Two of the most expensive deals in U.S. residential real estate have taken place in Palm Beach, Fla.
On Tuesday, John Thornton, chairman of the Washington think tank Brookings Institution, paid $81.5 million to acquire the mansion of movie producer Sidney Kimmel. Mr. Thornton, a former president of Goldman Sachs, paid the full asking price, and the house spent less than a month on the market.
Also recently, Venezuelan banker Victor Vargas went into contract to buy the home of George Lindemann for about $70 million. Mr. Vargas, president of Banco Occidental de Descuento, owns a fleet of homes, including another in Palm Beach, along with jets and yachts. His bank has profited from Venezuela's oil-rich economy. Mr. Vargas couldn't be reached for comment. Both purchases were reported by the Palm Beach Daily News.
Mr. Lindemann -- a noted art collector who made a fortune in the contact-lens, media and natural-gas industries -- paid $13.1 million for the 3.7-acre property in 1997 and hired architect Peter Marino to design a 32,000-square-foot Polynesian-style mansion. In turn, Mr. Lindemann is paying close to $30 million for a larger property on the north end of the island. Broker Lawrence Moens represented Mr. Lindemann in both transactions.
As for the Thornton deal, seller Mr. Kimmel, now 80, paid $5.5 million in 1993 for the property's five oceanfront acres and spent five years building a 30,000-square-foot villa with massive retractable glass wall panels and a Murano glass-tiled outdoor pool.
Other recent transactions also suggest ongoing strength in the high-end Palm Beach market. The estate of the late dealmaker Howard Gittis sold for $22.45 million, just 4.5% under the $23.5 million it was listed for earlier this year. The 1950s house comes with 156 feet of frontage on the Intracoastal Waterway and a dock with an electric lift that can take a boat of up to 30 feet. (The associate of takeover specialist Ronald Perelman died in September.)
Another Palm Beach deal involves family property of fashion designer Vera Wang. That house, recently listed for $19 million, went to contract after only a month on the market. It has a pool and was designed by Palm Beach architect Addison Mizner. Ms. Wang has been selling off the real estate of her late father, entrepreneur Cheng Ching Wang, including properties in the Hamptons and Manhattan. She also bought a Park Avenue duplex from her father's estate for $23.1 million.
Corcoran Group's Paulette and Dana Koch represented the Kimmel and Gittis houses. Corcoran's Jim McCann and Geoffrey Thomas had the Wang listing.
