Elon Musk’s Maybe-Club and Bret Baier’s $25 Million Mansion Sale Are Fueling the Hamptons-ification of DC

Now that a second Donald Trump presidency has dawned, the rich and wannabe-famous have realized that DC might just be the place to be, if they’re hoping to get The Donald’s ear and champion their causes over the next four years. The problem is, they all have to sleep somewhere.

Due to the mega-MAGA influx of new personnel and those who want to influence them hitting the area, there’s high demand for high-end real estate, the New York Times reports. “We’ve really been overwhelmed by the wealth factor that has come to Washington since the election,” TTR Sotheby’s International Realty executive vice president Jim Bell told the Times, noting that some agents have taken to cold-calling past clients with homes that might fit the bill and asking them to name their price.

Jonathan Taylor, a founder and managing partner at the same firm, told the paper that “there are a lot of very wealthy people looking for a seat at the table.”

Carlyle Group founder David Rubenstein, founder of the private equity firm the Carlyle Group, pointed out that housing in the government town is more affordable than in other meccas for the uber-rich. “If you want to buy a home in New York or Southampton, a really good house, it could cost $100 million to $150 million,” he told the Times. “You can’t spend $25 million in Washington even if you try.”

Chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald turned Commerce Secretary pick Howard Lutnick, however, did try—and succeeded. Lutnick recently closed on a new home, paying $25 million for a mansion previously owned by Fox News anchor Bret Baier. The 16,250-square-foot estate was inspired by a French Chateau and features a 56-foot heated pool and its own putting green, among other amenities. Baier initially listed the home at $31.9 million in October 2023, but even coming down from the sticker price, the all-cash transaction set a new record for the most expensive real estate transaction in DC’s history.

Sotheby’s agent Daniel Heider, who represented the listing, told the Washingtonian, “I’m currently in the midst of selling more real estate than I’ve ever sold in a short period in my career. It’s not a Trump bump. It’s a Trump surge.”

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos got in the door early and snapped up real estate during Trump’s first term. Bezos bought the 27,000-square-foot space formerly housing the Textile Museum for $23 million in 2016. Rumor has it that Elon Musk is eyeing DC property himself, with Eater DC reporting that he’s mulling a bid on the 220-room Line Hotel to create a private club, a little Musk-a-Lago. The property goes to public auction on Thursday. (A spokesperson for Musk did not respond to the Times or VF.)

So, what to do if you have a nice place, no strong need to be in DC specifically, and are disgusted by the new guys in town, who aren’t even bothering to deny whether they were throwing up Nazi salutes while installing a new president?

Consider throwing a little gold paint on it, taking the buyout, and getting the hell out while you still can. Another upside: You won’t have to witness whatever the eyeball-burning hell Melania decides to do with the Christmas trees this time around.