John Paulson in Southampton, Estate of the Day
It's hard to feel sorry for the hedge fund managers. They not only have lavish New York apartments they also often have sprawling Hamptons vacation homes. Today we consider the case of John Paulson, founder of Paulson & Co. In January, he plunked $41.3 million for a Southampton estate known as Old Trees. Of course this meant selling his existing Southampton home. Paulson bought the home for $12.75 million in 2006 so when he put it on the market in April he priced it at $19.5 million, anticipating a tidy profit. No takers so in late August he dropped the price to $16.9 million. In October he finally got a nibble but he had a buyer with a signed contract walk away from the deal. Paulson really needs to unload this puppy so now it is down to $13.9 million which means he resigned himself to not making a huge profit on the sale. What do you get for your money? The 6,8000 square foot cottage has seven bedrooms and an enclosed pool with a sauna room. It is on three acres and has a private master suite with a sitting room and two separate baths and has a charming cottagey decor.
As the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties reminds us, on Thursday, Mr. Paulson testified on Capitol Hill at a closely watched hearing on whether hedge funds require more regulation.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
SDS Nov 18th 2008 2:18PM
He earned $3.7 Billion last yr so the drop is pocket change.
ski10 Nov 18th 2008 9:14PM
While it is a beautiful and definitely expensive home, the interior shots prove that it's a pretty modest spread for the Hamptons.
kelly Nov 18th 2008 9:21PM
$3.7 billion, selling for $13.9m... but has pictures of the house that appear to have been taken by a junior high kid with a cellphone camera.
Jason Nov 19th 2008 11:52AM
The writer makes it sound like he needed to sell this house so that he could pay for the new one! He probably wanted to sell before the value goes below what he paid.
www.eeinvesting.com
dirtyjersey Nov 19th 2008 9:15PM
On Wall Street, the losers in the collapse of the housing market are legion. The biggest winner looks to be John Paulson, a little-known hedge fund manager who smelled trouble two years ago.
Funds he runs were up $15 billion in 2007 on a spectacularly successful bet against the housing market. Mr. Paulson has reaped an estimated $3 billion to $4 billion for himself -- believed to be the largest one-year payday in Wall Street history.
My bet is that he is liquidating to buy up some of the even more tony properties that NY has to offer. To the victor go the spoils. I say 'good on you' on a great bet.
garrett Nov 25th 2008 8:58PM
like the master bed room, not crazy about the location though.
Garrett Hinton
President
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