The Trump owned Mar-a-Lago resort, which the president himself has called the ‘Winter White House’ doubled its initiation fee to US $200,000 following Donald’s Trump election as president, it was reported Wednesday.

CNBC reported that the increase took effect January 1.
Bernd Lembcke, the managing director at the Palm Beach, Florida club, said the change in the initiation fee had been planned last fall, before the election. The fee had been $100,000 since 2010, when it was cut from $200,000 reportedly because of the recession.
However, people close to the resort said the reduction came following a decline in memberships after the Bernie Madoff scandal, which claimed many wealthy Palm Beach victims.
On top of the initiation fee, members pay $14,000 a year in dues and have to spend at least $2,000 a year on food.
Lembcke said that the increase also reflected the upswing in Mar-a-Lago’s popularity.
“We have had a sudden surge in requests,” he said, adding that, new members must be recommended by someone who is already a member, as is the case at many private clubs.
Of the impact on membership of Trump’s presidency, Lembcke said, “It enhances it.”
Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, a nonprofit group that promotes government ethics, said the move showed that Trump and his family intended to profit from his status as president.
“At the minimum, this creates the appearance of cashing in the presidency and selling direct personal access to the president,” he said. “It is unacceptable. And it demeans the office of the presidency.”