival. 

Yet more contention followed after the Capitol riots in January 2021. In the wake of the attack carried out by the then-president's supporters, Trump was suspended from his social media accounts over public safety concerns. Shown here at a press conference at the estate in 2021, Trump announced a class action lawsuit against big tech companies in defiance of his suspension from the platforms. In February 2022, Trump utilised his entrepreneurial aptitude to launch his own social media app, named Truth Social. Following Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter, now rebranded as X, Trump's account was reinstated. Mark Zuckerberg also ended the suspension of Trump's Facebook account in early 2023. The former president has since been indicted over his alleged involvement with the attacks on the Capitol building.

But the 2021 riots had an even costlier fallout for Trump's empire. After the attack, the PGA stripped Bedminster of its role as host of the 2022 championship tournament. The organisation tweeted at the time: “Our feeling was given the tragic events of Wednesday that we could no longer hold it at Bedminster,” PGA CEO Seth Waugh told the Associated Press. “The damage could have been irreparable. The only real course of action was to leave.” 

The club was at the centre of further controversy after it hosted LIV Golf's third-ever tournament event in July 2022, according to the Daily Mail. The tour was backed by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, which is the financial arm of the Saudi Arabian government that has been linked to several human rights atrocities. The former president is shown here shaking hands with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office of the White House in 2018.

Perhaps thanks to hosting the controversial event, Trump averted financial disaster for the club, which had been struggling even before the pandemic. After bringing in just $17.7 million (£14.6m) in 2020 and $15.7 million (£12.9m) in 2018, Bedminster was Trump's third top-earning golf course in 2022 and up to April 2023, bringing in a massive $46.2 million (£38m) in golf-related earnings. After causing a damaging rift in the sport, LIV announced a shock merger with the PGA in June 2023 – something sports-savvy Trump predicted back in 2022. "All of those golfers that remain 'loyal' to the very disloyal PGA, in all of its different forms, will pay a big price when the inevitable MERGER with LIV comes...", Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

Donald Trump has always found ways to cut his business costs, but the lucrative tax break he receives for Bedminster is especially inventive. Tax records dating back to 2017 show that Trump's golf club is split in two for tax purposes: the 244-acre golf course, and the goat-tended, 119-acre farm. Business Insider reported Trump paid just $700 (£576) in property taxes in 2020 for the farm portion of his golf club as it's officially registered as a working farm. In contrast, according to tax records shared by Insider, he paid around $400,000 (£329k) in taxes for the golf course, which is about double the size of the farmland. 

According to Business Insider, if the farm were taxed on par with the golf course, he'd be looking at paying approximately $199,000 (£164k) more per year. That's a hefty discount. Initially meant to help farmers, the New Jersey Farmland Assessment tax break is granted to landowners who dedicate at least five acres to farm-related activity and "meet specific minimum income requirements based on the productivity of the land". In 2019, HuffPost reported that Trump owns eight goats and farms 113 acres of hay at his golf estate, enabling him to receive the discount.

The Wall Street Journal reported back in 2016 that the club "has been the home for goats, under the care and supervision of the course-and-grounds department", and that they "are continually moved around the property for the removal of invasive, non-native vegetation". According to HuffPost, the farm exemption is, however, "a relatively common tax break sought by businesses and landowners in exurban areas". And he's not the only celeb to take advantage of it, Forbes reported in 2016 that Tom Cruise and other Hollywood stars have capitalised on similar loopholes in Colorado. 

Donald Trump's ex-wife, Ivana, tragically died on 14 July 2022 at the age of 73 after a fall at her Manhattan townhouse. While family and friends mourned her sudden passing, plans were set in place to bury the Czech-American businesswoman and competitive skier at Bedminster – 58 miles from her New York home. The decision stirred controversy and insinuations that the move may offer profitable tax breaks for the property. 

According to the Daily Mail, Ivana's final resting place is located near the first hole of the golf club. She is the first person to be buried on the estate, igniting rumours that the grave's location may benefit Donald Trump’s finances. Brooke Harrington, a Professor of Sociology at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, revealed that the decision was a lucrative one according to the New Jersey tax code: "..it’s a trifecta of tax avoidance. Property, income & sales tax, all eliminated,” she declared.

Documents published by ProPublica show how the Trump family trust once sought to designate a property nearby in Hackettstown, New Jersey, as a non-profit cemetery company. According to Insider, cemetery companies are not only exempt from real estate taxes, rates and assessments or personal property taxes, but also from business taxes, sales taxes, income taxes and inheritance taxes.

According to the New York Times, the Trump Organization handled Ivana's funeral arrangements. The service was held in Manhattan, New York, where the millionaire lived, on 20 July 2022, begging the question of why a New York resident would wish to be buried in New Jersey on her ex-husband’s golf course. The Trump matriarch now has “little more than a pauper’s grave” as described by Harrington, with Ivana's resting place marked by a basic wreath of white flowers and a simple engraved granite stone according to The Guardian.

In a further twist, a representative of the Trump Organization reportedly said in 2013 that Trump wanted the club to be his final resting place. According to Politico, Trump told local officials that he “appreciates the Bedminster ethic.” But after the club finally won the approval to construct a Trump family cemetery in 2015, the Trump Organization reportedly told the city’s Land Use Board that he may plump for Florida instead.

In September 2022, a contentious legal storm landed at the doors of Bedminster. New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump, the Trump Organization, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump for financial fraud. The civil action accused Trump of overvaluing his net worth by billions to secure tax benefits and favourable loan conditions, and Bedminster was one of the 20 properties listed in the complaint. The lawsuit requests $250 million (£206m) in penalties, along with a lifetime ban on running businesses in New York. Ivanka was excused from the suit in June 2023. 

Specifically, the lawsuit questions the consistency of the methods used to measure the market value of Trump's golf courses, including Bedminster. In some instances, contrary to typical industry practices, fixed assets were used to calculate the worth of his golf clubs, a metric that doesn't take into account any depreciation. However, in correspondence with the IRS regarding Bedminster, Trump's attorney argued that an income-based approach more accurately reflected the club's value.

On 25 September 2023, a New York judge found Trump and his adult sons liable for fraud in a pre-trial judgment and accused him of living in "a fantasy world." The trial, which began on 2 October, will decide the fate of Trump's New York real estate business in light of the ruling. Shockingly, evidence submitted during the trial revealed that Trump valued his collection of golf clubs and resorts at a whopping $2 billion (£1.6bn) in dealings with his go-to lender, Deutsche Bank. While the bank believed a more realistic value was $1.2 billion (£988m), their actual worth may be closer to $700 million (£576m), according to more than a dozen industry experts consulted by Forbes. 

According to testimony from a Trump Organization executive, one "unique" idea for revaluing Trump properties was to add a "premium for presidential property." Any estimated value of Bedminster was to be assigned a "15% premium for presidential summer residence", while the same would be applied to Mar-a-Lago for being the presidential winter residence. A total of nine new valuations would have added more than $144 million (£118.8m) to Trump's estimated wealth, but the idea was ultimately scrapped.

In October 2022, a scandal emerged from Trump's New Jersey estate that read stranger than fiction. According to an investigation by the news organisation ProPublica in October 2022, a Chinese con man and convicted fraudster infiltrated the golf club in July and September 2018 to enjoy two casual meetings with Donald Trump, pictured here at a different government meeting at Bedminster during his time as president. ProPublica describes Tao Liu as a social climber who had a "fervent goal of meeting Trump". He even went so far as to reportedly rent a $6,000-a-month (£4,900) apartment in Trump Tower in order to curry favour with the former president. 

Both meetings are corroborated by images obtained by ProPublica and the first is thought to have taken place in the estate's ballroom (pictured), replete with sandwiches and soft drinks. It's not clear what was discussed, but Joseph Cinque, a Trump associate who reportedly introduced Liu to the president, was present for at least one of the encounters. Speaking retrospectively to ProPublica, he claimed he too was duped by Liu and labelled him a "professional con man", a summation the US Department of Justice also agreed with.

This image, from an Instagram account ProPublica identified as belonging to Tao Liu, shows him attending a Trump rally in 2018 wearing a VIP pass. In August 2021, Liu was sentenced to seven years in prison in the US for his part in a $30 million (£24.7m) money laundering scheme that extended back to 2008. He pleaded guilty to the charges. As part of the operation, Liu tried to bribe an undercover agent to obtain fraudulent US passports and handled drug money for his co-conspirator. However, ProPublica says overseas news outlets identified him as the mastermind of a fraudulent scheme three years before the Bedminster meetings, which begs the question: how did he manage to get an audience with the then-president? 

At the time of the Trump meetings, ProPublica states that Liu was being watched by the FBI, who were suspicious that he was colluding with Chinese spies in an operation to buy access to major US political figures. It seems even more incredible then, that someone on an FBI watchlist could get so close to the former leader of the free world and seemingly evade Trump's entourage of security. However, at least one of the meetings reportedly occurred when Trump had no official business, which meant Liu could avoid stringent background screenings. A Secret Service official said that they don't keep track of every individual involved in "off-the-record movements". There is no suggestion that Donald Trump was aware of Liu's criminal past. 

The controversy doesn't end there. In August 2022, Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate was the subject of an FBI raid, where over 10,000 government documents were discovered. He was officially indicted by a federal grand jury on 8 June and currently faces 40 counts relating to the mishandling of top-secret files at Mar-a-Lago. Video footage from 2021 resurfaced that suggests sensitive documents could have been transported to Bedminster during Trump's time in office too. The video, taken by a photo agency for the Daily Mail, shows up to nine boxes being loaded onto a private jet in Palm Beach, Florida before the then-President departed for Bedminster, New Jersey.

Pictured here is Trump's former Director of Oval Office Operations disembarking Air Force One at Bedminster back in 2018. The significance of the 2021 footage was emphasised by former FBI agent Peter Strzok on Twitter, who was part of the Mueller investigation into Russian interference within the Trump administration. He explained that the National Archives and Records Administration contacted the Trump team on 6 May 2021 to inform them that sensitive documents appeared to be missing and could be at Mar-a-Lago. Then just three days later, on 9 May, Trump was filmed boarding a private plane to Bedminster, along with "dozens of file boxes carried by aids", according to the agency that filmed the footage. During the raid on Trump's Palm Beach home, the FBI uncovered 90 empty folders that once held extremely sensitive information. 

Shockingly, evidence in the indictment includes a July 2021 recording of Trump discussing what he labelled a "highly confidential" Pentagon document containing "secret" military plans to attack Iran. "This is secret information," he's heard to say on the tape. "This was done by the military and given to me." Prosecutors believe Trump "showed and described" the document to a meeting at Bedminster, which included two of his staffers, as well as a writer and publisher who were there to interview Trump for the memoir of his chief of staff, Mark Meadows (pictured here with Trump in July 2020).

None of the people present at the meeting with Trump had security clearance to see what prosecutors describe as a "presentation concerning military activity in a foreign country." Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has insisted that the 'plans' referred to on the tape were in fact "newspaper stories, magazine stories and articles." On a separate occasion, he told reporters he was referring to "plans for a golf course" and "building plans," while on another he claimed it was "bravado."

Despite his massive $2.6 billion (£2.1bn) fortune, Donald Trump doesn't shy away from asking his supporters for help with his finances. Following his 14 June arraignment hearing in Miami, where he pleaded not guilty to criminal charges that he illegally retained national security records, the former president held a fundraiser at Bedminster with his top donors. Trump's supporters stumped up a whopping $2.1 million (£1.7m) at the event, according to Fox News. It was reported that Trump made a speech at the club, before offering photo ops, after which wealthy donors bought $100,000 (£82.5k) private candlelit dinners with their beleaguered hero. In the six days between the news of Trump's indictment breaking on 8 June and his arraignment on 14 June, the Trump presidential campaign revealed it hauled in over $6.6 million (£5.4m), largely from grassroots digital fundraising.

Despite the scandal swirling around Bedminster, the accusation that may wound Trump the most is that he cheats at golf. In August 2023, the former president boasted on Truth Social that he won the Senior Club Championship at Bedminster, shooting a round of 67 – eight strokes lower (ie. better) than legendary golfer Phil Michelson finished two weeks earlier. "Some people will think that sounds low, but there is no hanky/lanky [sic],” he wrote. “Many people watch, plus I am surrounded by Secret Service Agents. Not much you can do even if you wanted to, and I don’t. For some reason, I am just a good golfer/athlete..." 

However, Rick Reilly, author of Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump, quotes sources who claim the 45th president “regularly mov[ed] his golf balls out of difficult lies” among other sins. Former pro boxer Oscar De La Hoya has said he saw Trump cheat twice in the space of two holes when he played him at Trump National Golf Club in LA in 2014. “Yes, I caught him,” De La Hoya said. “It was unbelievable. But I guess it was his course, so it was his rules.”

Love this? Like and follow us on Facebook for more on the secrets of Trump's real estate empire