A hedge fund manager nicknamed the “Wizard of Oz” enchanted his way into a near-record setting real estate deal in the Hamptons late last year, according to a new report.
Australian hedge fund manager Greg Coffey, 50, was revealed to be the buyer behind the $105 million purchase of the Fordune estate in Southampton in late 2021, one of the most expensive properties ever sold in the area, according to the Wall Street Journal.
While among the most expensive Hamptons deals on record, the $105 million closing price was significantly short of the compound’s original $175 million asking price, the Journal reported.
The deal was brokered by Bespoke Real Estate and Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty, according to the Journal.
The 20,000-square-foot, 12-bedroom home was built for auto mogul Henry Ford II in the 1960s and sits on 42 acres with ocean access. The grounds contain a carriage house, a 60-foot-long pool, a tennis court and a basketball court. When the Ford family used the property it contained nearly 200 acres, but parcels have since been sold off.
The home was first listed in 2017 by portfolio manager Brenda Earl. At the time, it was the most expensive property for sale in the Hamptons.
The superstar investor rose to prominence as a trader with GLG in London before becoming co-chief investment officer for European business at Moore Capital Management. In 2012, he announced his retirement at age 41 and returned to Sydney, before emerging in 2018 to announce he would launch a new fund based in London.
Coffey also recently purchased a $50 million Upper East Side townhouse from real estate developer David Levinson in 2021, according to the Journal.
Among the other estates owned by Coffey is the Ardfin estate in Scotland, a sporting estate the hedge fund manager purchased in 2010 that attracted some controversy due to Coffey’s decision to close the estate’s public grounds.