Billionaire Russell Weiner is expanding his Miami Beach real estate portfolio with the $35.3 million purchase of a waterfront mansion on Star Island, The Real Deal has learned.
Weiner closed on the purchase of the 1.1-acre property at 43 Star Island Drive on Thursday, according to sources. The late Dr. David Frankel, a prominent dermatologist, owned the 11,104-square foot, eight-bedroom mansion with his wife, Linda Frankel. It previously belonged to former talk show host and comedian Rosie O’Donnell.
The price is closer to $36 million, including commissions, according to a source.
The home, built in 1923, was listed with Compass agent Liz Hogan for $48 million. Weiner, who confirmed he bought the property, received a 26 percent discount off the asking price. It went into contract in mid-June, according to the Multiple Listing Service. Hogan, who brokered both sides of the deal, could not be reached for comment.
Homeowners on Star Island include Gloria and Emilio Estefan, billionaires Ken Griffin and Philip and Patricia Frost, Rick Ross and Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is in jail. Earlier this year, billionaire developer Vlad Doronin sold his waterfront Star Island estate for $120 million, setting a new record for home sales in Miami-Dade County.
Weiner, who made his fortune with the $3.9 billion sale of Rockstar Energy to PepsiCo in 2020, has set his sights on ultra-luxury residential real estate in South Florida.
He’s building a massive compound on Pine Tree Drive and is also the true owner of 5300 North Bay Road. Both properties are in Miami Beach. Developer and hospitality mogul Keith Menin paid $16.1 million for the waterfront North Bay Road home last year and has been renovating the property into the Mediterranean-modern style his company, Menin Homes, uses.
Weiner is working with Menin on the North Bay Road project and a planned expansion and renovation of the Star Island property, he confirmed. The North Bay Road home will likely be completed in September and could hit the market for $35 million, according to a source.
The Star Island estate has 200 feet of water frontage, two guest houses, a boat house and tropical landscaping, according to the listing. The expanded estate could span 15,000 square feet once completed, with a master suite, gym, spa, padel court and cabana.
It will likely hit the market for more than $100 million, the source said.
Weiner has been buying and selling homes in South Florida for years. In 2020, he flipped two homes in North Palm Beach for more than $48 million, reaping a 45 percent gain in one month. The billionaire entrepreneur bought the properties from Swedish model Elin Nordegren, the ex-wife of golfer Tiger Woods, for nearly $33 million a month earlier.
Construction of his Pine Tree Drive estate is at the center of lawsuits involving Weiner and his former project manager. Earlier this year, he foreclosed on the middle property at 5101 Pine Tree Drive via foreclosure.
Menin is a principal at Miami-based Menin Hospitality and owner of Bodega Taqueria and Tequila. His Menin Homes has bought, renovated and sold other homes in South Florida. The company was recently involved in the renovation of attorney Anthony Lopez and former “Real Housewife of Miami,” Dr. Nicole Martin’s waterfront Coral Gables estate, which sold for $40 million.
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