Richard Gere revealed as discount buyer of Paul Simon’s estate

Music power couple sold Connecticut home at a loss to actor for $10.8M

From left: Richard Gere, Paul Simon and Edie Brickell in front of 82 Brookwood Lane in New Canaan, Connecticut (Getty Images, William Pitt Sotheby's International Realty)
From left: Richard Gere, Paul Simon and Edie Brickell in front of 82 Brookwood Lane in New Canaan, Connecticut (Getty Images, William Pitt Sotheby's International Realty)

Richard Gere is on a discount tour of the tri-state area real estate market.

The “Pretty Woman” actor been revealed as the mystery buyer of the 32-acre Connecticut estate that Paul Simon and Edie Brickell sold last month at a multimillion-dollar loss. Mansion Global reported the property traded to a trust tied to a recent sale in upstate New York by Gere.

The New Canaan property at 82 Brookwood Lane sold to the “Pretty Woman” actor for $10.8 million on July 1.

The music power couple had a difficult time selling the property they bought for $16.5 million in 2002. The estate listed for $13.9 million in 2019 to no avail, before the couple dropped the asking price to $11.9 million and relisted it for $12 million in early 2021.

Gere coming off a sale of his own, trading a property in upstate New York. He bought the 50-acre estate in Pound Ridge for $1.51 million in 1986 and listed it for $28 million last year.

It sold in May for $24.15 million according to property records. The New York Post reported the mystery buyer was Ryan Murphy, the television powerhouse behind hits like “Glee” and “American Horror Story.”

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Bruce Baker of William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty represented Gere. He did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Houlihan Lawrence’s Taylor Tait and Libby Mattson had the listing. They declined to comment.

The Georgian mansion — completed in 1938 by architect Harold R. Sleeper — features six bedrooms, eight bathrooms, several powder rooms, and a three-car garage. The three-story home’s living room has an antique stone fireplace while the library has a stone-carved fireplace. All five guest bedrooms have a private bath.

The property includes walled gardens, terraced patios, a swimming pool, and a small pond on the far side of a large lawn. A 2,400-square-foot, three-bedroom cottage can host guests or caretakers — Simon and Brickell used it as a recording studio.

— Nisha Shetty