Presidents' homes after they left the White House
Where the former leaders of the free world ended up

When Donald Trump's one-term stint in office was brought to an end in January, many of us were left wondering, what does life after the White House look like for a former president? With this in mind, we delve inside Trump's palatial retirement pad and reveal where nine previous commanders-in-chief ended up after they vacated the iconic executive mansion. Click or scroll on to find out more...
Woodrow Wilson's DC townhouse

Woodrow Wilson's DC townhouse

Woodrow Wilson's DC townhouse

Wilson added shelves in the library to accommodate his huge book collection, and the house was fitted with all the mod cons, from a dumb waiter to a solarium. Many of the prized objects inside the perfectly preserved property were gifts given to the president during his First World War 'victory tour' of Europe. Intriguingly, the house is said to be a hotbed of paranormal activity. Over the years, staff and visitors alike have reported seeing the president's ghost and hearing the sound of a man sobbing.
Woodrow Wilson's DC townhouse

Dwight D. Eisenhower's Pennsylvania farmhouse

Dwight D. Eisenhower's Pennsylvania farmhouse

Dwight D. Eisenhower's Pennsylvania farmhouse

The living room is pictured here decked out for Christmas in all its festive glory. Mamie was especially fond of the holiday season and some of her prized decorations have survived. The standout features of the room include the large portrait of the former FLOTUS by Thomas E. Stephens and the Italian marble mantel salvaged from the 1873 restoration of the White House.
Dwight D. Eisenhower's Pennsylvania farmhouse

Lyndon B. Johnson's Texas ranch

Having been at the helm since the assassination of John F. Kennedy on 22 November 1963, the 36th president, Lyndon B. Johnson, left office on 20 January 1969. His time in office saw him sign the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law, as well as escalate America's involvement in the Vietnam War. Johnson and his wife Claudia, known as Lady Bird, made a beeline for the 'Texas White House', the ranch in Stonewall they'd bought from the president's aunt in 1951. The couple are pictured here with their daughters Lynda and Luci.
Lyndon B. Johnson's Texas ranch

Lyndon B. Johnson's Texas ranch

Along with the other key rooms in the house, the president's bedroom has been restored to its original 1960s appearance. It was here the former world leader died on 22 January 1973 after suffering a major heart attack. Lady Bird continued to live at the ranch part-time until her death in 2007. She was buried next to her husband in the private Johnson family cemetery, just a few yards away from the house.
Lyndon B. Johnson's Texas ranch

Following Lady Bird's passing, the ranch house, which was the first post-presidential pad to have a pool, was absorbed into the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park, which includes the former president's reconstructed childhood home and first school. Sadly, the Texas White House has been closed to the public since 2018 due to structural issues and isn't likely to reopen any time soon.
Richard Nixon's La Casa Pacifica

Richard Nixon's La Casa Pacifica

The White House initially claimed the president paid $340,000 (£281k) to downplay the home's true cost, which was only revealed following an investigation. After buying the nine-bedroom, 14-bathroom property, Nixon made it secret service-ready, installed a wall for extra security and replaced the tennis court with a swimming pool.
Richard Nixon's La Casa Pacifica

Richard Nixon's La Casa Pacifica

Nixon penned his memoirs in the house, most probably in this very office. In 1980, the former POTUS decided to move to New York, swapping La Casa Pacifica for a swish red brick and stone townhouse in Manhattan's Upper East Side. The mansion was sold to his friend, Gavin Herbert, co-founder of pharmaceutical company Allergan, who has been struggling to sell it since 2015, even after knocking millions off the asking price.
Ronald Reagan's Bel Air retreat

After two eventful terms that saw the fall of Communism and everything from the Iran-Contra affair to massive financial deregulation, Ronald Reagan exited the White House with his wife Nancy on 20 January 1989 for the final time. They moved into their three-bedroom, six-bathroom home in Bel Air, LA's prestigious property hotspot – here the couple are shown at the house in 2002.
Ronald Reagan's Bel Air retreat

Ronald Reagan's Bel Air retreat

Ronald Reagan's Bel Air retreat

The library was packed with leather-bound tomes and decorated with various gifts the former president and first lady had been given on their travels around the world. The comfy sofa was studded with plush cushions, including the monogrammed beauty seen in the left of this photograph, which Reagan received as a 70th birthday present in 1981. It sold at the Christie's auction for a cool $25,000 (£20.7k).
George H. W. Bush's Maine compound

George H. W. Bush's Maine compound

George H. W. Bush's Maine compound

George H. W. Bush's Maine compound

Bill Clinton's New York Dutch Colonial

Bill Clinton's New York Dutch Colonial

The three-storey rural clapboard home dates from 1889 and has five bedrooms and four bathrooms. There's also a barn conversion on the estate that reportedly houses the former president and first lady's secret service security detail, plus a pool nestled in the grounds.
Bill Clinton's New York Dutch Colonial

The Clintons treated Oprah to a tour of the 5,300-square-foot farmhouse back in 2004. This living room, which looks out over the garden, is tastefully decorated. The floral sofa contrasts with checked and plain armchairs arranged around a coffee table, which is covered in books and ornaments.
Bill Clinton's New York Dutch Colonial

George W. Bush's Prairie Chapel Ranch

George W. Bush's two-term presidency, which was overshadowed by the 9/11 attacks and the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars, finished on 20 January 2009. The former leader of the free world and first lady Laura had bought a four-bedroom, four-and-a-half bathroom mansion in Preston Hollow, Dallas, but chose instead to move to their weekend and summer home, Prairie Chapel Ranch, in Texas' rural McLennan County.
George W. Bush's Prairie Chapel Ranch

The couple bought the 1,583-acre lot in 1999 for an estimated $1.3 million (£1.1k) and hired Austin architect David Heymann to create the eco-friendly single-level ranch house of their dreams. They opted for a pared-down design for the contemporary property, which features three bedrooms and plenty of open-plan living space, along with a pool the ex-president refers to as “the whining pool” after his daughters repeatedly bugged him to install one.
George W. Bush's Prairie Chapel Ranch

George W. Bush's Prairie Chapel Ranch

Barack Obama's DC mansion

History-making Barack Obama, the nation's first African-American president, bid farewell to the executive office on 20 January 2017, following two terms during which he steered the country through economic recovery, reform of the healthcare system, and more. After leaving the White House, Obama, first lady Michelle and their daughters Malia and Sasha moved into a rented 8,200-square-foot mansion in the cool DC neighbourhood of Kalorama.
Barack Obama's DC mansion

Barack Obama's DC mansion

Barack Obama's DC mansion

Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate

When Donald Trump left office in January 2021, he relocated to his sumptuous Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, the so-called 'Winter White House', rather than his gilded penthouse apartment in Manhattan or country pile in Upstate New York. Trump announced that the Sunshine State property would be his family's permanent residence in 2019, after falling out with lawmakers in New York. A Manhattan jury has since found the Trump Organization guilty of multiple charges of criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records.
Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate

New York, where Trump was born, just isn't the welcoming place it once was for him so it's no surprise that the former president chose to steer clear of the largely Democratic state. Die-hard Republican Florida on the other hand voted for the real estate mogul and reality TV star in the last election, so Trump's Palm Beach estate was an obvious choice for their full-time home after the White House. He purchased the sprawling property for just $8 million (£6.6m) in 1985. The extravagant estate, which is home to a private member's club, has no end of glitzy amenities, from a 20,000-square-foot ballroom to a beauty salon and spa.
Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate

In preparation for their return, Donald and Melania renovated the palatial owner's suite, as well as remodelling an apartment for Melania's parents. However, the former president's new life in the sunshine state has been far from plain sailing. In August 2022, the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago following a subpoena demanding that the former president return any government records taken to the Florida estate. Over 100 classified documents were discovered in the search, including details of foreign missile programs and covert overseas intelligence work. The investigation is ongoing, however, that's not the only legal storm to land at the Palm Beach property...
Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate

In September 2022, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a civil lawsuit against Donald Trump and the Trump Organization alleging 'years of financial fraud' and the inflated valuations of 20 properties in his empire, including Mar-a-Lago. According to the indictment, the estate was valued at a staggering $739 million (£612m), based on unrestricted residential development rights, despite Trump signing those rights away. According to James, the club should've been valued at $75 million (£62m), a staggering alleged inflation of some $664 million (£550m). As he continues to make headlines, we have a feeling this isn't the last we'll hear about Trump's retirement retreat...
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