Tech titan Larry Ellison was the buyer of the most expensive property ever sold in Florida, a 62,200-square-foot megamansion purchased for $173 million, according to public records released Thursday.
Mr. Ellison, 77, the co-founder of software company Oracle, bought the 16-acre property on a barrier island in Manalapan, just south of Palm Beach, in an off-market deal through a limited-liability company registered to the address of his foundation, public records show.
The seller was another tech billionaire, Jim Clark, the 78-year-old founder of several Silicon Valley companies including Netscape, according to The Wall Street Journal, which reported the sale last week, before information about the final sale price and the buyer were available.
Mr. Clark and his wife, Kristy, bought the house last March for $94.2 million, according to records with PropertyShark. Mr. Ellison’s price was about 83% more than what Mr. Clark paid, despite the fact that no major changes were made to the estate.
“Look, it’s a phenomenal piece of property,” he told The Wall Street Journal. “You can’t find anything like that in Florida.”
He also added, “I’ve never made money on real estate until now.”
The estate offers about 1,200 feet of ocean frontage and around 1,300 feet on the Intracoastal Waterway, spanning the width of the barrier island on which it is located, The Wall Street Journal reported. In addition to the 62,000-square-foot main residence, which has a coral stone facade, there is a seven-bedroom guesthouse, two cottages on the beach and a manager’s house that are connected via a series of underground tunnels. There’s also a dock, a sports complex, a pool and a three-hole golf course.
The home was once owned by the Ziff publishing family.
Mr. Clark said buying the home was a “spur of the moment purchase,” according to The Wall Street Journal. However, he and his wife have decided to stay in New York.
Lawrence Moens of Lawrence A. Moens Associates brokered the deal, according to The Wall Street Journal. He did not immediately return a request for comment.
Representatives for Mr. Ellison did not immediately return a request for comment.