Billionaire Robert F. Smith, who recently agreed to pay a $139 million tax evasion settlement with the Justice Department, is the buyer of two North Palm Beach properties that sold last month for more than $48 million.
Smith, the richest Black person in the U.S., bought the oceanfront mansion at 12520 Seminole Beach Road for $41.8 million and the non-waterfront home across the street at 12395 Banyan Road for $6.4 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Forbes pegs his net worth at $5.2 billion.
Rockstar Energy Drink founder Russell Weiner flipped the properties, reaping a 45 percent gain in one month, after he paid nearly $33 million for both in September. Swedish model Elin Nordegren, the ex-wife of golfer Tiger Woods, sold the houses to Weiner.
The oceanfront mansion has 11 bedrooms, 15 bathrooms and three half-baths. It features rooms with retractable glass walls, a roof deck, wine cellar, theater, two kitchens and a gym. Along with a pool, the home has 200 feet of ocean frontage, a putting green and a basketball/pickleball court. A separate guest house includes two separate apartments, each with a kitchen and living room.
Smith, CEO of Vista Equity Partners, also owns a $59 million penthouse at the Getty in Manhattan’s Chelsea District and two luxury homes in Malibu.
Smith settled with the Justice Department after admitting to evading taxes on more than $200 million of funds through an offshore account, withdrawing millions of dollars in untaxed money for personal use, the Journal reported.
Last year, he made headlines when he said he would pay off college debt for the graduating class of Morehouse College in Atlanta. [WSJ] – Katherine Kallergis