Laurence Leamer

Like everything the Donald does, the conversion of the historic Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach into a private club in 1995 was thick with controversy, with Trump himself often playing the bad guy. In the first few years, there was scheming, sex, and decadence, the perfect storm for a great story about the 1 percent. The latest issue of Vanity Fair features an essay by Laurence Leamer, author of Mar-a-Lago: Inside the Gates of Power at Trump's Presidential Palace. Here are the juiciest tidbits from the story: