Russian billionaire Rybolovlev admits buying Trump mansion

Fertilizer mogul is also behind the record-setting $88 million sale at 15 Central Park West

515 North County Road mansion
515 North County Road mansion

From the South Florida site: When Donald Trump sold his sprawling Palm Beach, Fla., mansion for a whopping $95 million five years ago, the true identity of the buyer was a mystery.

That is no longer the case, as Russian billionaire Dmitri Rybolovlev has finally acknowledged his involvement in the purchase of the 515 North County Road home. Rybolovlev told lawyers during a London deposition last month that he invested an undisclosed amount in the 2008 transaction, Palm Beach Post reported.

The billionaire said he continues to pay property taxes and cover maintenance costs at the mansion but denied that he is the true owner.

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Attorneys for Rybolovlev’s estranged wife, Elena, pressed him for details during the deposition. Elena has sued Rybolovlev in Palm Beach Circuit Court in an attempt to receive half of the mansion’s value through a divorce.

Rybolovlev amassed his wealth through the potash fertilizer industry. The 33,000-square-foot oceanfront mansion used to be known in the town as the Gosman estate. [Palm Beach Post] — Eric Kalis