A Billionaire buys Beechwood

The founder of Oracle has apparently purchased the Newport mansion for $10.5 million.

The Newport Daily News, January 9-10, 2010 by Sean Flynn, Daily News Staff Writer

NEWPORT - It appears Larry Ellison, the fourth-richest man in the world, has purchased Astors' Beechwood Mansion on Bellevue Avenue for $10.5 million.  The buyer listed on the deed filed Wednesday with the city is Eastern Estates LLC, a limited liability company with headquarters at 101 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek, Calif., according to the company's filing with the Rhode Island secretary of state.

The manager of Eastern Estates is Philip B. Simon, a principal of Howson &Simon, an accounting firm at the Walnut Creek address.  An employee of the accounting firm confirmed that Ellison is a client.

Simon is also president of Lawrence Investments,a venture capital investment firm controlled by Ellison.

There has been talk around the city and the New York Yacht Club for weeks that Ellison was buying Astors' Beechwood, but the sale was not recorded at the Land Evidence Office in City Hall until Wednesday.

Despite the persistent rumors, Ellison, whose BMW-Oracle Racing team will be challenging Ernesto Bertarelli’s Alinghi syndicate in the 2010 America’s Cup race in Valencia, Spain, starting on Feb. 8, apparently would like to keep this a low-profile purchase.

Simon did not return a call asking for comment. The registered agent for Eastern Estates in Rhode Island is attorney Patrick O'N. Hayes Jr., whose office is at 31 America's Cup Ave. Hayes did not return a call Wednesday asking for comment. An earlier inquiry made to a spokeswoman at BMW/Oracle was forwarded to Ellison, according to the spokeswoman. He did not respond.

Melanie Delman, the real estate agent and principal of Lila Delman Real Estate, which made the sale, said she could not comment on the identity of the buyer. A management employee at Historic Beechwood also said she could not comment.

Robert B. Milligan Jr., owner of Historic Beechwood LLC, which sold the mansion, did not return a call asking for comment. In 2007, Milligan put Astors' Beechwood on the market for $16 million. The property currently is appraised at just under $7.14 million, according to records in the city assessor's office.

Attorneys involved in the sale informed the assessor's office that all tangible assets in the mansion, including furniture, fixtures and equipment, will remain in possession of Historic Beechwood and the property itself temporarily will be leased back to Historic Beechwood.

A stipulated order in Newport County Superior Court refers to a purchase and sale agreement between Historic Beechwood and an unnamed buyer willing to pay $10.5 million for the property. The agreement, which was signed Sept. 28, stemmed from a lawsuit brought against Milligan for unpaid debt. The lawsuit was settled and a judge issued the order in October.

Historic Beechwood would have "limited access" to the property until Aug. 5 "to conduct 26 previously scheduled weddings only," the court order says. Milligan and his related firms and trusts "anticipate a gross income of no more than $150,000 from these previously scheduled events," the order says.

Madison Group LLC sued Milligan because he originally borrowed $584,000 plus interest that was due to be paid on March 1, 2000. After an initial lawsuit in Superior Court in Connecticut, the Madison Group won a judgment against Milligan for $1.54 million in 2005. Unable to collect on that judgment, the Madison Group filed a lawsuit in Newport County Superior Court in 2008 seeking to collect the money through Milligan's share in the mansion.

Forbes Magazine has estimated Ellison's personal net worth at $22.5 billion.

Astors' Beechwood Mansion on Bellevue Avenue in Newport has sold for $10.5 million. Daily News file photo

"The database titan continues to engulf the competition," Forbes said in its brief profile of Ellison. "Oracle has racked up 49 acquisitions in the past four years ? Revenues are up 11 percent to $10.9 billion in the six months that ended November 30; profits also up 11 percent to $2.4 billion."

Ellison founded Oracle, a computer software company, in 1977 and went public with the company in 1986.

Astors' Beechwood dates to 1852. William B. Astor Jr. purchased the Italianate waterfront home in 1880 for $190,000 as an anniversary present for his wife, Caroline Webster Shermerhorn-Astor. Mrs. Astor hired famed architect William Morris Hunt to renovate the home and add a large ballroom for entertaining.

In a written description, Delman calls the property "a spectacular testament to the Gilded Age. This magnificent mansion boasts a history as dazzling as its dramatic oceanfront setting.

"The stuff of legends, Beechwood has hosted numerous artistic luminaries, including Cole Porter, who is said to have written the song 'Night and Day' while visiting there," Delman wrote. "It even makes a Hollywood appearance in the movie 'High Society,' starring Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby."

The Newport Daily News, January 9-10, 2009 by Sean Flynn, Daily News Staff Writer