Mysterious A-list buyer snaps up $250 million of land to build 'billionaire bunker' near Trump in Florida
The identity of the deep-pocketed buyer remains officially under wraps, but the scale, location, and speed of the acquisitions have set off frenzied speculation and no shortage of rumors about who might be behind the massive land grab.
According to an explosive a Wall Street Journal investigation, the anonymous buyer - possibly a tech titan, hedge fund magnate, or reclusive billionaire - has scooped up four adjacent properties north of Trump's estate on Palm Beach's ritzy North Ocean Boulevard.
The purchases reportedly include two oceanfront parcels formerly owned by cosmetics heir William Lauder, together with two luxury homes across the street.
Lauder originally listed the oceanfront lots for a jaw-dropping $200 million, and though the February deal never appeared in public records, sources say the final price came close.
One of the properties spans 2.8 acres and offers 360 feet of pristine beach frontage - an amount practically unheard of in such a cramped area of real estate.
In early June, the mystery mogul struck again this time paying $18 million in cash for a Mediterranean-style home across the street in an unsolicited offer.
That home had last sold for just $4.15 million in 2018. Days later, the buyer snapped up the neighboring house for a dizzying $30 million - nearly six times its 2017 sale price.
'The prices paid… are significantly higher than their market values,' reported WSJ, quoting agents who say the strategy is to build privacy and control the block.
The scale and secrecy of the acquisitions have drawn comparisons to hedge fund titan Ken Griffin, who famously spent over $400 million assembling a mega compound in Palm Beach over the past decade.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has similarly gobbled up more than $230 million in property across Indian Creek, often called 'Billionaire Bunker Island.'
But this new development may eclipse even them.
'This kind of assemblage, it just signals bigger things for South Florida,' said Peggy Olin, CEO of OneWorld Properties to Fox News.
'We're going to continue seeing these types of high-net-worth individuals just continuing to make South Florida just extremely elite and a safe place for all of them to gather. It's the connectivity.
'Palm Beach, in general, is becoming one of the few places in the country where you find the billionaire bunker situation or billionaire's row, per se,' Olin told Fox. 'It's just a lot about the caché and the ultra-elite.'
The inland properties were purchased through Delaware-based LLCs linked to Seattle attorney Greyson Blue, whose law firm K&L Gates has long-standing ties to Bill Gates's late father.
Blue also previously worked at the Gates Foundation, fueling speculation that the famously private Microsoft co-founder could be behind the mystery deals.
But a source close to the Gates Foundation quickly poured cold water on the stating 'Gates isn't the buyer of the Palm Beach properties.'
Other names floated include former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, now the owner of the LA Clippers, and Charles Simonyi the software architect behind Microsoft Word and Excel - both of whom are known for operating below the radar despite their massive fortunes.
Rock legend Jon Bon Jovi owns the property immediately adjacent to these parcels of land and the mystery mogul is said to have tried to buy Bon Jovi's estate off-market, but the singer wouldn't budge.
Bon Jovi paid $43 million for the beachfront mansion in 2020 and according to insiders, is not interested in selling - even at a substantial profit.
'They want to remain as private as possible,' Olin said of the mystery buyer. 'They want to make sure that no one else is cramping their style… They want to do everything in private so they can get what they want at the end.
'Like him or Ken Griffin or Jeff Bezos, all of these guys are seeing South Florida as their future,' Olin said. 'To me, it is fantastic… not only in real estate, but all around.'
Palm Beach agent Dana Koch of the Corcoran Group said similar noting how the 'two acres directly on the ocean with 360 feet of water frontage, along with the properties across the street, is extremely rare to find in Palm Beach.'
'After buying all of these properties at a mind-boggling number [the buyer] is protecting his investment and affording himself even more privacy,' Koch said.
Mar-a-Lago is a private club and was first constructed in 1927, and was bought by Donald Trump in 1985 for $10 million, per The Palm Beach Post.
Last year, the president claimed that the resort is worth around $1 billion - with the Trump International Golf Club just minutes away.
He has often been seen visiting the sprawling property over the years, but has frequented less often after being elected as the 47th President of the United States last year in November.
However, that has not stopped fans and visitors from traveling down to Palm Beach to get a glimpse of the resort - which is not open to the public.
According to Bloomberg, those who want to become members at the exclusive resort need to pay an initiation fee of $1 million.
Permanent residents in the Palm Beach area near Mar-a-Lago have been left 'aghast' by the amount of Trump supporters who have recently flooded the area.
'I think this town is a little bit aghast at itself,' Palm Beach native Celerie Kemble told The New York Times.
Jon Bon Jovi was a public supporter of Kamala Harris and endorsed her last year during the presidential campaign.
While promoting a song called The People's House on Instagram at the time, he also explained his endorsement to his followers.
The star is known for starting the rock band Bon Jovi in 1983 - which has dropped hits such as Livin' On A Prayer, Blaze Of Glory and Bed Of Roses.
The singer has been keeping busy and recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of the band's 2024 album Forever last month.
Along with sharing behind-the-scenes of putting the LP together, he also added a message to his fans.
'1 year ago we released FOREVER in celebration of our 40th anniversary as a band,' the performer penned.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
20 minutes ago
- Reuters
Morning Bid: Fizzy market week turns flat
LONDON, July 25 (Reuters) - What matters in U.S. and global markets today By Mike Dolan, opens new tab, Editor-At-Large, Finance and Markets A buoyant week for world markets driven by emerging U.S. trade deals with major economies has gone a bit flat into Friday, with the corporate earnings season throwing up a series of high profile disappointments. The interest rate backdrop also turned a shade darker, with the European Central Bank holding its 2% rate steady as expected but with some officials signalling that the bar was high for further easing. Federal Reserve rate cut expectations also continued to tick lower despite relentless political pressure, with futures markets now pricing in just 42 basis points of additional easing this year. * The S&P 500 and Nasdaq eked out marginal gains to new records on Thursday, with Alphabet leading the way after its earnings beat. But Tesla's troubles continued, as it dropped more than 8%. Meanwhile, IBM clocked an 8% earnings day drop, American Airlines fell 10% and Honeywell was off 6%. UnitedHealth lost 5% after a probe into its Medicare practises, and Intel lost 5% overnight on its update. Wall Street futures were flat ahead of Friday's bell. * The European earnings season was also pockmarked with some negative reactions to corporate updates, with shares in German sportswear maker Puma sliding 15% on Friday and French car parts maker Valeo down 9% as both cut full-year outlooks. European stock indexes were down about 0.5%. A rebound in British retail sales last month came in below forecasts too. * A packed diary next week includes the August 1 U.S. tariff deadline, Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan meetings, key U.S. labor market updates, megacap earnings and a heavy Treasury debt auction schedule. Treasury yields were steady to a bit higher on Friday and the dollar nudged up too. Market Minute * Investors cashed out of highly valued global stocks on Friday and the dollar headed for its biggest weekly drop in a month ahead of a crucial week for markets that includes Donald Trump's tariff deadline and key central bank meetings. * U.S. President Donald Trump's trade deal with Tokyo opens scope for the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates again this year, sources say, a prospect the central bank may start to telegraph by offering a less gloomy view on the economic outlook. * South Korea's Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan met U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Thursday and reaffirmed a commitment to reach a deal on tariffs by the August 1 deadline, South Korea's industry ministry said on Friday. * The optimism sweeping world stock markets following news of emerging and expected U.S. trade deals is undeniable and understandable. But, writes ROI markets columnist Jamie McGeever, it is also puzzling. * U.S. President Donald Trump sprang a double surprise on the copper market when he announced import tariffs of 50% effective next month. ROI metals columnist Andy Home notes that the market was betting on a different outcome. Weekend reads * GEN AI AND PRODUCTIVITY: The Generative AI boom shows encouraging signs of raising the productivity level, opens new tab of the wider economy, according to a Federal Reserve Board discussion paper. But the researchers conclude that GenAI's contribution to productivity growth will depend on the speed with which its benefits are obtained, and notes that historically it takes time for revolutionary technologies to be integrated into the economy. * SUBNATIONAL DEBTS: Debates about debt sustainability often only focus only on "sovereign" or central government balances and ignore a complex, growing role of subnational governments., opens new tab In a piece on CEPR's VoxEU site, economists Sean Dougherty, Acaua Brochado and Pietrangelo de Biase point out how subnational government accounts for nearly 40% of public investment and more than a quarter of public spending. They argue these entities face tighter borrowing conditions, increasing investment responsibilities and market structures that often fail to price risk accurately. Left unaddressed, these dynamics could undermine both macro stability and government priorities. * DIGITAL SOVEREIGNTY: Europe's systemic dependency on Big Tech's social-media, opens new tab platforms threatens the continent's digital sovereignty as policymakers argue there's little alternative. But, as developer Sebastian Vogelsang argues on Project Syndicate this week, this ignores the potential for building apps on open-source frameworks like the AT Protocol, the foundation for Bluesky. * 'SPY COCKROACHES'?: For Gundbert Scherf - the co-founder of Germany's Helsing, Europe's most valuable defence start-up - Russia's invasion of Ukraine changed everything. As Reuters' Supantha Mukherjee, Sarah Marsh and Christoph Steitz report, the Munich-based company more than doubled its valuation to $12 billion at a fundraising last month. Scherf - a former partner at McKinsey - says Europe may be on the cusp of a transformation in defence innovation akin to the Manhattan Project. * SYRIA'S ECONOMICS: A Reuters investigation found that Syria's new leadership is secretly restructuring an economy broken by corruption and years of sanctions against Assad's government, under the auspices of a group of men whose identities have until now been concealed under pseudonyms. Away from public scrutiny, the committee obtained assets worth more than $1.6 billion. That tally is based on accounts of people familiar with its deals to acquire business stakes and cash seizures, including at least $1.5 billion in assets taken from three businessmen and firms in a conglomerate once controlled by Assad's inner circle. Chart of the day With Fed policy under a microscope, attention switches to the labor market next week - culminating in the release of the national employment report on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters expect the economy added 102,000 non-farm payrolls this month - which would be the lowest monthly tally since February. However, the U.S. Labor Department on Thursday showed jobless claims last week fell to 217,000 - well below estimates - signaling continued resilience in the job market. Today's events to watch * U.S. June durable goods orders (8:30 AM EDT) * U.S. corporate earnings: Aon, HCA Healthcare, Charter Communications, Phillips 66, Centene * South Korea's Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol and Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington * U.S. President Donald Trump makes private visit to Scotland -- Want to receive the Morning Bid in your inbox every weekday morning? Sign up for the newsletter here. You can find ROI on the Reuters website, and you can follow us on LinkedIn Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, opens new tab, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.
Daily Mirror
20 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Donald Trump's 'birthday card to Epstein circulated by Maxwell' West Wing fears
Senior West Wing officials are said to believe that claims about the alleged card were orchestrated as a 'warning shot' by the convicted teen sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell to warn the president of what she knows Donald Trump's White House is said to fear that allies of Ghislaine Maxwell were behind the leak of claims he'd sent a handwritten birthday message to Jeffrey Epstein. Senior West Wing officials are said to believe that claims about the card were orchestrated as a 'warning shot' by the convicted teen sex trafficker to warn the president of what she knows. It has led his team to fear she could divulge far more information about his ties to Epstein if she does not receive a deal. Trump denied knowledge of any card or message and is suing the Wall Street Journal which published a story on it. Days after the Journal published is claims, Trump's Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche was dispatched to Tallahassee to speak to Maxwell. Sources close to the White House believe the British socialite, who is serving a 20-year prison term for grooming girls for the late paedophile, wants to be set free. The president, who was close friends with Epstein for more than two decades, has the power to commute her sentence or pardon her. Addressing the card claims, a senior White House source told the Mirror: 'There's no doubt in some of the minds of the West Wing that the leak came from someone in Maxwell's orbit and it wasn't accidental. They believe it was a calculated move, a message to the President that she hasn't forgotten what she knows, and that she's willing to start talking if she's backed into a corner. Trump knows what kind of access Maxwell had to both him and Epstein. They added: 'That's why we moved so quickly to get someone in front of her, before Congress drags her into a hearing and it all spirals out of our control.' It is claimed the alleged message was scrawled by Trump in a black Sharpie inside a luxury leather-bound birthday album for Epstein's 50th birthday, and read: 'May every day be another wonderful secret. Happy birthday, my friend, Donald.' The alleged note was reportedly found among personal effects seized from Epstein's Manhattan townhouse, and is said to form part of a larger trove of materials compiled by Maxwell, 63, before her arrest. The source added: 'There is real concern that Ghislaine, or someone very close to her, wanted to remind the President just how much she knows. 'This is not just about Epstein anymore, it's about self-preservation. And Trump knows she holds cards that could hurt him.' Blanche, who previously served as the President's personal attorney, was hastily dispatched to Florida to speak to Maxwell. The high-level visit took place at the federal courthouse in Tallahassee. Blanche's mission, sources say, was twofold. Firstly, he was there to assess what Maxwell is prepared to reveal, and secondly, to understand what she might want in return. An insider familiar with the trip said, 'The White House didn't want Congress to get there first. 'There's panic that her testimony could be taken out of Trump's hands. The visit was about getting ahead of it, figuring out her demands, gauging the damage, and trying to keep her onside.' Maxwell, who has kept silent since her conviction, reportedly cooperated fully with Blanche and his team. Speaking outside the courthouse, her attorney David Markus said: 'Ms Maxwell answered every single question. She never stopped, she never invoked a privilege, she never declined to answer. She answered all the questions truthfully, honestly, and to the best of her ability.' The meeting, said to have lasted more than four hours, focused largely on Epstein's circle of powerful friends. It is not yet known what specific revelations, if any, she made, but sources say Blanche returned to Washington with a 'detailed report.' The meeting with Maxwell came just weeks after the Department of Justice announced it would not release any Epstein files - a move that has sparked outrage among survivors. It has also, more critically for Trump, sparked a civil war among his MAGA supporters, seeing thousands turn on after he campaigned for the White House on a promise to release all information on the sex offender. The president, now scrambling to contain the political fallout, is said to be privately furious at the backlash from his own base. Congressional committees have already issued a subpoena to compel Maxwell's testimony in upcoming hearings into the Epstein sex trafficking network. Several Democratic lawmakers have accused the Trump administration of trying to interfere with the process. 'This stinks of a back-channel negotiation to keep Maxwell quiet,' one senior House aide said. Trump's team has denied any effort to interfere with congressional oversight, insisting that the President merely wants 'full transparency' and for 'all credible evidence related to Epstein's crimes to be released to the public.' The President has repeatedly downplayed his ties to Epstein, claiming the two fell out 'many years ago.' But evidence shows they once had a deep personal bond that extended well into the years. Epstein died in a jail cell suicide in August 2019 as he awaited trial.
The Guardian
20 minutes ago
- The Guardian
AI-backed medical debt company claims payment plans can help US healthcare costs
The CEO of the artificial intelligence-backed medical debt purchasing company PayZen believes payment plans can be part of the solution to America's high-priced healthcare, even as consumer rights advocates warn third-party financial agreements lack transparency. The company is just one in a sea of healthcare financing companies, whose executives see 'acceleration' in conversations with cash-strapped hospitals facing historic Republican-led healthcare cuts. Signed into law by Donald Trump, the cuts are expected to leave 17 million people without insurance through 2034. As those uninsured people struggle to pay for healthcare, the change is effectively a cut to hospital revenue, and threatens some cash-strapped facilities with closure. 'We believe most people want to pay their bills – they're decent people trying to be responsible,' said Itzik Cohen, PayZen CEO. 'It's not a collections problem – it's an affordability problem.' PayZen's solution is to provide payment plans up to 60-months with 0% interest. 'If you extend the payment plan to three, four, five years … Then more people will pay their bills and successfully,' said Cohen. 'What we're trying to do is make it affordable.' PayZen's business model relies on buying debt from hospitals at a discount, and is backed by venture capital from groups such as New Enterprise Associates, a New York-based firm with big-name partners such as Dr Scott Gottlieb, the president's first-term Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner. NEA and Gottlieb deferred requests for an interview. PayZen may pay as little as 10% and as much as 90% of the value of the bill depending on an AI-backed prediction of whether the patient will pay, according to a 2022 contract with the University of Texas Medical Branch Health (UTMB) at Galveston obtained by the Guardian. The company then collects the full face value of the bill from patients. That same contract shows that PayZen also charges hospitals a transaction based 'platform fee'. 'PayZen charges a 5% platform fee to support outreach, enrollment, underwriting and serving all payment plans,' it reads. Cohen declined to comment on platform fees and said the 5% figure 'is not accurate and is not reflective of how our pricing works'. PayZen is part of an industry of companies, some of which provide interest-bearing financing, that help cash-strapped hospitals with a growing a liquidity problem. 'This is not a new business. It is based on an old model,' said Ge Bai, a healthcare finance professor at Johns Hopkins University's Carey School of Business. 'A hospital takes the unpaid bill to a financial institution, sells these bills to the financial institutions, then the financial institution will give them [the hospital] money immediately… It changes ownership.' Chief among hospitals facing liquidity problems are rural facilities – 153 of which have closed or lost key hospital services since 2010. For these facilities, government cuts, expected to result in an $87bn drop in revenue are only the latest blow. Over the last decade, insurers have increasingly pushed costs onto patients. From 2006 to 2025, the average deductible – an upfront payment that must be made before insurance kicks in – for a single person has grown from $303 to $1,562, outpacing inflation by more than 352%. Those payments represent a hardship for many Americans, more than one-third of whom can't afford an unexpected $400 expense. Unpaid, they also turn into bad debt on a hospital balance sheet. In 2022, people with health insurance became the largest group of patients in debt to hospitals – a sea change in the industry. And those debts, known as 'patient responsibility' or 'self-pay' are very hard for providers to collect. Companies like PayZen come in and pay hospitals up front for bills that might otherwise languish on the hospital balance sheet and become bad debt. 'Because of the growth in high deductible health plans, many people have $2,500, $10,000 [deductibles] for families – so they're really financing so much of their care,' said Richard Grundling, chief mission impact officer at the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA). Consumer advocates question the transparency of such deals for patients. 'I don't think there's any transparency to the patient that PayZen has just acquired this account at a fraction of its face value,' said April Kuehnhoff, senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. UTMB Health confirmed that it does not tell patients that PayZen bought their debt at a discount. 'If the hospital was willing to accept this reduced amount, was there a discount that the patient could have accessed by directly paying the hospital instead of paying the full amount to this third party company?' Kuehnhoff asked. Advocates also argue there is a risk that low-income patients, who are often eligible for federally required discounted care, are caught up in payment plans. UTMB Health confirmed that PayZen does not screen patients for what is commonly called 'charity care,' despite performing a 'soft' credit pull and information on their debt and incomes. 'UTMB directs all patients to PayZen to discuss the terms and conditions of the specific agreements with PayZen,' said a spokesperson for the hospital system. 'We provide basic FAQ information, but the relationship is between the patient and PayZen.' Although PayZen relies on purchasing debt, Cohen objects to the label 'debt buyer', which he said refers to companies buying bundles of debt in default. Such companies were highlighted in a segment on John Oliver's Last Week Tonight. 'Calling it debt buying is insulting to patients quite frankly,' said Cohen. 'When you purchase something with a [buy now, pay later] approach, is it debt buying? You're being offered a way to pay for your purchase in a convenient, integrated way that extends payments to you because now you can afford it.' Cohen said his company does not use 'extraordinary collection practices', such as filing debt law suits and objects to describing PayZen as 'buy now, pay later'. 'We never actually called ourselves 'buy now, pay later' for healthcare or 'care now, pay later'.' In fact, Cohen authored a 2021 blog post on the company website headlined: 'PayZen's 'Care Now, Pay Later' Mission.' He later clarified that his company has moved beyond that description. Cohen said PayZen is running a 'pilot' to pre-qualify accounts for charity care, but that only 'two to three' of the roughly 100 healthcare providers it works with participate. Some states require hospitals to screen patients for charity care. If hospitals continue to struggle to collect money from patients, Bai noted that 'hospitals will engage in even more aggressive mechanisms'. 'For example, all upfront payments – no payment, no service – this will happen,' Bai added. UTMB Health instituted one such policy, which was presented in a PayZen-sponsored report as 'masterclass in revenue optimization'. The hospital required patients to pay before seeing a doctor as early as 2019. However, the implementation reportedly led to loud exchanges in waiting rooms, as patients argued they could not afford to pay before seeing the doctor, according to local news outlets. In 2023, UTMB publicly affirmed its payment-first policy, and contracted with PayZen to provide patients with long-term pay plans through its AI-backed debt purchasing model. 'When thoughtfully implemented, pre-service payment policies can significantly increase collections without driving care avoidance,' the PayZen-sponsored report said.
