Donald Trump Got $17 Million Insurance Payout for Damage Few Recall
Donald Trump said he received a $17 million insurance payment in 2005 for hurricane damage to Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach, but The Associated Press found little evidence of such large-scale damage.
Two years after a series of storms, the real estate tycoon said he didn't know how much had been spent on repairs but acknowledged he pocketed some of the money.
Trump transferred funds into his personal accounts, saying that under the terms of his policy, "you didn't have to reinvest it."
In an interview about the estate's history, Trump's longtime former butler, Anthony Senecal, recalled no catastrophic damage.
He said Hurricane Wilma, the last of a string of storms that barreled through in 2004 and 2005, flattened trees behind Mar-a-Lago, but the house itself only lost some roof tiles.