£50m estate sets new US record

Last updated at 15:13 21 June 2005


A residential estate in New York's fashionable Hamptons has sold for a staggering £50million ($90million), setting a new US record.

The 40-acre estate is surprisingly modest, boasting a three-bedroom farmhouse and converted barn.

There are two guest houses, a two-bedroom caretaker's house, a fully stocked pond and a 75-foot pool.

It was sold privately by Adelaide de Menil Carpenter, a professional photographer and heiress to the Schlumberger oil-company fortune, according to local broker Tara Newman.

Although the name of the buyer has been kept under wraps, he is known to be a Swedish industrialist.

The Hamptons, a two-hour drive from the city, is the famed summer playground of New York's rich and famous.

"It's a celebrity petting zoo," said Ms Newman.

"It's pseudo country. You have the ocean, the best food, but you don't pay £14 ($25) for a burger in the country or go to the beach in a £165 ($300) swimsuit.

"It's for people who say they want to get away but are actually surrounded by the same circles."

Ms Newman said the record-breaking sale would certainly change the market.

"It could turn people off or it could make people think their houses are a lot more valuable than they really are," she added.

"But this sale is absolutely a one-off."

The previous national record for a residential property was £38million ($70million), paid by billionaire Ronald Perelman for a Palm Beach mansion last year.

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