From the Wall Street Journal, June 24:
An unidentified buyer or group of buyers is assembling one of the priciest estates in the country
In Palm Beach, Fla., just north of President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, an intriguing real-estate mystery is unfolding. The components? A swath of prime oceanfront, a rock ’n’ roll legend, a cosmetics titan and a lawyer with ties to one of the world’s richest men.
An unidentified buyer or group of buyers has been quietly assembling one of the most valuable private estates in the country. So far, the buyer has paid roughly $250 million for four separate properties, and is pushing for more, according to people familiar with the situation.
The roughly 3-acre assemblage, on exclusive North Ocean Boulevard, could pave the way for the creation of one of South Florida’s most impressive homes, rivaling those of billionaires like Ken Griffin and Jeff Bezos. The local markets in Palm Beach and Miami have been on an unprecedented upswing since 2020, logging record deal after record deal.
The properties include two oceanfront lots previously owned by billionaire cosmetics heir William Lauder. Lauder, who had initially planned to keep the properties for personal use before changing his mind, listed the parcels for a combined $200 million in 2023. In total, the parcels span about 2.8 acres with 360 feet of direct beach frontage.
The properties sold in February 2025. The deal wasn’t recorded in public records so the exact price isn’t known, but it came close to Lauder’s asking price, according to one of the people. The buyer’s agent, Ryan Serhant of Serhant, declined to identify his client.
In early June, the same deep-pocketed buyer paid $18 million for the Mediterranean-style house across the street. The sellers of the home, retired attorney Thomas Harvey and media executive Cathleen Black, had purchased it for $4.15 million in 2018, property records show. In an email, Harvey said he doesn’t know the true identity of the buyer, who made an unsolicited offer for his house.
Then, earlier this week, the property next to the former Harvey house sold for $30 million to a limited liability company tied to the same buyer. The approximately half-acre property, with a roughly 5,800-square-foot house on it, had last sold for around $5.25 million in 2017. The seller of that property, a trust, didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The prices paid for the two houses are significantly higher than their market values, according to local real-estate agents.
The mystery buyer has run into some resistance, however, in the form of the rock star Jon Bon Jovi. The “Livin’ on a Prayer” singer, who lives next door to the former Lauder property, has resisted overtures to sell his property, according to people familiar with the situation. Bon Jovi paid $43 million for his house in 2020, records show. His spokesperson declined to comment on the identity of the would-be buyer....
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