logo
This over-the-top Florida mansion — home to a life-size replica of the Oval Office — will list for $23.6M

This over-the-top Florida mansion — home to a life-size replica of the Oval Office — will list for $23.6M

New York Post01-05-2025

It's not the White House, but it might as well be.
A sprawling estate on the shores of Lake Thonotosassa, just outside Tampa, Florida, is set to hit market for $23.6 million — complete with a 900-square-foot replica of the Oval Office.
Built in 2012 by the late healthcare entrepreneur Tom Simpson and his wife, June, the custom-designed property spans 22 acres and reflects the couple's distinct passions, from American history to Major League Baseball.
Advertisement
The oval-shaped room, which features a copy of the Resolute Desk and was decorated annually with official White House ornaments, was a particular source of joy for Tom, June Simpson told the Wall Street Journal, which first reported this listing.
26 The home is situated on 22 acres.
Ryan Ascone
26 The foyer features a spiral staircase.
Ryan Ascone
Advertisement
26 Highlights of the estate include a 900-square-foot Oval Office.
Ryan Ascone
26 The Oval Office replica features a copy of the Resolute Desk and was decorated annually with official White House ornaments.
Ryan Ascone
26 The office features a replica with a 'National Treasure' film prop desk.
Ryan Ascone
'It was just something he wanted,' she told the Journal. 'It made him happy.'
Advertisement
The desk was previously used in the film 'National Treasure,' she added.
The Simpsons, who sold their company Health Advocates to AmerisourceBergen for $83 million in 2006, acquired the Thonotosassa land in stages beginning around 2008.
26 The roughly 25,000-square-foot home in Thonotosassa was built in 2012 by Tom and June Simpson, who spent about $18 million creating a deeply personal space that showcases Tom's love of history, baseball and music.
Ryan Ascone
26 An aerial view of the resort style pool.
Ryan Ascone
Advertisement
26 The couple, who sold their company Health Advocates for $83 million in 2006, also hosted elaborate parties and even staged a Navy SEAL reenactment on the 22-acre property.
Ryan Ascone
26 Following Tom's death in 2024, June is selling the estate, which can also be purchased in parts.
Ryan Ascone
26 The residence boats different unique spaces including a performance room.
Ryan Ascone
June Simpson said the location appealed to them in part because of her interest in gardening, though much of the interior was tailored to Tom's extensive memorabilia collections.
Among the standout spaces is a baseball-themed room outfitted with a custom rug designed like a diamond, vintage Yankee Stadium seats and display cases for Tom's Atlanta Braves memorabilia.
The room, which cost about $150,000 to build, was a frequent gathering spot for events, hosting 30 to 40 people at a time.
26 A concession stand.
Ryan Ascone
26 The movie theater.
Ryan Ascone
Advertisement
26 The outdoor kitchen.
Ryan Ascone
26 An outdoor lounge area.
Ryan Ascone
26 The outdoor gardens.
Ryan Ascone
Elsewhere in the home, a hallway known as the 'Walk of Fame' showcases signed guitars used by performers like The Beach Boys and Aerosmith, along with floor plaques honoring celebrities the couple met, including Tom Hanks, Elton John, Lady Gaga and Cher.
Advertisement
The estate also includes an indoor lagoon with a waterfall and has hosted a variety of events, including one for the US Navy SEALs.
During the occasion, June recalled how they pretended to kidnap her son and used dogs and simulated gunfire to stage a rescue.
'It was unbelievable,' she said.
26 The hone boasts a 'Walk of Fame' hallway with guitars used by Aerosmith and The Beach Boys.
Ryan Ascone
Advertisement
26 A baseball-themed memorabilia room with Yankee Stadium seats.
Ryan Ascone
26 The kitchen.
Ryan Ascone
26 The formal dining area.
Ryan Ascone
26 One of several living spaces.
Ryan Ascone
Advertisement
26 The home boasts scenic lake views.
Ryan Ascone
After Tom passed away in 2024 at age 79 following a battle with Parkinson's disease, June decided to sell the home.
'Walking through this house, as beautiful as it is, it's got so many wonderful memories, but I just can't do it,' she said. 'I just can't.'
The property, which features six bedroom suites and 12 bathrooms, is listed by Karen L. Hegemeier and Paul DeSantis of Premier Sotheby's International Realty.
26 The listing could top the area's previous record, Derek Jeter's $22.5 million home sale in 2021.
Ryan Ascone
26 One of six bedroom suites.
Ryan Ascone
26 A second bedroom.
Ryan Ascone
26 One of 12 bathrooms.
Ryan Ascone
26 A second bathroom.
Ryan Ascone
It can be purchased in its entirety or in two separate parcels: $18.9 million for the main residence on 14 acres and $4.7 million for the remaining 8 acres, which include a barn and greenhouse.
If sold at asking price, the home could surpass Tampa's current record residential sale — Derek Jeter's $22.5 million transaction in 2021.
Hegemeier noted that luxury deals in the region have picked up recently as some affluent buyers seek a hedge against market volatility.
Wealthy buyers are paying all cash for real estate amid the stock market's unpredictability, Hegemeier said.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Nippon Steel completes $14.9bn acquisition of US Steel, bolstering US steel production
Nippon Steel completes $14.9bn acquisition of US Steel, bolstering US steel production

Yahoo

time17 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Nippon Steel completes $14.9bn acquisition of US Steel, bolstering US steel production

Nippon Steel has completed the $14.9bn (Y2.17trn) acquisition of US Steel to create a world-leading steelmaker with advanced technologies and manufacturing capabilities. The finalised transaction is in line with the merger agreement previously outlined by the companies in December 2023. This strategic partnership is expected to increase Nippon Steel Group's annual crude steel production capacity to 86 million tonnes (mt), advancing towards its strategic goal of 100mt. Additionally, this collaboration is set to protect and generate more than 100,000 jobs through significant investments in the US, impacting several states including Pennsylvania, Indiana, Arkansas, Minnesota and Alabama. Additionally, a National Security Agreement (NSA) has been established, granting the issuance of a 'golden share' to the US Government. Under the NSA, Nippon Steel has committed to investing approximately $11bn in US Steel by 2028, which includes funding for a greenfield project to be completed post-2028. The NSA outlines the maintenance of US Steel's headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and ensuring that a majority of US Steel's board members and key management personnel, including the CEO, are US citizens. The agreement also stipulates that US Steel will preserve its capacity to produce and supply steel from its US facilities to meet domestic demand and will retain autonomy in trade actions under US law. Nippon Steel representative director chairman and CEO Eiji Hashimoto said: 'I am very pleased that the partnership between Nippon Steel and US Steel has been realised thanks to President Trump's historic and visionary decision. 'Nippon Steel is excited about opening a new chapter of US Steel's storied history. Building on our investment, the transfer of our advanced technologies, and the unwavering efforts of management and the employees of both companies, Nippon Steel is committed, together with US Steel, to solidifying its position as the world's leading steelmaker.' The US Government, through the golden share, will have rights such as appointing an independent director and consent rights on specific matters. This will include investment commitments, changes to US Steel's name and headquarters, and decisions regarding production, acquisitions and closures. US Steel CEO Dave Burritt said: 'This is a momentous day for our country, our communities and the American steel industry. Thanks to President Trump's bold leadership, American workers secured the best possible deal. US Steel will remain rooted in the US and continue to call Pittsburgh home. 'Through our partnership with Nippon Steel, we are poised to grow better and bigger, with transformative investment, cutting-edge technology and the creation of good-paying jobs across the US.' Citi, Ropes & Gray, PJT Partners and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld served as advisors to Nippon Steel, while Barclays Capital, Goldman Sachs, Evercore, Milbank, Covington & Burling and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz advised US Steel. Earlier this year, President Trump stated that the US will maintain control over US Steel as it enters a partnership with Nippon Steel. "Nippon Steel completes $14.9bn acquisition of US Steel, bolstering US steel production" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.

Tuition increases and layoffs are coming to a broad set of universities
Tuition increases and layoffs are coming to a broad set of universities

Boston Globe

time21 minutes ago

  • Boston Globe

Tuition increases and layoffs are coming to a broad set of universities

Students and employees from coast to coast are poised to feel the squeeze. Although the exact consequences will vary by school, administrators are warning that many students may have to pay more, professors may lose their jobs, programs could vanish and support services could shrink. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The turmoil is not limited to any one type of university or college, or any one state. A day before Michigan State University trustees opted for tuition increases, a California State University campus minutes from the Pacific Ocean announced that it was trimming its workforce. Advertisement 'If you're a student or family looking to go to college this year, all of the numbers are going in the wrong direction,' said Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, who described the mood among higher education leaders as 'dark but resolved.' The Trump administration's efforts to reduce research funding are siphoning cash from many campuses, sometimes by hundreds of millions of dollars. But that is just one factor contributing to higher education's financial crunch. Colleges, like businesses and households, are facing greater costs for wages, supplies, utilities and other expenses. Advertisement Their income sources are not always keeping pace. In Nebraska, the state government's contribution to the university system will rise roughly 0.6%, far below the 3.5% increase that the Board of Regents had sought to account for inflation. But regents saw the increase as a modest victory. Gov. Jim Pillen, a Republican who wanted the state to have 'the courage to say no, and to focus on needs, not wants,' had originally urged a 2% reduction. 'We will need to continue to reduce spending and make increasingly difficult choices to ensure fiscal discipline,' Jeffrey P. Gold, the University of Nebraska's president, told regents before a vote Thursday to impose cuts and increase tuition. Students who enroll at the flagship campus in Lincoln are poised to pay about 5% more. In neighboring Kansas, only one of the state's six public universities did not propose a tuition increase for the coming school year. And University of Oklahoma leaders just raised tuition again, too. The White House rejected accusations from some college administrators that the federal government is partly to blame for tuition increases and other budget moves. 'Any school that scapegoats the administration's policies of cutting waste, fraud and abuse to justify raising already astronomical tuition costs is failing American students in an effort to score political points and fatten its coffers,' Harrison Fields, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement. He added: 'If these higher education institutions were serious about lowering costs, they would cut the bloated salaries of their faculty and stop wasting money on useless programs that do little to advance education.' Advertisement Some schools are more reliant than others on federal money, especially research institutions, and leaders on many of those campuses have cited the administration's tactics as they have reworked their budgets. But public institutions are also sometimes facing significant resistance in statehouses, and recent rises in inflation have put new demands on campus finances. College leaders across the country have sometimes sought to defend new tuition increases by noting correctly that their prices had stayed relatively steady in recent years. Others point to the number of scholarships and grants they offer, which routinely drive costs well south of the sticker price, and say that many students are ultimately paying less than in the past. In Minnesota, students are set to pay more for less. State leaders maintained stable support for the University of Minnesota -- a decision that university officials considered an effective budget cut, given inflation. And questions are swirling over how much additional declines in federal money could worsen the university's financial outlook. Tuition at the Twin Cities campus will rise by at least 6.5%. But the university is also pursuing cuts of 7%. Academic units have been asked to come up with millions of dollars in 'reallocations' that could lead to program changes and fewer materials in the Law Library, among other things. More than 350 jobs could be eliminated. 'Making these kinds of cuts here is new to us in Minnesota,' Rebecca Cunningham, the university's president, said during a board meeting Wednesday. 'It is unfortunate, but indeed we are not alone.' They are not. The University System of Maryland's chancellor, Jay A. Perman, bluntly told employees in a video this month that the schools would absorb a 7% cut for the coming fiscal year. Advertisement 'A 7% cut simply can't be achieved on every campus in a way that doesn't touch any of our people,' Perman said. Private universities often say far less about their finances than public institutions, but similar signs of immense strain are emerging. Duke University is seeking about $350 million in cuts, amounting to roughly 10% of its budget. In a video message this month, Duke's president, Vincent E. Price, said the university was trying to sort out proposals from the federal government 'that have quite dire implications for the university.' He added there was 'sadly, no scenario in which Duke can or will avoid incurring substantial losses of funding due to these policy changes.' The university has imposed a hiring freeze and developed buyout plans, but Price said that Duke would 'likely' resort to layoffs. The school is among the wealthy universities that could face a higher endowment tax under a Republican plan working its way through Congress. Many schools that would be hit hardest were already reeling. Harvard University, which has clashed bitterly with the Trump administration, is urgently seeking contributions from donors and has been making cuts, partly because billions of dollars in its endowment have restricted uses. And in a statement Wednesday ominously titled 'a message on financial austerity,' leaders at Cornell, which also has a substantial endowment, described a dire landscape. 'The spring semester was unlike anything ever seen in higher education,' school officials wrote, noting, among a long list of federal cuts, the burden of rising inflation along with 'rapidly escalating legal expenses.' Advertisement To manage the financial pressures, school leaders said they 'anticipate involuntary reductions in head count.' This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Waiting for Mortgage Rates To Drop? That's Just Wishful Thinking
Waiting for Mortgage Rates To Drop? That's Just Wishful Thinking

Yahoo

time22 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Waiting for Mortgage Rates To Drop? That's Just Wishful Thinking

With average weekly mortgage rates near 7%, many potential homebuyers are sitting on the sidelines waiting — and hoping — for rates to come down in the near future. You might be one of them, thinking that if you just hold out a bit longer that 30-year mortgage will be more affordable. Read Next: Find Out: Unfortunately, there's good reason — a lot of them, actually — to think that's not going to happen. Of course, it might help to remember that, historically, today's mortgage rates are not crazy high. They just feel that way because a mere four and five years ago they were less than half what they are now. But anyone who remembers the early 1980s, when rates hit an unimaginable 16.64%, will tell you 7% isn't too bad. Still, lower is better, so let's explore the reasons better mortgage rates might not be on the horizon anytime soon. It's no secret that President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell have been at odds over the past several months. Trump wants the Fed to lower interest rates. And while it's true that this might have the effect of lowering mortgage rates, it's not a guarantee. In fact, the Fed has no direct effect on mortgage rates, only an indirect one through influencing investor expectations, said Patricia Watson, a professor in the Dr. Wallace E. Boston School of Business at American Public University who focuses on real estate. And as of June 16, CME Group's FedWatch gave the chances of the Fed keeping rates the same in this week's meeting at 99.08%. Not great odds for homebuyers. If you want to see where interest rates might be heading, a better place to check is the 10-year U.S. Treasury Note, said Watson. This is considered a standard for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. 'When the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rises, mortgage rates usually follow. In July 2020, the yield for this bond was just under one percent. Now it's just under 4.5 percent, a large increase,' Watson said. So mortgage rates are higher too. In May, Moody's Ratings downgraded the US ratings from Aaa to Aa1. This might not sound like a big deal, but it is. At least in global financial markets and, therefore, in mortgage rates, said Watson. This ties back to the Treasury Notes. Because this signals to the world that lending to the U.S. government — through those Treasury Notes — is considered a bit riskier, investors want higher yields. That drives up the 10-year Treasury Note rate and keeps mortgage rates high, explained Watson. These all feed into an uncertainty about the future of the American economy, and that can keep mortgage rates unchanged, Watson said. For instance, one of the ways the Fed combats inflation is through raising interest rates, making borrowing more expensive and therefore, cooling major purchases. This lowers spending, demand and, ideally, slows inflation. But if inflationary policies, such as tariffs, are implemented, the Fed becomes hesitant to lower rates, especially since lowering rates can itself be inflationary. In a time of economic uncertainty, one thing is certain, said Watson: Don't expect mortgage rates to be as low as they were in 2020 to 2022 for a very long time, if ever in our lifetime. But it's equally true that, while home prices might fluctuate some in the short-term, they go up in the long-term. So, while you might need to more carefully weigh whether you can afford a home, it's still considered by most to be one of the best wealth-building investments you can make. More From GOBankingRates 9 Downsizing Tips for the Middle Class To Save on Monthly Expenses This article originally appeared on Waiting for Mortgage Rates To Drop? That's Just Wishful Thinking Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store