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Alden Global Capital co-founder sells Palm Beach home for $23M
Renovated non-waterfront house last sold for $7.9M two years ago
The co-founder of billion-dollar hedge fund Alden Global Capital sold a renovated non-waterfront home in Palm Beach for $23 million, two years after buying it for $7.9 million.
Records show a Delaware LLC named for the address sold the house at 150 El Vedado Road to Hope Enterprises RE LLC, another Delaware entity. A previous deed ties the seller to Smith Management LLC, the private company of Alden Global Capital co-founder Randy Smith.
The Palm Beach Daily News ties the buying entity to billionaire Robert Smith and his wife, Hope Dworacyzk.
The two Smiths are not related.
Randy Smith co-founded Alden Global Capital, the hedge fund famously known for buying and gutting local newspapers. Its $1 billion investment portfolio includes the Chicago Tribune, the Denver Post, and the Mercury News. The fund recently set its sights on a new target, mobile home parks, according to NPR.
Prior to Alden Global Capital, Smith spent 20 years as a partner at Bear Stearns. He owns an estimated $50 million portfolio of luxury homes in the Palm Beach area, the News Guild reported earlier this year.
Robert Smith is CEO of Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm that invests in software companies. According to Bloomberg, the Austin-based fund manages $94 billion in assets. By some estimates, Robert Smith is the wealthiest Black man in America.
According to property records, Randy Smith bought the Palm Beach property for $7.9 million in January 2021.
The 0.6-acre property includes a 5,200-square-foot, four-bedroom, six-bathroom house that was built in 1986, records show. A previous listing for the property shows it includes a pool by architect Clarence Mack.
Records show Randy Smith renovated the interior, hardscape, landscape and pool. The non-waterfront property nearly tripled in price since Randy Smith bought it, amid extreme demand for homes in Palm Beach’s luxury market.
A pandemic-induced surge of buyers has sent prices soaring for non-waterfront Palm Beach properties, hitting record highs once reserved for homes with an oceanfront view.
Last month, a private equity boss flipped a non-waterfront Palm Beach estate for a record $51 million.
Also in December, the luxury builder Courchene sold a non-waterfront spec home for $32 million. In November, a wealth management CEO sold his non-waterfront property for $21.3 million.