Seller Morton Simkins recently acquired an oceanfront condo for $9M in April
A member of the Simkins family sold his waterfront Palm Beach home for $25 million to billionaire Thomas Peterffy, about two months after downsizing to an oceanfront condo nearby.
Peterffy, a Hungarian-born American businessman who founded and chairs Interactive Brokers, a financial brokerage firm based in Greenwich, Connecticut, according to records and sources. Peterffy, who also owns a large land portfolio in Florida, is worth almost $26 billion, according to Forbes.
Records show Morton Simkins, brother of the late Leon Simkins, sold the property at 1741 South Ocean Boulevard in Palm Beach to Worth Avenue Ventures, a Florida entity managed by attorney Christopher Uzpen. Morton’s brother, Leon, was president of Miami-based Simkins Industries, a paper products company founded by their late father, Samuel, in 1901.
The 5,300-square-foot home sits on 0.6 acres fronting the Intracoastal Waterway. The house was built in 1980 and has four bedrooms and six bathrooms, according to property records. It would likely be gut-renovated or torn down.
Thor Brown of Douglas Elliman represented Simkins in the off-market deal. Brown declined to comment.
Todd Michael Glaser was in contract to purchase the property, and he assigned the contract to the buyer that closed, Worth Avenue Ventures. Margit Brandt of Premier Estate Properties represented Glaser, according to a social media post. Brandt confirmed her involvement in the deal, but declined to comment further. Laura Pope of Sotheby’s International Realty represented Worth Avenue Ventures.
In April, Simkins and his wife, Judith, closed on their purchase of a three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom unit at 2100 South Ocean Boulevard in Palm Beach. Richard Radutzky, president of Joyva Corp., a Brooklyn-based chocolate and confectionery manufacturer known for its halvah, and his wife, Leslye, sold the 3,100-square-foot condo for nearly $2,900 per square foot.
Though year-over-year sales activity has slowed, larger deals continue to close on the ritzy island. American fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger recently flipped the house at 930 South Ocean Boulevard for $41.4 million, five months after buying it from top Palm Beach broker Lawrence Moens.
In April, luxury car dealer Michael Cantanucci paid $170 million for an oceanfront estate in Palm Beach, setting a new benchmark for residential sales on the island. The deal was just shy of the statewide record set by billionaire Larry Ellison’s $173 million purchase of an oceanfront estate in Manalapan last year.
And in February, billionaire William Lauder paid $155 million for the oceanfront compound at 1495 North Ocean Boulevard in Palm Beach, which the widow of late conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh sold.
Spec home developer Glaser and his partners are attempting to surpass that record with the island estate at 10 Tarpon Isle, which is on the market for $218 million.