Russian-Israeli billionaire Roman Abramovich has recently closed escrow on the most expensive residential deal in the Israeli real-estate industry's history, shelling out NIS 226 million ($64.5 million) for a home in Herzliya Pituach, an affluent beachfront neighborhood in the central Israeli city of Herzliya.
Abramovich, who received Israeli citizenship in 2018, bought land covering 2,375 acres, according to financial daily Globes.
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According to the report, the home was previously owned by British hedge fund manager Alan Howard, who had bought the property from Israeli businessman and philanthropist Lenny Recanati in 2006, for $9 million
The property was placed on the market in 2018, with an asking price of $100 million but there were no takers.
According to Globes, Abramovich leased the home last year with an option to buy.
The deal was reportedly completed just weeks before the coronavirus pandemic crippled economic activity.
With this purchase, Abramovich joins an exclusive club of people who have paid over NIS 100 million for a home in Israel. These include high tech businessman Zaki Rakib, who bought a 100 million shekel home in Tel Aviv, Cypriot-Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi, who bought Rakib's home several years later for NIS 146 million, and Russian billionaire Valery Kogan, who shelled out NIS 110 million to turn five adjoining penthouse apartments in Tel Aviv into one apartment.
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