The man who sold Jeff Bezos a $79 million Miami Beach mansion is reportedly suing the real estate agent who handled the deal, alleging that the agent concealed the fact that the Amazon founder was the buyer of the 2.8-acre home, potentially costing Bezos as much as $6 million.
Leo Cris, co-founder of Brazilian toy and electronics maker Tectoy, filed a lawsuit against Douglas Elliman after the company's CEO allegedly personally told Cris that Bezos was not the buyer of the home. According to the Wall Street Journal.
Chris was the owner of a seven-bedroom, 14-bathroom home on the coast of Indian Creek Island, known as a “billionaire's retreat” and famous for its residents including Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump and football legend Tom Brady.
The Brazilian billionaire bought the property, which comes with a wine cellar, library, theater, and pool, for $28 million in 2014.
Last May, Chris put the mansion on the market for $85 million. A month later, his net worth was Bloomberg Billionaires Index Rating 202 billion and purchased the three-bedroom, three-bathroom home right next door for $68 million.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Chris received an offer shortly thereafter to sell his estate for $79 million, after which he asked if it was Bezos who made the offer.
According to the lawsuit filed in Florida state court, Douglas Elliman CEO Jay Parker called Chris personally and assured him that Bezos was not the buyer and that no buyer would agree to more than $79 million for the property.
He then agreed to lower the asking price by 7.1%, but after the deal closed, he learned the buyer was actually a company with ties to Bezos, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Real estate agents say it's common for wealthy buyers to conceal their identities throughout the buying process out of concern that sellers could inflate the asking price if they knew the name of their counterparty.
According to the lawsuit, Chris would not have agreed to lower the asking price if he had known that Bezos was the buyer and intended to purchase a property next door to one he already owned.
He argued in court filings that “knowing whether Bezos had anonymously purchased the home and intended to consolidate it with the adjacent property was critical to his negotiations and the determination of the ultimate sale price.”
Douglas Elliman declined to comment. The Washington Post has contacted Bezos and Chris.
Dana Clayton, Chris' lawyer at Miami-based law firm Ackerman, told The Wall Street Journal, “Douglas Elliman failed in their obligations to our clients. They knew or should have known who the ultimate beneficial purchaser was and misrepresented that very important fact to our clients.”
The real estate agent who handled the sale, Celine Klepac, is the daughter of Indian Creek Mayor Benny Klepac, according to the lawsuit.
Parker told Criss he had been led to believe the property was being purchased for the Klepacz family, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Celine Klepac, who reportedly pocketed the commission from the sale and left Douglas Elliman a few weeks ago, told The Wall Street Journal, “I was not involved in this transaction.”
Bezos bought the properties after announcing early last year that he was moving to Miami from his longtime home of Seattle.
