In 2022, when Ivana Trump, Donald Trump’s first wife, was laid to rest, it was the burial site rather than the tributes that drew the most attention. Her final resting place? Not a family plot or a public cemetery, but near the first hole of Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
The choice immediately sparked speculation, and not just because burying someone on a golf course is, well, unconventional. Rumours quickly took off online, ranging from allegations of tax avoidance to wild conspiracy theories linking her burial to Trump’s mounting legal troubles.
After the FBI’s raid on Mar-a-Lago to recover classified documents, #ResistanceTwitter went into overdrive. Some online figures, including political commentator Jon Cooper and actor Nancy Lee Grahn, openly suggested that Ivana’s casket might be hiding something more than remains, namely classified documents. These claims had no evidence to back them, but in the heat of political drama, they gained traction.
ALSO READ: US Army Base Shooting: Five Soldiers Shot At Fort Stewart, Georgia; Suspect Arrested | Video
Cooper tweeted on August 9, 2022: “Seriously, is anyone wondering, just a bit, what other stuff may be buried inside Ivana’s casket …?” Grahn, in a more biting tone, even suggested the FBI “dig up Ivana” to check. While such remarks drew attention, they were dismissed as speculative and disrespectful by many.
Tax Loophole Theory
A more grounded, though still controversial, theory involves New Jersey’s tax laws. Under state code, land designated for cemetery purposes is exempt from property, sales, income, and inheritance taxes. The Instagram account “Awareness Of Success” reignited this debate, claiming Ivana’s burial could be part of a strategic financial move rather than purely a personal or sentimental decision.
Investigative outlet ProPublica has previously reported that the Trump Family Trust explored converting other New Jersey properties into nonprofit cemetery businesses. In fact, Trump’s burial plans for Bedminster have shifted over the years, from a personal mausoleum to a large public cemetery of over 1,000 graves, to a smaller family plot of 10 graves in 2017, and later, a proposed 284-grave commercial cemetery.
If Bedminster qualifies as a cemetery, parts of the property could be shielded from certain taxes indefinitely. Whether Ivana’s burial was the first step in such a plan remains speculative, but the timing and location have kept the theory alive.
ALSO READ: What Is Legionnaires’ Disease? NYC Reports 2 Deaths And Dozens Sick In Harlem Cluster
Quiet Resting Place
Ivana Trump died at 73 after an accidental fall at her Manhattan home. Her grave at Bedminster is surprisingly modest, a plain headstone near the first tee, without a monument, fence, or elaborate landscaping. She remains the only person buried there.
Whether this choice was born of sentimentality, symbolism, or strategy is something only the Trump family truly knows. But in typical Trump fashion, the burial has ensured that Ivana’s name and the golf course, remain in the public conversation.