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Jan 21 17 tweets 5 min read Read on X
Mar-a-Lago in 1985:

A 126-room mansion nobody wanted.

Then, Donald Trump bought it for $7M.

It hemorrhaged money for years... Until Trump had a genius idea that transformed it into a $40M a year cash cow.

Here's the full story🧵 Image
Mar-a-Lago wasn't just any property.

Built in the 1920s by cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, it was designated as a National Historic Landmark.

The name means "Sea to Lake" in Spanish - reflecting its unique location.

Here's where it gets interesting:
When Post died, she willed the estate to the US government.

But they returned it to her foundation. The maintenance costs were too high.

For years, the property sat empty. No one wanted to take on the financial burden.

Until Trump came along...
In 1985, Trump saw an opportunity others missed. But his initial bid for Mar-a-Lago was denied.

So, he strategically bought land between Mar-a-Lago and the ocean for $2M, causing competing interest to decline.

Result? Image
He nabbed the 126-room mansion for just $7M. But he soon realized why others stayed away.

The property was hemorrhaging money...
Due to its historical significance, there were preservation requirements.

Plus:

• High-end amenities to maintain
• Extensive renovations needed
• Massive operational costs

For years, it seemed like a massive mistake... Image
Then Trump had an idea that would change everything:

Instead of keeping it as a private residence, he'd turn it into an exclusive private club.

But not just any club...

He'd make it the most prestigious club in Palm Beach.
The transformation began in 1994:

• Five clay tennis courts
• Trump Spa and Salon
• Luxury guest suites
• Beach Club access
• Waterfront pool

But the real genius was in the membership structure:
Trump created artificial scarcity.

He capped membership at 500 people with an initiation fee of $25,000.

The wealthy elite of Palm Beach were practically begging to join.

By 2014?
It was generating $15.6M annually.

The property that was once bleeding money became a cash cow.

And today? It makes over $40M a year.

Having a Mar-a-Lago membership meant you were "somebody."

This is where it gets interesting...
The member list reads like a Who's Who:

• Billionaire William I. Koch
• Finance mogul Thomas Peterffy
• Real estate titan Richard LeFrak
• Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy

Trump wasn't just selling access. He was selling status. Image
That's why I love this story so much:

Trump took a product and turned it into a story people wanted to be a part of.

And we've spent the past 2 years developing a way for founders to do the same thing...
You see, people today don't buy from companies. They buy from people. From stories.

They don't trust the swathes of AI-generated content & corporate BS anymore.

Think about it:

Elon Musk. Logan Paul. The Kardashians...
They're businesses dependent on the stories of PEOPLE. And the best way to create this same effect?

The same thing Trump's been doing all his life:

Cultivate a personal brand. It's an asset that'll pay dividends for life...
When you build a strong personal brand, you create your own Mar-a-Lago effect:

• Customers seek YOU out
• Investors want to back YOU
• Top talent wants to work with YOU

All while you sleep.

Ready to get started?
Founders: We’ll build your personal/company brand on 𝕏 (and beyond) without you lifting a finger.

To date, we've already helped 100+ founders get 3+ Billion combined views.

Interested in how we can do this for you? Book your free discovery call here: form.typeform.com/to/JWuXNkxQ?ut…
Thanks for reading! A bit about me:

2 years ago, I cofounded @ThoughtleadrX — a premium personal branding agency for world-class founders, executives, and investors looking to dominate socials.

If you enjoyed this, hit "follow" for more breakdowns! Image

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More from @timthoughtleadr

Jul 28
When Michael Burry warned of a housing collapse in 2005…

No one listened.

But when the '08 bubble burst wiped out $17+ Trillion...

No one was laughing.

Here’s why his latest $1.6 BILLION bet has Wall Street listening: Image
Burry isn't your typical Wall Street prophet making vague predictions.

He's the hedge fund manager who turned $750 million in profits from the 2008 crash.

While others lost everything, his investors gained 489%.

Now he's betting against the market again...
His fund, Scion Asset Management, quietly built massive positions in 2023.

The same meticulous analysis that spotted the housing bubble.

The same contrarian approach that made him a legend.

This time, the target was different... Image
Read 17 tweets
Jul 27
In 2022 alone, Taylor Swift made $1.1 Billion WITHOUT a record deal.

She didn’t drop a new album. She didn’t tour. She didn't do commercials.

Her secret?

ONE genius move I can’t believe the music industry let happen: Image
Most artists accept defeat when they lose their masters. Not Taylor.

In 2019, her life's work was sold for $300 million without her consent.

6 albums gone to Scooter Braun, then flipped to Shamrock Capital.

Everyone thought she'd lost.

They had no idea what was coming...
While buyers celebrated their "victory," Taylor studied her contracts.

Buried deep in the legal language was a ticking time bomb.
After a set period, she could re-record everything.

The buyers owned the originals.

But they couldn't stop what happened next: Image
Read 17 tweets
Jul 23
In 2014, this guy sold Twitch to Amazon for $1 Billion...

Then vanished overnight.

Today, Twitch is worth $46+ BILLION and has 240+ million users.

Here's why he walked away (before realizing what he had): 🧵 Image
Justin Kan wasn't your typical Silicon Valley founder.

He started by streaming his entire life online 24/7.

People called him crazy.

But that "crazy" experiment became , which evolved into something nobody expected... Justin.tv
While everyone else chased social networks, Kan saw something different.

Gamers were desperate for a platform to share their gameplay.

Traditional sites couldn't handle live streaming at scale.

So Kan pivoted to focus solely on gaming: Justin.tv
Read 17 tweets
Jul 21
Scale AI's CEO never finished college.

Instead, he read ONE Stanford textbook—and built a $14 BILLION company at 23.

How? A learning method so powerful, it’s now taught in colleges.

Here's his genius framework for learning anything fast: 🧵 Image
While his MIT classmates sat through 4-year programs,

Alexandr Wang lasted exactly one year.

Not because he failed.

Because he spotted something everyone else missed.

The real AI revolution wasn't happening in classrooms...
Wang grew up in Los Alamos, New Mexico.

His parents were physicists.

By 17, he was excelling in national math and computing competitions.

He taught himself to code as a teenager.

When he got to MIT, he realized the pace was too slow...
Read 19 tweets
Jul 20
At 23, Daniel Ek built Spotify in a tiny flat in Sweden.

By 27, it was worth $1 Billion.

Then, Tim Cook and Apple CRUSHED it with one brutal move.

What happened next sparked the biggest war in music history.

Here’s the wild story: 🧵 Image
Back in the mid-2000s, the music industry was struggling.

Piracy was rampant. CD sales were plummeting.

Record labels were suing their own customers.

That's when a 23-year-old Swedish coder saw an opportunity everyone else missed:
Daniel Ek believed music should be like water.

Turn on the tap, and it flows instantly. No downloading. No waiting.

Just pure, instant access to every song ever recorded.

But the entire industry had a different reaction... Image
Read 17 tweets
Jul 19
When Apple was dying in '97, Steve Jobs begged Bill Gates for money.

Everyone thought it was out of desperation.

But this “act of humility” was actually the most ruthless business move
in history.

Here's the attack Gates never saw coming: 🧵 Image
When Apple was dying in '97, Steve Jobs begged Bill Gates for money.

Everyone thought it was out of desperation.

But this "act of humility" was actually the most ruthless business move in history.

Here's the move Gates never saw coming:
First, some context.

Apple was weeks from bankruptcy. They'd lost over $1 billion in a single year.

Developer support was vanishing. Product lines were a disaster.

The tech press was already writing Apple's obituary.

But Jobs had other plans... Image
Read 17 tweets

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