Follow me for a moment on a quick history of Larry Ellison's real estate acquisitions.
Over the last few decades Larry Ellison has been a California resident with homes in San Francisco, Lake Tahoe and – most importantly – a 45-acre estate in Woodside California (one of the most expensive zip codes in the world) that was modeled after a 16th-century Japanese estate. The Woodside property is impossible to value. It could be worth $200+ million if it ever came to market. Or it's un-sellable because there aren't that many people who want to live on a 16th century Japanese estate.
Down in Malibu, Larry owns more oceanfront mansions than anyone. Over a single year starting in 2004 Larry spent $180 million snapping up 12 homes in Malibu. Five of them are contiguous on the ultra-exclusive Carbon Beach.
In 2010 he paid $10.5 million for the Astor family mansion in Newport, Rhode Island.
In 2012 he paid $300 million for the Hawaiian island of Lanai. He also owns the two Four Seasons hotels located on the island.
In December 2020 Larry announced he had decided to give up his full-time California residency. He had reportedly become tired of California's insane taxes and unfriendly business regulations.
Larry spent much of COVID living on Lanai, but in April 2021, a bit more than a year ago, he decided to take his talents to Florida with the purchase of an $80 million oceanfront mansion in North Palm Beach. The incredible estate is located within a gated community called Seminole Landing and features 520 feet of ocean frontage.
Check it out in this video tour:
The seller, a financier named Gabe Hoffman, probably thought he was getting a killer deal, considering he bought the property just 9 years earlier for $17.5 million. Gabe essentially made $7 million in PROFIT for every year he owned the house. Well, I have some bad news for you Gabe. Larry Ellison no longer needs the mansion and a bit more than a year after giving you $80 million, he listed it for…
$145 million
Why is Larry selling the above home?
Because just about two months ago he bought a different Florida estate. An estate called Gemini that is easily one of the most incredible properties in America. The 16-acre property is more like a luxury resort, with multiple structures, water on all sides, a golf course, sports arena and more. Here's a video tour of Gemini:
Gemini was actually Larry's original target purchase but by the time he made a move, it had already been scooped up by fellow tech billionaire Jim Clark.
Jim Clark bought Gemini in March 2021 for $94 million. For whatever reason Jim and his wife soon decided they wanted to stay living in New York and didn't want to fully relocate to Gemini. Knowing that Larry had also been interested in Gemini, Jim called him up. Larry was indeed still interested and a deal was struck. After paying $94 million for Gemini in March 2021, Jim flipped it to Larry 15 months later for…
$173 million
With Gemini in his grasp, Larry no longer needs his original Florida mansion, hence the recent listing. But has the value really increased from $80 million to $145 million in a little over a year? Unfortunately there is a precedent for this kind of jump in Florida real estate. A precedent Larry set himself 🙂
