A case of Palm Beach house-hopping has amounted to more than $67 million in residential deals on the island.
Hedge funder Ara Cohen is linked to the recent $15.5 million sale of a non-waterfront Palm Beach house, which also ties him to a $51.6 million purchase of a lakefront trophy home last summer.
Records show Palm Tea Trust sold the house at 234 Eden Road for $15.5 million to another trust named for the address, with attorney Daniel R. Cooper signing on behalf of the buyer. Property records show that seller’s mailing address as 200 Via Palma, a lakefront mansion that was purchased in July for $51.6 million. The Via Palma buying entity, Geats LLC, later signed a 99-year lease with Cohen and Sophie Stenbeck.
Cohen is a co-founder of Knighthead Capital Management, a New York-based hedge fund with $9 billion in assets under management. He is also on the board of the Professional Fighters League, a professional league for mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters, and is on the board of directors for the Palm Beach Synagogue, according to his firm’s website.
Cohen bought the Eden Road house for $9.2 million in 2020, according to property records. It was built on 0.3 acres in 1990, and spans 4,300 square feet, with five bedrooms, six bathrooms, one half-bathroom and a pool, records show.
It hit the market for $20 million in May, according to Zillow. Suzanne Frisbie with the Corcoran Group had the listing, and Christian Angle with Christian Angle Real Estate brought the buyer.
Palm Beach real estate players say house-hopping has proven to be a significant driver of the island’s luxury market in recent years. In 2023, designer Tom Ford dropped $51 million on a non-waterfront estate, only to trade for a larger mansion with a tennis court a few months later. The deal was reportedly worth more than $100 million. Fox News host Bret Baier also upsized to a $37 million, 6,700-square-foot house in 2023, and sold his 4,200-square-foot Palm Beach home last year for $13.5 million.
More recently, billionaire Red Ventures co-founder and CEO Ric Elias sold his oceanfront Palm Beach mansion for $73 million, marking one of the season’s first trophy deals.
