By: Ellen Cans
Billionaire Robert Kraft has purchased a $43 million beach-side Hamptons property.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the off-market deal is one of the biggest transactions to close yet in 2021 at the posh destination. The property is on Meadow Lane in Southampton, N.Y., amid some of Long Island’s most expensive properties. The roughly 7,000-square-foot home was built in 2017, replacing a historic cottage known as “A Wee Lyr Mor,” as per property records. The home features an oversized oceanfront swimming pool. The main house is modern, with a pitched roof and large square windows, as per Google Maps. Details about the property are scarce, as it was never listed for sale.
Kraft, 79, is the chairman and CEO of the Kraft Group, a holding company which includes assets in paper and packaging, sports and entertainment, real estate development and a private equity portfolio. He purchased the NFL’s New England Patriots in 1994 for $172 million, and it is now worth $4.4 billion and boasts six Super Bowl victories. As of January 2020, Kraft has an estimated net worth of $6.9 billion.
The seller of the home is a limited-liability company tied to Nir Meir, a former partner at Manhattan real-estate development company HFZ Capital Group. Meir had purchased the property for $10.5 million in 2013 before it was rebuilt, as per property records. The transaction was handled by Hedgerow Exclusive Properties, a Bridgehampton-based real-estate firm. Spokespersons for both Mr. Meir and Mr. Kraft did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Mr. Kraft already has an impressive portfolio of ultra-posh luxury homes, including in the Boston area and in Palm Beach, Fla., records show. The Massachusetts-native was born into a Modern Orthodox Jewish family, having taken after-school Hebrew studies through high school and observed religious practices including the Sabbath. Mr. Kraft and his wife are philanthropists who have donated hundreds of millions of dollars to a range of causes including education, child- and women-related issues, healthcare, youth sports and American, Israeli and Jewish causes.
In June 2019, in a Jerusalem event, Kraft pledged $20 million to establish a foundation to fight antisemitism and combat the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. In 2000, Kraft has donated $11.5 million to construct a white Jerusalem-stone Hillel house at Columbia University, where he had completed undergraduate studies on an academic scholarship. He had continued on to Harvard Business School, which is also one of the numerous educational institutions that he has contributed to.