Two neighboring billionaires just spent $67 million to make sure they won’t be getting a new neighbor.
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and WeatherTech founder David MacNeil split a 4-acre waterfront parcel in Manalapan, Fla., that had been earmarked for a record-setting $285 million megamansion — transforming the site into a pricey buffer between their sprawling compounds. Now, there won’t be anyone living in between them.
“It’s always good to have a little extra space for my three Golden Retrievers to run,” MacNeil told the Wall Street Journal in an interview.
Property records show MacNeil paid $32 million for the northern portion of the ocean-to-Intracoastal site, while Ellison is set to pay $35 million for the southern half in a transaction expected to close in the coming weeks, sources told The Post.
The deals bring an end to plans for what would have been one of the most ambitious residential projects ever proposed in the country.
The property at 1960 S. Ocean Blvd. had generated headlines after developer and former Manalapan mayor Stewart Satter unveiled plans for a sprawling 50,000-square-foot estate carrying the jaw-dropping $285 million asking price. Had it been built and sold at that level, it would have become the priciest residence ever sold in the US.
Instead, the billionaires living on either side of the property decided to claim the land for themselves.
According to people familiar with the transaction, MacNeil acquired the northern parcel adjoining his waterfront estate, while Ellison moved to secure the southern section bordering his roughly 15-acre compound.
The outcome is a far cry from the vision Satter had pursued after purchasing the property for $27.5 million in 2024. The lot featured approximately 350 feet of frontage on both the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway and included a 12,200-square-foot residence built in 1989. The home was later demolished.
Satter later assembled an elite team of designers, architects and builders to create plans for a trophy estate loaded with luxury amenities. The proposed mansion would have included a bowling alley, a car museum, a wellness center, a golf training facility, a padel court and extensive entertainment areas spread across the ocean-to-lake property.
The project attracted significant attention from wealthy buyers, but many of them were interested in something other than the house itself.
“Each one of those buyers always asked us, would they consider just selling the land?” Douglas Elliman broker Nick Malinosky previously told The Post.
As interest in the plans grew, so did demand for the property without the mansion attached. Last November, the offering underwent a dramatic shift when the proposed home was separated from the land and the parcel was listed on its own for $75 million.
Malinosky said many ultra-wealthy buyers preferred to create their own compounds rather than purchase a residence designed by someone else.
“These buyers wait to build their own property. They have their own needs, their own staff,” Malinosky said. “So that’s what made us pivot to just the land.”
