In 2019, while Jeff Bezos was making headlines for his high-profile divorce from novelist MacKenzie Scott, behind the scenes the Amazon founder was also investing a substantial sum into Seattle’s real estate market. The tech titan embarked on a $45 million homebuying spree, acquiring four previously unreported properties in the Hunts Point enclave, according to a report from Business Insider. His Washington state real estate empire is estimated to be worth as much as $190 million.
Hunts Point is a secluded peninsula east of Seattle with only 400 residents. The area boasts a history of housing prominent figures in business, including former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, members of the Nordstrom family, telecom magnate Craig McCaw and former Costco CEO James Sinegal, according to the report. Bezos, through a trust, acquired a waterfront estate in Hunts Point for $37.5 million in April 2019. That property features 300 feet of coastline, a rooftop deck with a fireplace and a glass bridge connecting to a two-story guesthouse. The other three homes purchased in 2019 are within a mile of his new waterfront estate, ranging from $1.8 million to $3.3 million in price.
All four properties acquired in 2019 were purchased through trusts and limited liability companies that share an address with a PO box affiliated with Blue Origin, Bezos’s rocket startup, according to the report.
One of the three properties is listed for sale, according to a report from the Puget Sound Business Journal. The asking price for that house, which has four bedrooms and is located at 9218 NE 38th St., is $4.4 million. Bezos originally paid $2.75 million for the house.
Prior to 2019, Bezos acquired additional real estate properties on the shores of Lake Washington. In 2010, he purchased a $45 million waterfront estate that is adjacent to another two-home waterfront property that he acquired for $10 million in 1998. This sprawling compound is situated just south of Hunts Point in the Medina neighborhood. A previously unreported purchase in 2015 also revealed Bezos’s foresight in expanding his property holdings, according to the report. He bought a smaller property across the street from his massive Medina compound for $3.9 million.
Earlier this year, Bezos announced that he was going to move from Seattle to Miami, according to industry reports. The Land Report has reported him as the 24th largest landowner in the United States with 420,000 acres.
