In Palm Beach , multimillion-dollar real estate is always a big deal.
But some deals are bigger than others. Take, for instance, the sale — recorded at $150 million — for private Tarpon Island and its mansion in May 2024.
As eye-popping as Tarpon Island’s sale price was, it still wasn’t the most expensive property ever sold in Palm Beach.
It came in third.
Here’s a list of the top 16 highest-dollar single transactions for Palm Beach residential properties to ever have lightened a wallet. All of the prices here were recorded at the Palm Beach County Courthouse, unless otherwise noted.
Most expensive sale: About $170 million, 589 N. County Road
Car dealer Michael Cantanucci and his wife, Kimberly, in April 2023, bought this oceanfront estate from coffee tycoon Robert Stiller and his wife, Christine , for about $170 million, setting a new Palm Beach price record in the process. But because of the way the deal was structured, the price was never recorded by the Palm Beach County Clerk for the sale of the 20,000-square-foot mansion and its 1.6 acres. Broker Lawrence Moens of Lawrence A. Moens represented the Stillers, and broker Christian Angle of Christian Angle Real Estate represented the Cantanuccis, the Palm Beach Daily News confirmed.
$155 million, 1495 N. Ocean Blvd.
Estée Lauder cosmetics billionaire William P. Lauder is behind the company that in March 2023 bought the former oceanfront compound of the late conservative firebrand Rush Limbaugh in an off-market sale documented at $155 million. The 2.65-acre estate — comprising three separate parcels, including the main residence — was sold by Limbaugh's widow, Kathryn Adams Limbaugh. Lauder has since razed the compound . The Daily News has not confirmed that any real estate agents were involved with the sale.
$150 million, 10 Tarpon Island
In May 2024, Tarpon Island, Palm Beach’s only private island, sold for a recorded $150 million with a just-completed renovated and expanded 1930s-era mega-mansion. The sale price was the highest ever for a Palm Beach estate on the Intracoastal Waterway without additional ocean frontage. The artificial island of about 2.3 acres has a combined 1,163 feet of waterfront on all four sides. With 11 bedrooms, the two-story mansion encompasses 28,618 total square feet of living space.
The buyer was MCI Properties LLC, a Delaware-registered limited liability company. On the sellers’ side were developer Todd Michael Glaser and an investment group that included Jonathan Fryd of Fryd Properties in Miami; developer Scott Robins of Scott Robins Cos. in Miami Beach; and Randall Realty Group’s Jim Randall of Manalapan. Real estate agents Suzanne Frisbie of the Corcoran Group and Chris Leavitt of Douglas Elliman Real Estate held the co-listing. Angle also was involved on the sellers’ side. Agent Margit Brandt of Premier Estate Properties represented the buyer.
$122.65 million, 535 N. County Road
February 2021 saw a never-lived-in beachfront mansion at 535 N. County Road sell for $122.65 million . The company that bought the house was linked to private-equity specialist Scott Schleifer, represented by Leavitt and broker Ryan Serhant of Serhant. Moens, who had an investment stake in the house, represented the seller, a company controlled by Mark Pulte of Mark Timothy Inc. The house occupies land once owned by former President Donald Trump.
$109.63 million, 1840 S. Ocean Blvd.
In June 2021, seasonal resident Dr. Ernst Langner of Hamburg, Germany, sold for a recorded $109.625 million the ocean-to-lake estate he and his wife, Nataly, built as a custom residence at 1840 S. Ocean Blvd. A trust was on the buyer’s side of the sale, and Moens handled both sides.
$105 million, 1415 S. Ocean Blvd.
In December 2019, the late Matrix Essentials beauty mogul Sydell Miller sold the beachfront parcel of her ocean-to lake estate at 1415 S. Ocean Blvd. for a recorded $105 milllion to hedge-fund manager Steven Schonfeld and his wife, Brooke Kaplan Schonfeld. The buyers of the mansion were represented by Angle, with Moens acting for Miller. (In February 2021, Miller sold her lakefront parcel, at 1440 S. Ocean Blvd., for a recorded $42 million in a sale handled on both sides by Moens.)
$104.99 million, 1295 S. Ocean Blvd.
The price recorded for the Miller/Schonfeld oceanfront deal barely eclipsed the $104.99 million price documented in July 2019 when the late investment-firm heiress Terry Allen Kramer's ocean-to-lake estate at 1295 S. Ocean Blvd. sold privately. The buyer was an entity linked to billionaire hedge-fund manager Ken Griffin, whose massive estate lay immediately to the south. Moens handled the buyer’s side opposite Douglas Elliman agents Gary Pohrer, Ashley McIntosh, Cara Coniglio McClure, Lisa Wilkinson and Adam McPherson.
At least $100 million, 195 Via Del Mar and 241 Jungle Road
In May 2023, fashion designer Tom Ford swapped his contemporary-style house on an acre on Jungle Road for the landmarked house of businessman Brian Kosoy and wife, Andrea, on a 1.66-acre lot on Via Del Mar. The off-market deal was valued, at least, at $100 million, the Palm Beach Daily News confirmed,. Because of the way the off-market deal was structured, using trusts, a dollar amount for the Estate Section transaction was never recorded at the courthouse, nor have the exact terms surfaced in public records. Angle handled both sides of the unusual deal, the Daily News confirmed.
$99.13 million, 60 Blossom Way
In September 2019, Griffin squared off his estate by buying an oceanfront house at 60 Blossom Way for a recorded $99.13 million . The seller was financier and former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank H. McCourt Jr. Moens was involved in the sale, the Palm Beach Daily News confirmed.
Griffin, by the way, set his own Palm Beach price record with a $129.6-million deal in late 2012 , but unlike other sales, Griffin's deal involved a single buyer and multiple sellers in four simultaneous transactions on Blossom Way properties. Moens orchestrated those sales and almost all of the subsequent transactions through which Griffin amassed what is today an ocean-to-lake estate at 1265 S. Ocean Blvd. comprising more than 27 acres. In all, Griffin has paid more than $500 million for his property, according to courthouse records and estimates by the Palm Beach Daily News. He is building an oceanfront house for his mother on about 8 acres of his holdings, including the land at 60 Blossom Way.
$95 million, 1341 S. Ocean Blvd.
In May 2021, businessman and investor Edward “Chris” G. Watkins and his wife, Karen, parted with their custom-built mansion at 1341 S. Ocean Blvd. for a recorded $95 million . A trust was on the buyer’s side of the off-market sale. Moens represented the sellers and the buyer.
$95 million, 515 N. County Road
In July 2008, Donald Trump, then a private real estate developer, sold for a recorded $95 million his 6.25-acre oceanfront investment property at 515 N. County Road . At the time, the sale was the highest-priced U.S. residential transaction in history. The buyer was an entity associated with Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, who made his fortune in the fertilizer industry. Moens represented Trump opposite agent Carol Digges of Brown Harris Stevens. In 2016, crews demolished the mansion and subdivided the land into three parcels, which were later sold separately for a grand total of $108.74 million , according to property records.
$85.977 million, 901 N. Ocean Blvd.
After selling new in August 2021 for $64 million , an oceanfront mansion on the North End underwent interior renovations and upgrades before changing hands again in June 2022 in a private deal . The seller was a limited liability company controlled by an investment group led by Moens, who had an ownership stake in the property. Moens also represented the sellers, who included private-equity specialist Scot French. Corcoran Group agents Dana Koch and Paulette Koch represented the buyer, The 901 NOPB Trust.
$85 million, 1500 S. Ocean Blvd.
In 2018, Netscape co-founder Jim Clark sold Il Palmetto, his landmarked ocean-to-lake estate at 1500 S. Ocean Blvd. to an entity linked to a longtime Palm Beach couple, Kathryn Vecellio and her businessman husband, Leo A. Vecellio Jr. Because of the way the complex deal was structured, the price was never recorded at the courthouse. But real estate sources say the value of the transaction is said to have hit at least $85 million and approached or perhaps topped $90 million. Property records suggest the deal included an ownership transfer of the Vecellios’ former residence at 120 Jungle Road. Moens is said to have orchestrated the deal.
$85 million, 1290 S. Ocean Blvd.
In January 2017, Griffin embarked on his expansion of his Palm Beach land holdings by buying for $85 million a 4-acre next-door estate at 1290 S. Ocean Blvd. His crews then demolished the house and cleared the land. The sellers were real estate developer Paul Saville and wife Linda. Moens handled the negotiations.
$85 million, 10 Tarpon Island
In July 2021, Glaser and his investment group paid a recorded $85 million for 10 Tarpon Island (see third entry above). Glaser spearheaded a project to renovate and expand the 1930s-era house there, which ended up selling in May 2024 for a recorded $150 million. Agent Jim McCann of Premier Estate Properties was the lead agent who acted on behalf of the sellers in the 2021 sale, private investor William Toll and his wife, Eileen. Frisbie was the lead agent representing Glaser’s group.
$85 million, 108 El Mirasol
In April 2024, a vacant lot measuring about an acre with 225 feet of direct beachfront sold privately for a recorded $85 million , likely set a record for a vacant parcel of its size in Palm Beach. The buyer was a Delaware-registered limited liability company named after the property’s address. The North End lot was sold by ANK Palm Beach LLC, a Delaware entity managed by New Jersey businessman Anand Khubani. Moens represented the seller’s side of the deal, while Paulette Koch and Dana Koch acted on behalf of the buyer, real estate sources confirmed for the Palm Beach Daily News.
This story was updated from a previous version.
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Darrell Hofheinz is a USA TODAY Network of Florida journalist who writes about Palm Beach real estate in his weekly “Beyond the Hedges” column. He welcomes tips about real estate news on the island. Email dhofheinz@pbdailynews.com, call 561-820-3831 or tweet @PBDN_Hofheinz .
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: $85 million and up: The top 16 priciest residential deals in Palm Beach; Trump tied to 2
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