Billionaire media mogul Barry Diller closed on a 1.5-acre waterfront lot on Miami Beach’s North Bay Road for a record $45 million.
Diller went into contract to buy the land at 5930 North Bay Road from Related Companies’ Bruce Beal Jr. in February, The Real Deal reported at the time.
Reid Heidenry and Marko Gojanovic of One Sotheby’s International Realty and Brett Harris of Douglas Elliman represented the buyer. Mick Duchon of Corcoran Group represented the seller. They declined to comment on the deal.
The deal marks a price record for waterfront North Bay Road properties.
Diller is the chairman of New York City-based media group IAC, which owns People Magazine, Real Simple, Investopedia and Food & Wine. He also helms Expedia Group and founded Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting. He has an estimated net worth of $4.2 billion, according to Forbes.
He and his wife, designer Diane von Furstenburg, were significant proponents for creating New York City’s Little Island park on the Hudson River.
Diller’s North Bay Road site was once the home of the Whitehall Mansion, a storied estate rumored to be a secret meeting spot for John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe. Beal bought the 13,600-square-foot mansion from convicted tax evaders, hoteliers Mauricio Cohen Assor and his son Leon Cohen-Levy, for $18.5 million in 2018 and demolished the home. The property spans 200 feet of waterfront.
Prices along Miami Beach’s waterfront, especially on North Bay Road, have surged since South Florida’s pandemic boom started four years ago. Large lots with wide waterfront are particularly rare and valuable, agents say.
Venture capitalist Christopher Burch listed his 0.7-acre waterfront North Bay Road mansion for $49 million in August. He has since removed the listing. Billionaire hedge funder Dan Loeb listed his mansion at 6440 North Bay Road for $45 million in December. The asking price was cut to $41.5 million in April, according to Realtor.com.