Sale of Jeff Bezos’ $79M mansion prompts lawsuit from Miami seller

When Kryss was approached with an offer on the property, he had a sneaking suspicion that his new neighbor was behind the sale. The seller said he heard from Jay Parker, Douglas Elliman’s CEO of Florida-area real estate, who assured Kryss that the Amazon founder was not the buyer and that the buyer would pay no more than $79 million, The Wall Street Journal reported.

After Kryss sold his mansion for $79 million, $6 million below asking price, he discovered that the buyer actually had ties to Bezos.

Kryss alleged that knowing Bezos’ intention to acquire adjacent properties was “highly material” to his decision-making and ultimately cost him $6 million, according to a complaint filed in Miami-Dade County and seen by the Journal. Kryss is suing Douglas Elliman, which received a commission of more than $3 million for handling the sale of the properties.

Douglas Elliman’s Parker said in an email to Kryss that he also was unaware of Bezos’ identity as the buyer and that he was convinced the property was purchased by the family of Benny Klepach, the mayor of Indian Creek Village, the Journal reported.

Klepach’s daughter, Celine, joined Elliman before the sale closed and earned a commission on the property’s sale. Although Celine Klepach has since left the company, she and her attorney denied her involvement in the deal, the Journal reported.

It’s not uncommon for wealthy buyers to hide their identities to avoid sellers charging higher markups, Danny Hertzberg, a broker with Jills Zeder Group at Coldwell Banker, told the Journal.

Indian Creek, also known as the “Billionaire Bunker,” is an exclusive community on a private island in Biscayne Bay. It’s known for its super-rich residents, including Bezos, former NFL star Tom Brady, and Jared Kushner, a former White House adviser and husband of Ivanka Trump. A total of 41 lots are wrapped around the Indian Creek Golf Club in the middle of the 300-acre island, which has no beach access.

The island was named the most expensive U.S. city by Zillow in 2021 and is heavily secured. Bezos owns three properties on the island, the most recent of which cost $90 million to purchase in April.

Kryss did not respond to requests for comment sent outside regular business hours. Douglas Elliman declined to comment.