A massive and historic villa located in the French village of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat that was formerly the property of late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has been sold. And even though the exact sale price hasn't yet been disclosed, it was likely enough to make the sale one of the biggest of the year.
Known as Villa Maryland, the huge estate boasts 27,000 square feet of interior living space and 18 bedrooms, plus another 10 acres of gardens. It dates back to 1904, when its construction was commissioned by railroad tycoon Sir Arthur Wilson. Wilson had a habit of holding many grand social functions on the property, and Allen reportedly carried on the tradition with soirées such as a pirate-themed function reportedly held during the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. And back in 2008, it was reported that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie spent time on the estate before their 2016 separation.
(Photo by JARRY/TRIPELON/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
Villa Maryland was one of many top-level real estate holdings accumulated by Allen over the course of his life, and it's estimated to be worth some $105 million, which is presumably close to what the buyer paid for it. As to the buyer's identity, it's billionaire Israel Englander, founder of the hedge fund Millennium Management.
Allen passed away in 2018, pledging before his death that the proceeds from his trust would all go to charity. In 2022, his world-class art collection was auctioned off by Christie's and brought in $1.5 billion, the highest figure for an individual art collection in history, and many of Allen's impressive real estate holdings in addition to Villa Maryland have either been sold or are currently listed for sale. These include a property in Beverly Hills, a mansion near San Francisco, several properties on Mercer Island in Seattle, and the home that once belonged to the artist Georgia O'Keefe in New Mexico.
