Leo Kryss agreed to sell a Miami property for below the asking price, unaware that the Amazon founder was the actual buyer
Brazilian toys and electronics mogul Leo Kryss is suing the real estate agent who he claims persuaded him to lower the price of his mansion by $6 million without disclosing that the buyer was Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
Kryss contends that he would not have agreed to the discount and would have negotiated a higher price than the $79 million he sold the property for if he had known the world’s second-wealthiest person was the bidder.
Bezos, currently worth over $200 billion, trailing only Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, purchased the 19,000-square-foot mansion on Miami’s Indian Creek island, dubbed the “billionaires’ bunker” for its residents, which include numerous billionaires and celebrities, in October. The house, which features a wine cellar, library and theater, was originally listed for $85 million.
Kryss is now taking US real estate company Douglas Elliman, which handled both sides of the sale, to court for allegedly concealing the Amazon founder’s identity.
Kryss claimed that Bezos had bought the adjacent property for $68 million in June of the same year, so he suspected that the billionaire was behind the bid on his house and inquired if he indeed was the prospective buyer, according to court filings. Douglas Elliman claimed to have had no such knowledge, according to legal documents. Kryss, who paid $28 million to buy the property in 2014, agreed to sell the property for $6 million below the asking price.
It was only later that he discovered he had sold the property to an entity linked to Bezos. Knowing the real buyer’s identity would have been “highly material to [Kryss’] negotiations and his decision on the ultimate sales price,” the legal filing states.
His lawyer also claimed the realtor “knew or should have known who the ultimate beneficial purchaser was and misrepresented that very important fact to our client.”
Indian Creek island has 41 addresses, with residents including former US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump, NFL legend Tom Brady, and model Adriana Lima.
In April, Bezos brought his total investment in the area up to $237 million with a $90 million purchase of a third mansion on the Island.
A court hearing is set for October 11.