Billionaire Larry Ellison has purchased the luxury 309-room seaside resort just south of Palm Beach, expanding his real estate empire that stretches from the East Coast to Hawaii.
Ellison, one of the world’s richest people with an estimated net worth of $162 billion, according to Forbes magazine, bought the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa in Manalapan, a 1950s property that was the playground of the Ford, Roosevelt and Vanderbilt families.
The Oracle co-founder acquired the property for an undisclosed price from Lewis Trust Group, which has owned the resort since 2003, the company announced Friday.
When the company first floated the idea of selling in 2019, it was reportedly seeking roughly $1 million per room, or more than $300 million. According to the Palm Beach Post.
“We are sad to see his term come to an end but are pleased that Larry Ellison will continue to take care of the resorts and lead hoteliers to even greater heights,” Simon Lewis, head of a London-based venture capital firm, said in a statement.
Two years ago, Ellison bought a residential property a few miles along the coast in Manalapan for $173 million, breaking the record for the most expensive sale in Florida history.
His vast portfolio also includes 98% ownership of the Hawaiian island of Lanai, as well as ownership of hospitality properties such as Nobu hotels in Malibu and Palo Alto, California.
His primary residence is on the island of Hawaii.
Ellison and the resort, via Oracle, did not respond to requests for further comment.
His latest beach grub The multimillion-dollar renovation took a year to complete. Palm Beach Resort in 2022 The ballroom and event space was renovated in 2018..
The eight-acre resort and hotel offers a variety of rooms, suites, restaurants and event spaces, as well as a beach, gym and spa.
The hotel said Ellison plans to make improvements to the resort but did not provide details.
Resort staff will remain on board, the hotel said.
The building was a popular beach club in the 1950s but was demolished in the late 1970s to make way for a resort.
Before the property was purchased by the Lewis Group in 2003, it was branded as a Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
The London-based group reportedly purchased the Palm Beach Ritz property for $67.5 million and then invested a further $100 million into it.
In 2013, the name was rebranded to “Eau,” French for “water,” to reflect its beachfront access and coastal décor.
