A commodities trader will get to live like a Rockefeller after purchasing a former family estate on St. Barts for a record-shattering price.
Adam Sinn, owner of Aspire Commodities, purchased the 130-acre property for $136 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. It was the most expensive acquisition in the history of the Caribbean island; television commercial producers Steve and Linda Horn were the sellers after decades of ownership.
David Rockefeller, grandson of Standard Oil founder John Rockefeller, purchased the property with his wife in 1957 as a vacation home, according to a 2014 memoir by their daughter. Nelson Aldrich, a cousin to the Rockefellers, designed the stone structure in the secluded northwest area of the island; the home was completed in the 1960s.
Stone pathways separate the bedrooms from common areas such as the dining and living rooms in the 5,400-square-foot main residence. The home is perched on a peninsula with surrounding views of the island and the water. Both a road and stone path allow access to one of the more highly-regarded beaches on the island.
For a long time, the property was only accessible by boat and lacked phones and televisions. That changed a few years ago, when a roughed-in road allowed four-wheel drive vehicles to access the property.
The estate needs some TLC, though, after mostly being abandoned following a series of storms, including Hurricane Irma in 2007, which destroyed the 1,600-square-foot guesthouse. Sinn plans to restore the estate, which also included other outbuildings like a staff quarters; zoning is largely restricted on estate land.
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Sinn is based in Puerto Rico, so island life is fairly familiar to him. He’s also fiercely loyal to his alma mater, donating $20 million to Texas A&M two years ago.
St. Barts has seen its fair share of expensive sales and listings in recent years as wealthy buyers seek a laid back lifestyle and favorable tax structures. In 2021, Scottish businessman Doug Barrowman listed his custom-built 17,000-square-foot home for $80 million. In 2009, Roman Abramovich bought a 70-acre estate for $90 million.
— Holden Walter-Warner