New York financial adviser picks up Palm Beach home of Stephen Ross’ uncle for $5.3M

A New York financial adviser paid $5.3 million for a guest house belonging to the late Marjorie and Max Fisher, aunt and uncle to developer and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross. 

Property records show James Freeman, founder and chair of Freeman & Co., and his wife Laura Lofaro Freeman bought the home at 931 North Lake Way from a trust in Marjorie Fisher’s name. The six-bedroom, 7,500-square-foot house was built in 1996 and sold for slightly more than $700 per square foot.

It was listed for $6.2 million with the Corcoran Group’s Jim McCann, Suzanne Frisbie and Allison Wren. Ashley Copeland of Brown Harris Stevens represented the Freemans.

The Fishers were both philanthropists. Max Fisher, Ross’ uncle, made his money in real estate and oil and later became an adviser to a number of Republican presidents. Fisher financed Ross’ higher education, although he paid him back, according to a profile of Ross in the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

In 2005, the year Max Fisher died, he ranked as the oldest member of the Forbes 100 with a net worth of $775 million. Marjorie Fisher died in June, and both of their Palm Beach homes hit the market months later for a combined $26 million.

The other property, at 920 North Lake Way, was reduced from $19.95 million to $16.5 million in February. It’s now under contract, according to the Palm Beach Daily News. It has about 10,500 square feet. [Palm Beach Daily News] – Katherine Kallergis