37. East Hampton Compound – $103 Million
This entry comes with a healthy dose of drama. Adelaide de Menil is the heir to the famous New York Schlumberger family and its vast fortune—including a huge number of real estate holdings. Among these was a 40-acre property in East Hampton that was pretty much undeveloped. So, like we all do, Adelaide starting using it as a dumping ground for other houses and buildings she had purchased. We repeat: the woman had so many buildings that she had to have a property just to put her spare buildings on. We’re told most of these structures were historic homes from around the state that Adelaide wanted but couldn’t be bothered to drive to.
However time ran on and the East Hampton property apparently became a burden, so Adelaide decided to sell it. The buyer was one Ron Baron, an American financier who laid out a cool $103 million for the land. His goal is to build a luxury home that will take advantage of the beachfront location and relative isolation.
While we wish him the best with that, we have to wonder: where will poor Adelaide keep her spare buildings now?