The US Ambassador to Israel's residence in Herzliya was sold for $67 million, AP reports. Earlier this week the Israel Tax Authority, which has public records for all real estate deals in Israel, posted that the house at 40 Galei Tachelet Street in Herzliya Pituah was sold on July 31 for NIS 230,353,536, or $67.6 million according to that day's exchange rate of 3.408.
This figure slightly exceeds the previous record amount paid for a house in Israel when Russian-Israeli billionaire Roman Abramovich bought a home several streets away in Herzliya Pituah from British hedge fund manager Alan Howard for NIS 226 million.
The US Embassy in Israel only acknowledged the deal one month after it was completed but did not state the amount that it was sold for or the name of the buyer. Sources informed "Globes" at the time that the buyer is US billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who would continue to lease the house to US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, until the spring of 2021.
Adelson reportedly has a political motive for the purchase. The aim is to make it more difficult for the Biden administration to reverse the outgoing Trump administration's decision to move the US Embassy in Israel for Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The property at 40 Galei Tachelet Street is a 1,000 square meter house on a 5,000 square meter lot. The house, which was built in the 1960s, is built on the eastern part of the lot with sloping gardens to the west and a sea view.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 30, 2020
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