Unknown Buyer Scooping Up Property in Palm Beach

A very rich person is apparently planning to build a very big home in ritzy Palm Beach, Florida. The Wall Street Journal reports that a mystery buyer has so far paid about $250 million for four adjacent properties by the beach and is thus "assembling one of the most valuable private estates in the country." And whoever it is apparently wants more: Rocker Jon Bon Jovi's mansion is next door to one of the places that sold, and the Journal says he has rebuffed an offer to sell. Bon Jovi paid $43 million in 2020.

The lawyer working on the purchases has ties to Bill Gates, but the billionaire's foundation tells the newspaper that Gates isn't the buyer. Two other billionaires with links to Microsoft, Steve Ballmer and Charles Simonyi, are possible contenders. The property is north of President Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, and the New York Times has a separate story on how the Trump property is supercharging the area. It is now the "nightlife headquarters of MAGA," which isn't going over well with some of the town's well-heeled "old guard."