Leo Kris agreed to sell the Miami property for less than the asking price, not knowing that the Amazon founder was the actual buyer.
Brazilian toy and electronics tycoon Leo Cris is suing a real estate agent who he claims persuaded him to slash the asking price of a luxury home by $6 million without telling him the buyer was Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
Chris claims that if he had known the world’s second richest man was behind the bid, he would not have agreed to the price discount and would have made a profit of more than the $79 million he made selling the property.
Bezos’ net worth is now more than $200 billion, second only to Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. In October, Bezos purchased a 19,000-square-foot mansion on Miami’s Indian Creek Island, known as the “billionaire’s retreat” because many billionaires and celebrities live there. The home, which includes a wine cellar, library and theater, was originally listed for sale for $85 million.
He is now suing Douglas Elliman, the US property firm that handled both sides of the sale, for concealing the identity of the Amazon founder.
According to court documents, Chris alleged that he suspected the billionaire was behind the bid on his house because Bezos had purchased an adjacent property for $68 million in June of that year, and asked if he was really the prospective buyer. Douglas Elliman claimed it had no knowledge of this, according to court documents. Chris, who paid $28 million for the property in 2014, agreed to sell it for $6 million less than the asking price.
Only later did Chris learn that he’d sold the property to a company with ties to Bezos. Knowing who the real buyer was “would have been material to[Chris’]negotiations and the ultimate sale price,” the lawsuit states.
His lawyers also argued that the real estate agents “knew or should have known who the ultimate beneficial purchasers were but misrepresented that very material fact to their client.”
Indian Creek Island is home to 41 addresses, and its residents include former US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump, NFL legend Tom Brady, and model Adriana Lima.
In April, Bezos purchased a third mansion on the island for $90 million, bringing his total investment in the area to $237 million.
The trial is scheduled for October 11th.
(RT.com)
