Billionaire Larry Ellison, co-founder of software company Oracle, bought the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa, expanding his nationwide hotel portfolio and his holdings in the exclusive town of Manalapan.
Ellison scooped up the 310-key Eau Palm Beach hotel at 100 South Ocean Boulevard in Manalapan for an undisclosed price from the Lewis family, according to a news release from Eastdil Secured, which represented the seller. The sale has not yet hit property records.
Ellison, who is chief technology officer at Austin, Texas-based Oracle, currently has a net worth of $162 billion, making him the fifth richest person globally, Forbes data shows. He stepped back as Oracle CEO in 2014 and now owns nearly 40 percent of the firm.
The Eau Palm Beach, an 8-acre oceanfront compound with a barrel tile roof and exteriors painted in various shades of beige, spans from Ocean Boulevard to the beach.
It dates back to the 1950s when it was established as La Coquille Club, and became a favored spot for the likes of the Vanderbilt, Ford and Rockefeller families, as well as U.S. presidents. The Simon family razed La Coquille in the 1970s and redeveloped it as The Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach, which opened in the early 1990s, according to Eastdil’s news release.
The Lewis family, whose members include Simon Lewis, principal of Lewis Trust Group, paid $67.5 million for the property in 2003, records show. The family rebranded it as Eau Palm Beach Resort in 2013.
Over the past four years, South Florida became a magnet for high-net-worth executives from out of state who scooped up mansions at record prices. Ellison was among the buyers, paying $173 million for a 16-acre compound in Manalapan. The price set a record for home sales in Florida.
Ellison’s other hotel holdings include Four Seasons Lanai and Sensei Lanai in Hawaii, as well as Nobu Ryokan Malibu, Nobu Hotel Palo Alto and Sensei Porcupine Creek in California.
