Rush Limbaugh’s widow has sold his stunning Palm Beach mansion for $155million after quietly listing it last year.
Kathryn Adams Limbaugh, 46, quietly listed the lavish waterfront property last year for $150million to $175million. The long-time Palm Beach, Florida, resident sold the property in a record deal of $155million.
It sets a new record for Palm Beach, with the last biggest sale being $129.6million for four parcels in 2013 by hedge-funder Ken Griffin, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
Rush, who died in 2021 from lung cancer, bought the property in 1998 for $3.9million, which was purchased through a trust tied to Kathryn, according to WSJ. He also bought up four neighboring properties to build a 2.7-acre estate.
The mansion, which features its own private beach, was mostly decorated by Rush himself and features a vast salon in the style of the Palace of Versailles and has a main guest suite modeled after the Presidential Suite of the Hotel George V in Paris, the Wall Street Journal reports.
However, property experts suggested last year that this could actually hold the property back as it may be considered a ‘tear down’ to buyers who want a less dated, and more modern home.
Limbaugh – a man with a net worth of around $600 million when he died – paid $3.9 million for the main estate in 1998. Limbaugh’s ex-wife, Marta, paid $2.3 million for the home at 108 Mediterranean Road in 2000, and Limbaugh’s trust paid $450,000 for the house next door, at 1501 North Ocean Boulevard, in 1999.
An Army of One, a book profiling Limbaugh in 2010 by author Zev Chafets, details how the conservative icon largely decorated the estate himself.
‘It reflects the things and places he has seen and admired,’ Chafets wrote. The house had a vast salon meant to be reminiscent of Versailles, he wrote, and a massive chandelier in the dining room was a replica of the one in New York’s Plaza Hotel.’
The main house has seven bedrooms, a dozen bathrooms and a two-story library inspired by the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina which contained wood-painted walls and ‘cherubs dancing on the ceiling,’ according to Chafets’ book. The library also features an elevator.
The mansion also includes hundreds of feet of oceanfront property, as well as a pool and a putting green for golf.
A 24-hour guard station is among the various structures the Limbaughs purchased to go along with the mansion.
The estate also includes a guest house that is meant to be a replica of the Hotel George V’s Parisian Presidential Suite.
Limbaugh also built his own studio on the property that allowed him to broadcast live every day for the last 20-plus years of his life.
It was one of multiple properties owned by Limbaugh, who also owned a condominium on Fifth Avenue in New York City.
Limbaugh, the radio icon and ‘voice of American conservatism’, died in February of 2021, aged 70, following his year-long battle with lung cancer.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom Winner was diagnosed with Stage IV advanced lung cancer back in February 2020, hosted his last radio show on February 2 during which he revealed another host was on standby in case his health deteriorated.
‘Well, my friends, that’s it. Yet another excursion into broadcast excellence in the can. Enjoyed being with you today, always do. And look forward to the next time,’ he said at the conclusion of the show.
It was in the early 1980s that Limbaugh first garnered an audience, broadcasting shows dripping with sarcasm and bravado.
Limbaugh began broadcasting nationally in 1988 from WABC in New York. While his know-it-all commentary quickly gained traction, he was dismayed by his reception in the big city. He thought he would be welcomed by Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather.
‘I came to New York,’ he wrote, ‘and I immediately became a nothing, a zero.’
Ultimately, Limbaugh moved his radio show to Palm Beach and bought his massive estate. Talkers Magazine, which covers the industry, said Limbaugh had the nation´s largest audience in 2019, with 15million unique listeners each week.
SOURCE: dailymail.co.uk
