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    A $65 Million Miami Mansion With an Aquarium So Big a Scuba Diver Has to Clean It

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    Mr. Helberg is going to Washington. 

    Jacob Helberg, President Trump’s pick for undersecretary of state for growth, energy, and the environment, is putting his bayfront Florida home on the market for a cool $65 million. However, don’t expect to find it listed on the MLS just yet—Helberg is aiming for an off-market deal as he makes his move to Washington, D.C. 

    Helberg and his husband, venture capitalist Keith Rabois, purchased the Venetian Islands property in 2020 for around $29 million. Since then, they’ve poured about $15 million on customizations, including a jaw-dropping 5,600-gallon aquarium imported from Japan that cost the couple about $1 million, according to agent Julian Johnston of the Corcoran Group. The tank is so massive that it requires a scuba diver for maintenance, who enters through a hatch discreetly tucked away inside the closet of the primary bedroom.

    RELATED: This $33 Million Waterfront Mansion in Miami Beach Was Inspired by Paris’s Famed Left Bank

    The 5,600-gallon aquarium stands between two spacious lounge areas overlooking the pool.

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    The design, originally built for Andre Radandt, former president of Bolthouse Farms, the waterfront home is a masterclass in modern elegance. Completed in 2019, the six-bedroom contemporary spread spans an impressive 15,000 square feet. One of the most striking elements is the entrance—a bridge over a reflecting pool leading to a two-story wall with intricate cutout designs by sculptor Erwin Hauer. Other notable features include an infinity-edge pool, an outdoor kitchen, a private dock with a 55,000-pound boat lift, and a rooftop deck with a hot tub for soaking in the dreamy water views.

    The open-plan kitchen and living area is also a showstopper, complete with a large island, casual dining space, and twin glass-enclosed wine cellars. The couple also added custom wood floors and calfskin wall panels, elevating the home’s sophisticated feel. 

    RELATED: Palm Beach’s Luxury Real Estate Market Is Thriving

    Floor-to-ceiling windows offer up panorampic views over Biscayne Bay.

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    A senior adviser to Palantir Technologies CEO Alex Karp, Helberg has yet to be confirmed in his new role within the administration. Meanwhile, Rabois continues to make waves as a venture capitalist, with investments in companies like Stripe and DoorDash. The couple’s love story goes beyond real estate—they tied the knot in 2018 in a ceremony officiated by OpenAI’s Sam Altman on the island of St. Barthélemy.

    Helberg and Rabois recently acquired a seven-bedroom, circa-1912 home in D.C.’s Kalorama neighborhood near the French Embassy for approximately $7 million, according to property records. Kalorama has long been home to power couples like Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, as well as Barack and Michelle Obama. Billionaires like Jeff Bezos and former Trump officials such as David Sacks, Howard Lutnick, and Scott Bessent also reside nearby. 

    Click here to see more photos of the waterfront home on Venetian Island.

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    Authors

    Abby Montanez

    Abigail Montanez is a staff writer at Robb Report. She has worked in both print and digital publishing for over half a decade, covering everything from real estate, entertainment, dining, travel to…

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      in Luxury

      Chris Wallace’s Stately Georgian-Revival Home in Washington, D.C., Hits the Market for $6.4 Million

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      Now that Chris Wallace has announced he is leaving CNN after three years to explore podcast and streaming opportunities, the veteran broadcaster has also decided to put his stately Georgian Revival-style residence in the affluent Kalorama neighborhood of Washington, D.C., on the market. The listing, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, is held by Michael Rankin of TTR Sotheby’s.

      The asking price is $6.4 million—or a whopping $5.3 million more than the 77-year-old son of the late CBS News legend Mike Wallace and his longtime wife Lorraine doled out for the property almost 28 years ago, back in early 1997, before going on to remodel the premises.

      An elegant living room is anchored by an expansive bay window and an antique fireplace.

      Townsend Visuals

      Built in the late 1920s for local department store founder Frank R. Jelleff and used by the couple during their tenure to entertain luminaries such as the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, and George Clooney, the red brick and mansard-roof structure features four bedrooms and five baths in roughly 7,000 square feet laced with hardwood floors, arched doorways, and decorative crown molding.

      A walkway originating at the sidewalk empties out at a columned front door, which opens into the main level of the multi-story home. From there, an entry foyer donning a traditional staircase flows to a living room adorned with a large bay window and an 18th-century marble fireplace. A formal dining room topped by a crystal chandelier leads via a butler’s pantry to the all-white kitchen, which is outfitted with top-tier stainless appliances. There’s also a wood-clad study lined with bookshelves.

      A stone-paved terrace encased with greenery is the perfect spot for hosting alfresco affairs.

      Townsend Visuals

      Upstairs, an inviting primary suite hosts a separate office space nestled alongside a fireplace, as well as a walk-in closet and a spa-inspired bath equipped with a built-in soaking tub and a standalone shower. More bedrooms can also be found on the second floor, with a top level serving as a storage area and the lower level holding a recreation room, a mirrored gym, and a guest suite with its own kitchenette.

      Outdoors, the walled and gated grounds span less than a quarter-acre and host a spacious greenery-encased terrace ideal for alfresco lounging and entertaining. There’s also an attached two-car garage and a motor court out back.

      Per WSJ, Wallace and his wife will now spend most of their time at their home in Annapolis, Maryland, where Lorraine operates a business that provides homegrown produce to local restaurants. The couple also plans to maintain a smaller home in the capital.

      Click here for more photos of Chris Wallace’s Washington, D.C., home.

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      in Luxury

      Pamela Churchill Harriman’s Onetime Georgetown Home Hits the Market for $10 Million

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      While participating in an interview in the living room of her private apartment at the Embassy residence in Paris back in 1996—shortly before she passed away the following year at age 76—Pamela Churchill Harriman was asked if there was anything she wished she had done differently when it came to her “free-flowing” existence. According to her obituary in The New York Times, her response was, “No … I consider I have had a very fortunate life … I drank deep of the well.”

      And drink deep of the well she did, indeed. At just 19 years old, the British-born socialite wed Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s only son Randolph, then went on to become a confidante and hostess for her new father-in-law after her husband went off to war. She later wound up serving as a top figure in the Democratic Party and U.S. Ambassador to France under President Bill Clinton’s administration; and, in-between, the woman who was named one of People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People in the World” in ’93 managed to marry a trio of the world’s richest and most influential men, including W. Averell Harriman, a former governor of New York, ambassador to the Soviet Union and heir to the Union Pacific Railroad fortune.

      An ornate fireplace serves as the centerpiece of a formal living room.

      Michael Rankin/TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

      It was at the Harriman’s abode tucked away in the historic Georgetown enclave of Washington, D.C., that the political hostess held a wealth of fund-raising receptions and dinners for the Democratic Party, attracting the likes of House Speaker Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill and Sen. Gary Hart, just to name a couple. Now, almost three decades after her death, the 19th-century residence has popped up for sale, asking a speck under $10 million. The listing is held by Michael Rankin of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty.

      Designed by architect Thomas Franklin Schneider in the early 1890s for local shoe merchant Wolf Nordlinger, the stately red brick structure also was occupied through the years by Nellie Keating, who established an upscale boarding house on the premises, and Carolyne Hudson, who sold the property to Harriman and his former wife Marie in 1970. Pamela Harriman subsequently transferred the home in 1995 for $990,000 to its current owner, who enlisted Solís Betancourt & Sherrill to undertake an extensive renovation and restoration of the place in collaboration with Ivy Construction.

      An updated kitchen boasts a central island and top-tier stainless appliances.

      Michael Rankin/TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

      Today, the historic dwelling features eight bedrooms and a matching number of bathrooms in a little more than 9,300 square feet of multi-story living space adorned throughout with wide-plank hardwood floors, high ceilings, intricate moldings, detailed casement openings, elegant wallpaper and an elevator to all levels. Entry is granted via a grand foyer, which flows to a formal living room warmed by an ornate fireplace and an adjacent fireside music room. A banquet-sized dining room with yet another fireplace leads to a sleekly designed kitchen outfitted with a central island, high-end stainless appliances and a breakfast nook sporting glass-paneled doors spilling out to a deck.

      The roof deck provides sweeping views of the city.

      Michael Rankin/TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

      Three bedrooms can be found on the second floor, including an inviting primary suite hosting dual fireplaces and walk-in closets, a balcony, and spa-like bath equipped with a large soaking tub and shower. The floor above has two more bedrooms—one with its own bath, and another with access to an oversized turreted playroom—and elsewhere is an office space, a sitting room and roof deck overlooking the skyline, plus a basement housing a staff suite, laundry facilities and storage.

      Rounding it all out are the landscaped grounds, which span less than a quarter-acre, and come complete with mature trees, manicured gardens and numerous terraces. Per the listing, there’s also parking for multiple vehicles.

      Click here for more photos of Pamela Churchill Harriman’s Georgetown house.

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      in Luxury

      Powerhouse Lobbyist Tony Podesta Just Sold His D.C. Home for $8.2 Million

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      Known for his brash attitude and flashy designer suits, super-lobbyist Tony Podesta’s Washington, D.C., mansion, which just sold for $8.2 million, exhibits the same sort of eye-catching brio. While the sale price is considerably below the not quite $10 million originally asked for, it’s still more than twice the $3.9 million the former super-lobbyist paid for the property just over 16 years ago.

      The 9,200-square-foot mansion was built in 1929 and was re-designed for Podesta by architect Olvia Demetriou of HapstakDemetriou+, who was tapped to inject the stately house with a contemporary flamboyance that could serve as a worthy container to entertain some of the world’s most powerful political figures—Nancy Pelosi, Henry Reid, and Queen Rania of Jorden have all been entertained here—and to showcase an extensive collection of contemporary artwork that includes pieces by Olafour Eliasson, Louise Bourgeois, and Petrina Hicks.

      The four-story home has a steel and glass helix staircase as well as a commercial-grade elevator.

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      Enveloped in greenery, the dour Georgian stone exterior hides committed, if unexpectedly minimalistic spaces that incorporate a steel helix staircase in the foyer, a commercial-grade elevator that services all floors (perfect for moving heavy sculpture), museum-quality lighting throughout, and a geothermal heating and cooling system. Given the dazzling value of the artwork that was showcased here, not to mention that the property is two doors down from Barak and Michelle Obama’s D.C. digs, the security system is unsurprisingly comprehensive.

      A vast reception room adorned with an elaborately carved 15th-century marble fireplace and a Palladian window is large enough to be converted to a dining room that will comfortably seat sixty. In the less formal, open-plan great room, the kitchen is clean-lined with sleek white lacquer cabinets. Gone, however, is the sinuous, 16-foot-long Ingo Maurer red ribbon chandelier that once hung over the island. A 20-foot-wide expanse of glass slides open to the limestone terraced backyard, where there’s a mysterious, black-shard water feature. The yard, conceived as a sculpture garden by landscape architect Richard Arentz, also includes a wood-fired pizza oven and a built-in gas grill.

      The great room has a 20-foot wall of glass that slides open to the terraced backyard.

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      The main bedroom is a suite of rooms with a wall of floor-to-ceiling glass that artfully frames a dense wall of trees and greenery. There’s also an open marble bathroom, a hidden morning/midnight bar, and a huge dressing room large enough to park a car or two in. French doors open the dressing room to a private deck set in the treetops overlooking the backyard.

      There are two more bedrooms, an exercise room, and a spacious TV lounge, along with ample storage on the third floor, while the basement level includes an in-law or staff suite, a fully equipped catering kitchen, and a humidity-controlled wine cellar. There’s also a two-car garage behind an electric driveway gate.

      The terraced backyard was designed by Richard Arentz as a sculpture garden.

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      Podesta has long been one of Washington’s most insidery insiders, with the ear of presidents and important members of Congress. Starting in 2012, he and the Podesta Group, which he founded with his brother John Podesta, came under federal investigation for compliance with the Foreign Agent Registration Act. The investigation was closed in 2019 without any charges being brought.

      Tax records indicate Podesta and his partner Trisja Malisoff aren’t leaving D.C., at least not entirely; last year they shelled out a total of about $3.1 million for a pair of loft-style condos (and several parking spots) in the bustling Logan Square neighborhood.

      Click here for more photos of Tony Podesta’s former home in D.C.

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      in Luxury

      Rex Tillerson Seeks $6.5 Million Deal for an Elegant Washington, D.C., Townhouse

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      When veteran oil and gas man Rex Tillerson went to Washington, D.C., to serve as the 69th U.S. secretary of state under former president Donald Trump, the cowboy boot-wearing Texan dropped $5.5 million on an 1920s-era townhouse in the prestigious Kalorama neighborhood.

      The former Exxon Mobile CEO’s tenure as secretary of state was tumultuous and short, barely more than a year, and in the years after his unceremonious dismissal in March of 2018 (he claims he found out he was fired by a tweet!), he and the former president traded insults in the media. But it’s only now, some six years later, that Tillerson and his wife Renda have put their stately four-floor D.C. home on the market. The $6.5 million price buys more than 5,700 square feet of traditional elegance with three (and potentially four) bedrooms and three bathrooms, plus three more powder rooms.

      The listing is held by Mark McFadden and Hunter McFadden at Compass.

      The 1920s residence stands four floors above the tree-lined street.

      Carlo Russo with HD Bros

      A few heads of state and untold numbers of West Wing movers and shakers no doubt passed under the front door’s carved stone pediment and made their way to the ground-floor library for a private tête a tête or perhaps took the whimsically muraled elevator to the parlor level, where a spacious fireside living room has three huge windows overlooking the street and the adjacent dining room is lit by a delicate Venetian glass chandelier. Elsewhere, the parlor floor includes an up-to-date kitchen with a pantry large enough to accommodate a desk and a family room.

      The Texas-sized primary suite sits on the third floor and includes several mirrored wardrobes, a couple of fitted walk-in closets, a separate dressing room, and a large, compartmentalized marble bathroom. A cozy study that features custom built-ins and paisley wall coverings completes the third floor, while two more bedrooms on the uppermost floor each have an ensuite bath.

      Back on the ground floor, along with an oversized laundry room and a dedicated office with built-in desk space, there’s an airy lounge that opens the courtyard-style back garden. A lower terrace alongside the detached two-car garage includes a built-in barbecue for summertime grilling and chilling.

      A cozy study wrapped in paisley wallpaper includes a floor-to-ceiling bank of custom built-ins.

      Carlo Russo with HD Bros

      Kalorama, aka the Beverly Hills of Washington, D.C., is cheek-to-jowl with foreign embassies and luxury homes owned by some of the most influential and powerful people in the country and the world, including Jeff Bezos, the Obamas, Fox News anchorman Chris Wallace, and one of Washington’s most beloved and famous hostesses, philanthropist Esther Coopersmith.

      The Tillersons have long made their primary home in Fort Worth, Texas, where records indicate they still own a 5,400-square-foot home bought in 2014 near the swanky River Crest Country Club. However, they substantially upsized in 2019 with the purchase of a 16,000-square-foot mansion that had been custom-built for Major League Baseball great Vernon Wells in the nearby suburban town of Westlake.

      Click here for more photos of Rex Tillerson’s home in Washington, D.C.

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      in Luxury

      Bret Baier Is Looking to Flip His Amenity-Packed Washington, D.C., Estate for $32 Million

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      Now that Bret Baier has upgraded into a new $37 million mansion in the Sunshine State’s affluent Palm Beach community, the chief political anchor of Fox News Channel, and anchor and executive producer of the network’s Special Report program, has decided to put his residence the upper northwest section of Washington, D.C., back on the market, as was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

      The asking price is a speck under $32 million—or $32.5 million more than the Baier and his longtime wife Amy forked over for the 1.5-acre property a little more than five years ago, back in September 2018, before they spent a reported three years and $25 million to completely rebuild every inch of the existing premises in collaboration with developer Michael Banks and architect David Jones.

      Should the house go for anywhere near the hefty list price, it would set a record for the city, topping the sale of a circa-1810 mansion that traded for $24.5 million back in 2007.

      The limestone-clad mansion is fronted by a cobblestone motorcourt boasting a central fountain.

      Studio Trejo/Mid-Atlantic Drones for TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

      Completed in April 2022, and Inspired by France’s Hotel Chateau du Grand-Lucé, the stately limestone and mansard-roof structure features five bedrooms and nine baths spread across 16,250 square feet of Thomas Pheasant-designed living space.

      A gated driveway empties out at a spacious cobblestone motorcourt bolstered by a marble fountain and flanked by a pair of three-car garages. Arched double doors beneath a portico entryway lead into the main level of the multi-level home, which greets with a soaring rotunda-topped foyer displaying a decorative Nero Marquina marble floor imported from Italy and curving floating staircase.

      A grand entry foyer is decked out with Nero Marquina marble flooring from Italy.

      Studio Trejo/Mid-Atlantic Drones for TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

      From there, the fireside living room has a temperature-controlled wine display, seated wet bar and French doors spilling out to a terrace, and a formal dining room flaunts another fireplace, plus a bespoke wood-and-glass table that seats 14. A gourmet kitchen is outfitted with an eat-in island, top-tier Miele, Wolf, and Sub-Zero appliances, and an adjoining breakfast nook that connects to a glass-lined family room.

      Upstairs, an opulent master retreat hosts a fireplace, sitting area, an expansive balcony, and dual walk-in closets and luxe baths. Additional en-suite bedrooms can be found on the third floor and lower level, which also has a wet bar-equipped lounge, game room with golf simulator, movie theater, gym, sauna and an indoor basketball court spanning two stories.

      A two-story indoor basketball court occupies the home’s lower level.

      Studio Trejo/Mid-Atlantic Drones for TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

      Outdoors, the tired grounds were crafted by landscape architect Richard Arentz, and hold a 56-foot pool and spa, chipping and putting green, and numerous spots ideal for al fresco lounging and entertaining. There’s also a whole-home 72-kilowatt generator, as well as eight geothermal wells providing 20 tons of cooling capacity.

      Per WSJ, Baier visited Florida frequently during Covid and decided to move there full-time this past summer. He will continue to commute weekly to Washington, where he hosts his live shows, and look for a smaller place there. Baier—whose net worth is estimated at $72 million—also happens to own a second home in Palm Beach that he paid fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger $12 million for in 2022, according to the South Florida Business Journal.

      The listing is held by Daniel Heider and Jaclyn Mason of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty.

      Click here for more photos of Bret Baier’s Washington, D.C., house.

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      in Luxury

      Jackie Kennedy’s Onetime Georgetown Home Is Slated for Auction

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      Almost three decades after she died at age 64, the 18th-century residence where former First Lady Jackie Kennedy and her children Caroline and John Jr. briefly lived shortly after JFK was shot and killed while traveling through Dallas in a presidential motorcade is up for grabs.

      Tucked away in the historic Georgetown enclave of Washington, D.C.—and reportedly purchased by the widow in 1963 for $195,000—the Federal-style estate was listed earlier this year for $26.5 million. Currently priced at $19.5 million with Jonathan Taylor of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty, the place is now set to go to the highest bidder Oct. 24 via a no-reserve auction held by Concierge Auctions.

      Built in the early 1790s by Thomas Beall, Georgetown’s second mayor, the stately red brick and black-shuttered structure also has been occupied during its history by Secretary of War Newton D. Baker and former Miss America Yolande Betbeze Fox. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the “Newtown Baker House” in 1976, and also designated as a National Historic Landmark.

      According to The Wall Street Journal, which previously reported on the sale, the late construction entrepreneur David W. Hudgens began assembling the compound in 1997, when he doled out $1.2 million for a traditional brick home next door to the former Kennedy House. He subsequently added a circa-1880s house on the block for $1.6 million, and then paid the Fox estate $5.2 million for the former Kennedy house in 2017.

      Hudgens went on to enlist architect Dale Overmyer to remodel and combine the trio of buildings, which have a total of 13 bedrooms and 18 baths sprawled across 16,300 square feet of living space. There also are “secret” passageways connecting the homes, plus a three-car garage.

      As for the central house where Kennedy resided, it’s fronted by a portico-topped door opening into a entry foyer displaying a traditional staircase and portrait of the late First Lady. From there, a living room where Kennedy gave her Warren Commission testimony about the murder of her husband is warmed by a fireplace, and an eggshell blue living room boasting a gold-leaf ceiling and elegant moldings leads to a gourmet kitchen outfitted with an eat-in island and top-tier stainless appliances.

      The entire second floor holds a master retreat, which comes complete with parquet floors, a private balcony overlooking the rear gardens, walk-in closet, and marble-clad bath spotlighted by dual vanities, a soaking tub and two separate showers; and elsewhere is an office, a gym, wood-paneled library and family room with bi-folding doors spilling out to an expansive terrace. Topping it all off: an observation deck providing picturesque views of the Washington Monument.

      Click here for more photos of Jackie Kennedy’s former Georgetown house.

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