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Donald Trump made U.S. real estate history this month when he sold the 80,000 SQ. FT. Maison de L’Amitie, based in Palm Beach, Florida to a Russian fertiliser billionaire by the name of Dmitry Rybolovlev. Rybolovlev who is listed as number 59 on the Forbes list of the world’s richest people is estimated to be worth $12.8 billion.

He is believed to have bought the super luxurious property for the 475 feet beach frontage it commands. Rumours that he will tear it down have surfaced which would make the piece of land on which the property stands one of the most expensive in the world.

Trump bought Maison de L’Amitie ^[2] in 2004 for a cool $41.35 million from bankrupt Abe Gosman. He engaged the services of Apprentice winner Kendra Todd with renovating the property. Reports state he paid $25 million for the make-over which included 24-karat gold bathroom fixtures, white marble columns, a series of trompe de l’oeil reproductions of famous paintings, grandiose gardens and all the other luxuries that can be bought for a lot of money.

            ^{80,000 SQ. FT Maison de L’Amitie Palm Beach, Florida [Photo Credits: BusinessWeek [3]]}

The historic sale went down for a reported $95 million dollars, although some say it was $100 million ^[4]. Either way, this is a massive success despite the global property situation right now and Donald Trump would have to be a very happy man for having made a nice million dollar profit (minus the investment he made by renovating the place).

Mind you, his profit was made in 4 years or just under. Not bad as an investment. You can see an aerial view of Maison L’Amitie ^[5]. It was originally listed ^[3] to sell for $125 million and lingered on the market ^[6] for two years before Trump decided to slash the price tag by $25 million in March this year.