Maison de L'Amitié (House of Friendship) was a French Regency-style estate in
Palm Beach, Florida
Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intracoas ...
, United States. The plot area was about and bordered a length of on the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
. It was one of the largest and most expensive homes in the United States. The neoclassical palace had an area of and its outbuildings an area of . Maison de L'Amitié had three outbuildings: a barn and two houses for guests plus a pool and hot tub. Besides the pool there was an outbuilding with two bedrooms and bathroom. A coach house was located next to the entrance gate, and the third outbuilding was located on the edge of a courtyard. The estate also included a tennis house.
The home was demolished in 2016.
Interior
Maison de L'Amitié had 18 bedrooms, 22 bathrooms, a ballroom, a media room and an art gallery Behind the door was a room with an area of with large windows offering a view of the ocean. The rooms had 18- to 36-feet high ceilings and were finished with marble and granite. Gold and diamonds were used in the bathrooms. The kitchen had
mahogany
Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...
furniture and stainless steel appliances. Maison de L'Amitié also had a garage which fits nearly 50 cars.
During a tour of the property in 2007, reporter Jose Lambiet noted shortcuts and flaws, including suspiciously thin, bulletproof hurricane windows and gold fixtures in the bathrooms that were only painted gold. Lambiet said that the property had persistent mold and was difficult to air condition.
History
The property of Maison de L'Amitié was formerly owned by
Dun & Bradstreet
The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation is an American company that provides commercial data, analytics, and insights for businesses. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, the company offers a wide range of products and services for risk and financia ...
family member Robert Dun Douglass. It was sold to tycoon
Harrison Williams in 1930.
Owner
Jayne Wrightsman
Jayne Kirkman Wrightsman (née Larkin; October 21, 1919 – April 20, 2019) was an American philanthropist, arts collector and widow of Charles B. Wrightsman (1895–1986). She was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in ...
sold the house on May 1, 1985, for $10 million to
Les Wexner
Leslie Herbert Wexner (born September 8, 1937) is an American billionaire businessman, the founder and chairman emeritus of Bath & Body Works, Inc. (formerly Limited Brands). Wexner grew a business empire after starting The Limited, a clothing re ...
. Three years later, on May 27, 1988, it was sold to Massachusetts nursing home magnate
Abraham "Abe" D. Gosman for $12,089,500. Gosman built the mansion on the property and named it ''Maison de L'Amitié''. On July 30, 1999, the house was put in the name of his wife, Linda C. Gosman. After Abe Gosman filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation in 2003, the property went up for auction in 2004.
On January 7, 2005, entrepreneur
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
bought the home for $41.35 million outbidding
Jeffrey Epstein
Jeffrey Edward Epstein ( ; January 20, 1953August 10, 2019) was an American sex offender and financier. Epstein, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, began his professional life by teaching at the Dalton School in Manhattan, des ...
. Trump listed the home in early 2006 for $125 million.
An employee of Trump Properties in Florida said that Trump had spent $25 million on renovations,
while Trump himself claimed to have only spent around $3 million renovating the house. In March 2008, after cycling through several real estate brokers, Trump lowered the asking price to $100 million. On July 16, 2008, Trump sold the home to Russian billionaire
Dmitry Rybolovlev
Dmitry Yevgenyevich Rybolovlev (russian: Дмитрий Евгеньевич Рыболовлев; ; born 22 November 1966) is a Russian oligarch, billionaire businessman, and investor.
Rybolovlev became chairman of the Russian fertilizer prod ...
through his County Road Property LLC, for $95 million. At the time it was the most expensive residential property sale to ever occur in the United States.
The Rybolovlevs had tried to secure a $25 million discount for the property.
Rybolovlev purchased the home with a trust. During divorce proceedings for the Rybolovlevs, Dmitry denied direct or indirect ownership of the house in a 2011 deposition.
The house remained empty since the purchase.
In 2013, a Palm Beach County appraisal of the house valued it at $59.8 million.
Rybolovlev said in 2013 that he wanted to demolish the house. He described it as an opportunity to divide the land into smaller plots.
A plan to demolish the residence was approved by the Palm Beach architectural commission in April 2016.
The Palm Beach Town Council approved a proposal to subdivide the property into three parcels of around two acres each.
One parcel of sold for $34.34 million.
References
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1988 establishments in Florida
Houses in Palm Beach County, Florida
Residential buildings completed in 1988
Villas in the United States
Demolished buildings and structures in Florida
Buildings and structures demolished in 2016