“Nervous” Robert Durst’s latest murder trial moves into second week after President Biden’s wife’s first husband reveals he had an affair with the deviant billionaire’s to-this-day still missing first wife
Last month a “former college football player” turned college bar operator named Bill Stevenson claimed that he slept with Kathie Durst, the missing since January 1982 then wife of the beyond bonkers billionaire Robert Durst, ten days before she vanished into thin air from South Salem, New York. At the time, Stevenson was married to 46th President of the United States Joe Biden’s now wife, Jill.
78-year-old Mr Durst – currently on trial for the murder of the mobster’s daughter Susan Berman in Los Angeles, California in December 2000 and previously acquitted of the murder of his neighbour, Morris Black, in Galveston, Texas in October 2001 in spite of admitting dismembering his body – returns to court today. Last week, this deranged deviant bizarrely admitting to disguising himself in a wig to hide from the “die-hard Trump supporter and Fox News personality,” Westchester County, New York District Attorney Jeanine Pirro in October 2000.
According to the Daily Beast, Durst – whose beyond odd personality was exposed when he tellingly declared: “What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course” in the 2015 six-part HBO series The Jinx – “panicked and flew to Dallas” to hide from Pirro after she announced she was reopening the cold case of his first wife’s disappearance. At the time, Pirro announced: “I have no reason to believe that she isn’t dead and that this wasn’t a homicide.”
Elsewhere late last week, Fox News highlighted Robert Durst shared that he had smoked “lots of marijuana” as well as taken cocaine and methamphetamine before his first wife’s disappearance and claimed he had had a “traumatised childhood” after “witnessing his mother either fall or jump to her death.” KTLA 5, meanwhile, shared footage where he declared: “Talking to the jury makes me nervous.”
As of date, Durst’s second wife, self-professed wannabe “female Harry Helmsley” and real estate executive Debrah Lee Charatan, has yet to get a mention in trial notes, but she surely eventually will. The Daily Mail once noted her as audaciously announcing: “I knew if I couldn’t be a star, I wouldn’t be happy.” She’s frankly instead lucky that she didn’t end up another victim.
Robert and Kathie Durst on their wedding day with one of their dogs. In total, during their marriage, the couple supposedly had seven dogs. All of them were named Igor and of them, in a “rare interview with the ‘New York Times’ in January 2015, Douglas Durst, the head of the family’s real estate empire, shared that his oddball brother had practiced “killing and disposing his wife” using the dogs. He declared: “Before the disappearance of my sister-in-law, Bob had a series of Alaskan Malamutes, which is like a husky. He had seven of them, and they all died, mysteriously, of different things, within six months of his owning them. All of them named Igor. We don’t know how they died, and what happened to their bodies. In retrospect, I now believe he was practicing killing and disposing his wife with those dogs.”Robert Durst with his friend turned alleged victim Susan Berman (centre) and alleged victim first wife Kathie Durst (right).Then married couple Bill and Jill Stevenson. Mr Stevenson alleges he had sexual relations with Kathie Durst ten days before she disappeared and claims this might explain her disappearance. Jill Stevenson went on to later marry Joe Biden subsequently.
The suspected serial killer came to wider public attention after ‘The Jinx’ went viral. During filming of the documentary, he declared to camera: “There it is. You’re caught! …. You’re right, of course. But you can’t imagine. … Arrest him … I don’t know what’s in the house … Oh, I want this … What a disaster … He was right. I was wrong. And the burping … I’m having difficulty with the question … What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.”
Robert Durst, whom got away with killing Morris Black based on claiming self-defense in spite of dismembering his body, stands accused of killing his friend Susan Berman in the current trial. It is likely he could subsequently face trial for the death of his first wife, Kathie, and he is potentially also linked to the disappearances of Lynne Schulze from Middlebury, Vermont in 1971 and Karen Mitchell from Eureka, California and Kristen Modafferi, who was last seen in San Francisco in 1997.
As her chirping crooner chum Christopher Mason parties in prison-orange pants with her other mates, ‘Grubby Ghislaine’ Maxwell languishes in a paper jump suit; look at who and what she’s missing out on in the Hamptons… For her, it’s Krug-less via a bit of “Orange Is The New Black”
Christopher Mason used to like to chirp for Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein about seriously sordid sexual antics, he liked to sing songs for their decidedly deviant associate Donald Trump and last Saturday, he put in appearance at a party where many of the incarcerated one’s (former) friends were present. Ironically (or intentionally) for this super special occasion minus their mucky madam appendage, the author and crooner Mason wore ‘prison-orange’ pants and sported orange loafers.
British-American transplant Mason, for once without one of his trademark and decidedly dodgy bow ties, perhaps channeled the “Orange Is The New Black pokey look” to remind fellow guests of the plight of their one-time chum, Ghislaine – after all she was stuck in a cell she’s claiming is sewage, rat and cockroach infested whilst they were all out in the Hamptons necking Krug and bingeing on caviar.
Though social butterflies and famous faces have hurriedly distanced themselves from the ‘Bouncing Czech’s’ poison spawn, many associates and friends of Miss Maxwell (or Mrs Scott Borgerson, as she ought to really be known) were present at a gathering at the ‘Grosvenor Atterbury Estate’ at 199 Coopers Necks Lane in Southampton, New York on 12th June 2021.
Owned currently by a “Manhattan real estate developer (DUMBO in Brooklyn) David Walentas,” according to the New York Social Diary’s David Patrick Columbia, the 6pm to 8pm bash at the ritzy residence was “designed” and hosted by a “major organizer [sic] of smart, chic, grand (and fun) parties” named Bronson van Wyck. Whether ‘Grubby Ghislaine’ was a conversational subject is unreported, but it’s pretty likely she was high on the agenda.
Of the event for 100 “prominent” and “not-so-underprivileged” people, Mr Columbia instead peacocked:
“The roadway along Coopers Neck was jammed with enthusiastic residents looking forward to a good time.”
“And a good time was had by all. And then there was the huge excitement of everybody seeing everybody – many for the first time in months. It was a real reunion celebration. Even Brooke Shields who has been recovering from a terrible accident and surgeries, made it to the party, looking like the top of the morning and showing no sign of what she’d been through.”
Individuals who’ve been snapped with Ghislaine Maxwell previously, aside from ‘Orange Pants’ Mason, at the “huge hit” evening numbered Tory Burch, Candace Bushnell, Tiffany Dubin and Martha Stewart. Whether Christopher Mason burst into song – as he’d done previously back in 1993 – about Jeffrey Epstein’s egg-shaped penis thankfully remains unknown.
Pictured top: Christopher Mason in his prison visiting appropriate orange pants and loafers at the party (centre) and with his mucky mucker Ghislaine Maxwell previously (left); Ghislaine Maxwell on another occasion with another of last Saturday’s party guests, ‘Sex and the City’ author Candace Bushnell.
Ex-jailbird Martha Stewart at the fat bash on Saturday with Peggy Siegal (left); Martha Stewart with Ghislaine Maxwell previously (right).Christopher Mason in decidedly conservative black tie in 2007 with Ghislaine Maxwell and Allegra Hicks, Amy Fine Collins and Freddy Leiba.Two former ‘photo-friends’ Ghislaine Maxwell didn’t get to hang out with at the ritzy party in Southampton on Saturday 12th June 2021 snapped with her previously, fashion designer Tory Burch (left) and Sotheby’s New York fashion vice president Tiffany Dubin (right).The scene of the 100-person bash organised by “Rolls-Royce of party planners” Bronson van Wyck lacking only Ghislaine Maxwell on 12th June 2021… 199 Coopers Neck Lane, Southampton, New York, NY 11968, USA is currently on sale for £25 million ($35 million, €29 million or درهم129 million) through Brown Harris Stevens. It features 14,619 square foot of accommodation, includes 11 bedrooms and 12 bathrooms and stands on a plot of 3 acres.
Christopher Mason on Ghislaine Maxwell
Her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein:
“He was her boyfriend, but she was his Gal Friday.”
Of what the mucky madam did for Epstein:
“She leapt to the occasion when there was anything he needed she could provide. She hugely expanded Jeffrey’s social universe.”
Of when she talked about Epstein:
“[There was always] a flash of excitement in her eyes.”
“She seemed utterly fascinated and thrilled with the life that he offered her and it seemed she would go to any length to satisfy his whims.”
Christopher Mason’s cringeworthily crude ‘cappella’ for Jeffery Epstein’s 40th birthday (at the behest of Ghislaine Maxwell in January 1993)
With the benefit of hindsight, Mason’s ‘song’ is decidedly sickening and sordid and frankly should join the archives with the ‘music’ of Rolf Harris and Gary Glitter. It shockingly talks of the later convicted and thankfully now croaked paedophile’s erections and goes as follows:
Poor Jeffrey Epstein is 40, oy vey!
Life must be tough, his hair is already so gray
He sure looks older, but it’s clear from his smile
The older he gets, the more juvenile
Ghislaine is lavishing him with her affections
She claims he has 24-hour erections
Sounds like he’s busy, now ain’t that berserk
How does he find the time to get off to work
He wakes when the cock crows while everyone slumbers
He rivals Einstein when crunching those numbers
He taught at Dalton: The naughty boy blushes
To think of schoolgirls and all of their crushes
Christopher Mason subsequently wrote other poems for Jeffrey Epstein. In one he was described, according to the Daily Mail, as “’Silverado,’ as if he were a gray-haired cowboy… Urban cowboy desperado.”
Classy or creepy? We leave that to you to decide.
In 2008, Christopher Mason spoke to CBNC about the scandal that enveloped the husband of another party guest at 199 Coopers Neck Lane, Southampton last Saturday – Judy Taubman, the billionaire widow of the disgraced former Sotheby’s owner turned eventual jailbird (like Ghislaine Maxwell), A. Alfred Taubman (1924 – 2015). Mr Taubman appeared in the famous Maxwell-Epstein ‘black book,’ naturally.
On a different note, in 2014, University of Cambridge educated Christopher Mason sang about Kim Kardashian’s arse. Ms. Kardashian was unsurprisingly not listed on the ‘New York Social Diary’ as amongst those present at last Saturday’s party in either their ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘C’ lists even. We imagine she was glad.Also present at the gathering at the ‘Grosvenor Atterbury Estate’ gathering was financier Euan Rellie. In July 2020, he tweeted of Alan Dershowitz: “This guy @AlanDersh is protesting way too much” after the lawyer and former defender of amongst others Claus von Bülow leapt to the defence of the alleged paedophile procurer Ghislaine Maxwell in ‘The Spectator.’
Real estate royal, bigamist and body dismemberer Robert Durst is deservedly denied an indefinite halt to his trial as his lawyer attacks the reputation of one of this suspected serial killer’s likely victims
Clearly deviant beyond belief and a man whom drank Jack Daniels and smoked pot before hacking apart the body of his then neighbour, Morris Black, and chucking his body in Galveston Bay in 2001, this definite deviant also remains a suspect in the 1982 disappearance of his wife, Kathie. Here, indeed, is someone with a plainly warped beyond weird moral compass and here is a 78-year-old with no concept of right and wrong.
Speaking of him in court in Los Angeles yesterday, Durst’s own attorney, Dick DeGuerin remarked on the “awful, awful dismemberment” as a “sickly… Durst blinked occasionally but [showed] no outward sign of emotion,” according to ABC News’ Brian Melley. DeGuerin then continued: “He doesn’t make good decisions… [but he] did not kill Susan Berman and he doesn’t know who did… [He] had no motive to gain by the death of Susan Berman.”
Turning to the slayed victim, DeGuerin condescendingly continued: “She was a fabulist. She made up stories. She told lies day in and day out.”
DeGuerin and others thus far have neglected to mention another of his client’s decidedly dodgy traits: In March 2020, this evil looking man’s “secret second wife,” Debrah Lee Charatan, was damned as a “bigamist” by a lawyer for the sister of Kathie Durst. Speaking to the New York Post, Robert Abrams remarked: “Plain and simple, she violated the law, she is a bigamist.”
Going further of Charatan having had another husband “until his death in 2019,” Abrams added: “There is no question that while married to Mr Durst, Mrs Charatan purported to contract a marriage with Steven Holm.”
After being forced to cut ties to his family empire in 2006, Robert Durst was bunged £46 million ($65 million, €53 million or درهم239 million) as part of a likely since unfulfilled hope that he’d disappear and shut his almighty gob. He handed £14 million ($20 million, €16 million or درهم73 million) of that to Debrah Lee Charatan. She continues to plug her trade online at BCBprop.com.
Murder victim journalist Susan Berman (1945 – 2000) pictured with her one-time ‘bestie’ turned alleged killer. Mobster’s daughter Berman was found dead on Christmas Eve 2000 at her home in Benedict Canyon, California. Her body was found in an “execution style” setting, but it was not until March 2015 that Durst was arrested and charged in New Orleans with her first degree murder.Debrah Lee Charatan pictured with her late “husband” Steven Holm.A ‘lounging’ Debrah Lee Charatan (left) and pictured with another of her husbands, Robert Durst (right).Robert Durst pictured with his “disappeared” first wife, Kathie. This week Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah announced her office is reopening the investigation into the 1982 disappearance. Of this, Rocah remarked: “At the time that this alleged homicide occurred… We did not have the same understanding of domestic violence, and how that kind of abuse could play into relationships and how it could frankly color law enforcement – and by that I mean police and prosecutors’ perspectives. So we will investigate this… It is challenging to do it after so long and we want to do it right. This has been around, and the family obviously wants and needs closure, I think, a whole community wants and needs closure.”
As Brian Basham peddles another puff piece for mucky madam Ghislaine Maxwell today, ‘The Steeple Times’ reminds him that we covered this news first on the 6th March
PR peddler Brian Basham has friends in high and low places and today, yet again, his chums at The Telegraph gave him acreage in a puff piece where he tried to big up the currently incarcerated mucky madam he’s acting as “spokesman” for, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Of “breaking news” this morning (that we’d covered first on the 6th March and later on 10th March also) that Maxwell was selling her “showgirl-hooker-esque” Belgravia mews house, bombastic Basham – who’s also been prone to keeping his fingers busy retweeting the obnoxious oddity Owen Jones of late – told the Barclay family owned rightwing rag:
“She is selling the house in order to pay her lawyers. There is already £5 million ($7 million, €5.9 million or درهم25.7 million) set aside but this will take it to more than £7.2 million ($10 million, €8.4 million or درهم36.7 million).”
“Ghislaine will be sad to see the house sold. She is devastated by all this. She will have a lot of good memories. She will be terribly sad to sell the house. It was her refuge in London.”
Whether such “good memories” included Prince Andrew bonking in the romp pad’s supposedly tiny bathtub on 10th March 2001 was unsurprisingly not discussed, but yet again Brian Basham’s obsequious spin that the ‘Bouncing Czech’s’ daughter is trying to cooperate with authorities as she seeks bail ought to be called out for what it truly is and that is “complete Barry bull.”
Elsewhere on Wednesday, our editor, Matthew Steeples, appeared on Shaun Attwood’s True Crime Channel to discuss Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein’s curious real estate shenanigans. A link to the half hour discussion will follow on YouTube in due course and will be published in The Steeple Times also.
Pictured top: PR peddler Brian Basham (left) and demanding deviant Ghislaine Maxwell with her one-time lover croaked paedophile and ‘ex-bestie’ of ‘Randy Andy,’ Jeffrey Epstein.
Basham-ing About – Shaun Attwood visited 44 Kinnerton Street, Belgravia, London, SW1X 8ES in September 2019 and managed to film the white bannister that was also seen in the now infamous photograph of Ghislaine Maxwell lurking as the Duke of York wrapped his chubby fingers round the waist of Virginia Roberts (now married and known as Virginia Giuffre) on 10th March 2001.Basham-ing About – ‘That’ photograph that Prince Andrew has so desperately tried to claim to be a fake that nobody at all has managed to discredit yet. Of it, even ‘Grubby Ghislaine’s’ own brother, Ian Maxwell, told Radio 4 this week: “I recognise the setting.”Bashaming About – Ghislaine Maxwell purchased 1,000 square foot 44 Kinnerton Street on 22nd January 1997 for £290,000 ($401,000, €337,000 or درهم5 million) and tried to flog it for £2.6 million ($3.6 million, €3 million or درهم3 million) in September 2020 through agents Aylesford. Of it, one leading property commentator remarked: “It’s the kind of house that could have featured in ‘Smiley’s People,’ in fact it’s the kind of house where the showgirl-hooker Mandy Rice-Davies could have cavorted with John Profumo.”
Extending to 3,632 square foot in total and on a plot of just under an acre, 221 Poplar Street is marketed by agents Carousel Realty as “gorgeous” and built in 1910. It was last sold in 2008 for just £42,900 ($60,000) and this time comes with “all furniture and antique furniture.”
Very much having the appearance of a ‘bargain basement budget’ version of “frankly my dear” Rhett Butler’s mansion in the 1939 movie adaptation of Margaret Mitchell’s 1936 novel, 221 Poplar Street’s wrap-around-porch has most definitely got ‘Marmite-like’ qualities. Of it, on Facebook, one commentator remarked: “It looks like a house in a cage” whilst another concluded: “I just love it.”
Situated in the Lake County area, where the militant ‘Night Riders of Reelfoot Lake’ tobacco farmers took on the monopolistic American Tobacco Company in the early 1900s and where between 1877 and 1950 thirteen black people were tragically lynched, the population makeup of the locality according to the 2000 census was 67% white and 31% black or African American.
Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – ‘Gone with the Wind’ was written by Margaret Mitchell in 1936. The fictional plantation house it centred upon, ‘Tara’, was of the antebellum style and in the novel was not nearly as palatial as the one depicted in the 1939 movie of the same name.
The Public’s Take…
“Is this the house from Dallas?”
“Looks like a mortuary.”
“Looks like a houseboat.”
“Looks like the Flying Nun!”
“Looks like a house in a cage.”
“Looks like Amazon just delivered it.”
“Reminds me of a ‘Tara’ recreation, circa 1960s-1970s.”
“Is there an actual house in there somewhere or is it just a porch?”
“What’s with the flat roof? You could land a helicopter on that thing.”
“That veranda is a bit much.”
“Does it come with the dog statue?”
“Can they still advertise antebellum [in the new ‘woke’ age]?”
“Poor photography. This is what happens when a realtor uses their phone for photos.”
The Numbers – 221 Poplar Street, Ridgely, Lake County, Tennessee, TN 38080, United States of America
March 2021 – For sale for £128,700 ($179,900, €150,100 or درهم660,700) or the equivalent of £36 per square foot ($50, €42 or درهم184 per square foot). Offered by realtor Karen Paschall of Carousel Realty of Dyer County at a sum 200% more than the December 2008 sale price.
December 2008 – Sold for £42,900 ($60,000, €50,000 or درهم220,400) or the equivalent of £12 per square foot ($17, €14 or درهم62 per square foot).
Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – The entrance hall to the property is somewhat plain. It could be a dentist’s waiting room area, in fact, though the faux bulldog adds a comedy touch.Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – This “formal living room” has the look of more like something from the 1980s BBC comedy series ‘Last of the Summer Wine’ than the elegance of ‘Gone with the Wind.’ The crappy coffee table, doily pelmeting and fake flower arrangements mixed with an oversized telly box are anything but classy.Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – The dining room is somewhat plainer in its styling.Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – A mural on the wall is surprisingly classy. It’s not quite de Gournay, but it’s certainly far from objectionable. The chandelier, on the other hand, most certainly belongs in a skip.Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – Another entertaining area complete with yet more fake shrubbery.Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – The kitchen is basic but functional.Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – One of four bedrooms. This one’s curtains, cushions and accompaniments have been carefully coordinated.Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – Another is a little more ‘Holiday Inn on an expense account-esque.’Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – A more flattering view of the building from the side. If only they’d watered the lawn.Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – From the side, the setting looks somewhat neglected.Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – There is a three car garage.Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – In addition, the 0.96 acre plot features an outbuilding also.Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – Two adjoining plots of land come as part of the property and the selling agents declare: “All furniture and antique furniture stays with the property.”
Ideal new ‘home’ for likely to be impeached Donald Trump for sale just as he prepares to leave office; it comes with its own jail – the perfect place to “lock him up!”
The “quaint” shire town of Guildhall (pronounced ‘Gilhall’), Vermont – whose population was estimated at just 255 in 2014 – is best known for having a large sign at its centre declaring it to be the “only town in the world so named.”
Now, just in time for Donald Trump’s departure from the White House and likely impeachment, the perfect pad for the 45th President has become available in the town. It comes in the form of a 4-bedroom cottage complete with its own attached former jail – a “safe space” he could retreat to if tagged or subjected to home imprisonment perhaps.
Situated on just under an acre of land next to the village green, Jailer’s House at 43 Courthouse Drive is described as having “so much character” and having “been renovated in recent years.” The jail, which ceased to be used in 1969, itself is in somewhat more perilous condition, as is a detached barn known as Jailer’s Barn.
Sold last for £85,000 in May 2017 and then bizarrely marketed for the much lower sum of £55,000 in April 2018l, agents Lisa Hampton Real Estate now seek £110,000 for the property.
Converted jailhouses and courts previously featured in The Steeple Times include the £14.5 million The Court House in Old Chelsea, London, SW3. It was from there that “drunkards, highwaymen and tax dodgers” were tried and “sent in chains to prison ships on the River Thames for transportation to the colonies.”
Lock Him Up! The property comes with a jail complete with prison cells with barred windows. Of it, agents Lisa Hampton Real Estate remark: “Bring your own ideas on what this 28’ x 40’ wing could be!”Lock Him Up! This cell could make the perfect new home for Donald Trump.Lock Him Up! One couldn’t imagine Melania Trump liking the condition of this crapper, however.Lock Him Up! One of the house’s more unusual features is a ‘witch window’ (also known as a ‘Vermont window’). Its presence might put off broomstick flying Ivanka Trump from visiting as this diagonal double-hung sash was conceived on the basis of the folk belief that “witches cannot fly their broomsticks through tilted windows.”
The Names & Numbers – Jailer’s House, Jailer’s Barn and former Essex County Jail, 43 Courthouse Drive, Guildhall, Essex County, Vermont, VT 05905, United States of America
October 2020 – Listed for sale by Lisa Hampton Real Estate for £110,000 ($149,000, €123,000 or درهم547,000), a sum 100% higher than its April 2018 asking price.
April 2018 – Listed for sale for £55,000 ($75,000, €62,000 or درهم275,000), a sum 35% lower than its May 2017 sale price.
May 2017 – Sold for £85,000 ($116,000, €95,000 or درهم426,000).
February 2012 – Sold for £51,000 ($69,000, €57,000 or درهم253,000).
April 1969 – Essex County Jail discontinued. According to The Burlington Free Press: “The Corrections Department assumed control of most jails in the state, and the sheriffs were to no longer live next to the jail, an amenity they received as part of the job (never fear – it was offset by a triple pay increase for sheriffs as well as a new office).”
July 1964 – A rapist and a man awaiting trial for breaking and entering escaped the jail. Of this, The Burlington Free Press remarked: “A deputy sheriff who lives next door to the jail discovered the break Wednesday morning when he brought breakfast to the jailhouse.”
June 1961 – The jail was supposedly condemned as “potentially dangerous for prisoners” by the state fire marshal.
1947 – According to The Burlington Free Press: “After Antonio Dubois, 47, stole 80 pounds of sugar from the Royal Cafe on Cross and Birch streets in Island Pond, he was held at the Essex County Jail. He couldn’t come up with the $2,000 he needed for bail, so he spent some time in the cells of what could be your home sweet home.”
April 1938 – According to The Burlington Free Press: “Two sheriffs were sued for allegedly assaulting two prisoners at the jail, the Essex County Herald reported in April 1938. The plaintiffs sued for $10,000 each, claiming they suffered broken ribs and fractured ear drums from the attack.”
1879 – 1880 – Jailer’s House, Essex County Jail and Jailer’s Barn are built on the site of an earlier facility burned to the ground by prisoners in 1878.
‘The Donald’ would have to be careful on this wooden staircase given Melania might see it fit to grease it in the style of drunken coal miner’s long-suffering wives of the 19th century. One false move and the 45th POTUS would be toast.The ugly painting of a prized cow in this sitting room might appeal to ‘The Donald’s’ dubious taste in artwork. He might “improve” the room with a bit more gilt.One could imagine Mr Trump, his ‘likely trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein’ wife and dear, little Barron dining in this “homely space.”Melania might actually finally get to enjoy herself cooking on this faux “antique stove.”A bedroom suitable for someone (like Donald) who’s got the blues. The furnishings would also appeal to a skinflint pensioner like Victor Meldrew.Lock Him Up! When things get really bad, Mr Trump might like to sit and reflect in a “safe space” in this shower. There’s even a seat ready for him.Given she didn’t achieve much at the White House aside from playing decorator in the tennis pavilion, Melania Trump could perhaps hone her gardening skills here.Lock Him Up! The bars of the jailhouse would need re-installing prior to ‘The Donald’s’ arrival.Lock Him Up! This barn could be the perfect place for the Trumps to play their favourite game: “Lock him up!”Mr Trump could fantasise about redeveloping the grounds of the property, though he’d more likely busy himself recreating the international joke that is the Trump Wall.Guildhall, Vermont is “most famous” for this sign. If Donald Trump arrived, maybe things might change. New signs declaring: “Lock him up!” would appear throughout the town.
Quaint Edwardian cottage with 22 acres of land in Wellington, Maine for sale for the same price as a brand new Land Rover Discovery
Named for Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, the town of Wellington in Piscataquis County, Maine is pretty small. With a population of just 260 in 2010 across 39.93 square miles, this is a place where “there are really are more cows than people.”
Known for an over-the-top annual Christmas light display that “brings tears of joy to the eyes” (supposedly) courtesy of a woodsman named Blaine Henderson, someone with just £48,300 ($59,900, €54,900 or درهم220,000) spare could now join this typically apple pie American, Hicksville community and become what locals call a “Mainiac.”
Counting the actress Liv Tyler and the author Stephen King amongst those born there, the state of Maine is best known for agriculture, fishing and shipbuilding and has a humid continental climate. It is the northern-most state in the north-east of America and for those “yearning for a home with acreage,” an Edwardian cottage at 14 Smith Hill Road could make for an ideal holiday home.
Standing on a plot of 21.58 acres, the 640 square foot cedar shingle clad house has been “updated” (to a degree) and has one bedroom and one bathroom currently. There is “lots of potential for expansion” and of the smallholding, realtors Berkshire Hathaway announce: “Come enjoy!”
Duplex penthouse in The Ritz-Carlton New York Central Park for sale for £39.7 million or a sum 48% lower than in 2012; it’s currently home to an Argentine tango dancer whom moonlights as a financier and has a ‘ballroom’ in a colour scheme that would make Katie Price blush
Built in 1930 to 1931 to the designs of the Hungarian-Jewish architect Emery Roth (1871 – 1948), 50 Central Park South – a building formerly known as the St. Moritz Hotel – has been variously owned by Harry Helmsley, Donald Trump, Alan Bond and Ian Schrager. In 2002, as part of a remodelling, the building reopened as The Ritz Carlton New York, Central Park and now one of the ten apartments that subsequently were created in the upper part of the building is again for sale.
Occupying the 34th and 35th floors, a “horseshoe-shaped” unit described as ‘Penthouse 34/35’ totals 6,405 square foot including roof terraces. It was first configured as a 4 bedroom and 4.5-bathroom unit, but was reconfigured after being purchased by the Harvard educated founder of Gamechange Solar and CEO of Barron Group Holdings, Andrew Barron Worden, in 2006 into a 3 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom property with a 40-foot long ‘great room’ that has been used for “very, very frequent entertaining” and a 49-foot ‘solarium’ above.
Andrew Barron Worden and the exterior of The Ritz-Carlton New York Central Park, 50 Central Park South at the south-east corner of Sixth Avenue, Midtown West, New York, NY 10019.The main reception room of Mr. Worden’s apartment is lauded as a “grand ballroom” and measures 42” in length and 24’7” in width. If it were a person it’d be a “cross between Katie Price and Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen” and is adjoined by a library.Guests at parties in the space are said to have included Russell Simmons – the businessman and music executive now in exile in Bali (after being accused of multiple sexual assaults).
Worden, described as “a ballroom dancer – Argentine tango, to be precise” in an article in The New York Times in August 2012, supposedly spent £5.7 million transforming the space and then tried to sell it for the very ambitious sum of £77 million that year. He did not succeed and again placed it on the market for £39.7 million last August.
Other owners of the ‘residences’ at 50 Central Park South have variously included the hedge fund tycoon Scott Bommer, the financier Howard Marks and the casino mogul Steve Wynn.
Agents Christie’s International Real Estate are currently marketing the “fully soundproofed” penthouse and describe it as an “heirloom unit” that could be “easily converted back as per the approved architectural plans.”
The Numbers – Penthouse 34/35, The Ritz-Carlton Residences, 50 Central Park South, New York, NY 10019, United States of America
August 2012 – Listed for sale for £77 million ($95 million, €88.1 million or درهم349 million) by Dianne Weston of Halstead Property. At the time, she claimed the owner “understands the metrics of the market.”
“Late 2000s” – Supposedly underwent a “renovation” costing £5.7 million ($7 million, €6.5 million or درهم25.7 million). Of this, The New York Times remarked: “[The apartment was subject to a] complete renovation, designed by the architectural firm Gustavson/Dundes, which gave the space a very contemporary look, including a sleek steel and glass staircase with treads that can be lighted from below.”
2006 – Sold to Andrew Barron Worden for £16.2 million ($19.95 million, €18.5 million or درهم73.4 million).
The dining room is said to have “magnificent views.”There is a chef’s kitchen also.The 35th floor ‘solarium’ leads onto a vast 700-square-foot terrace beyond.A view of the ‘residences’ at 50 Central Park South from Central Park.The floor plan “as is.”The floor plan of the 34th floor “as could be.”
Co-founder of Calvin Klein Inc. puts his 740 acre equestrian estate just an hour from New York up for sale for £81 million; about 65 stake winners and several horses that have competed at the Kentucky Derby have been produced there
“Murdered grocer’s son from the Bronx” Barry K. Schwartz and his childhood friend Calvin Klein co-founded the now world-famous fashion brand Calvin Klein Inc. in 1968 and sold it for £589 million in 2003.
Barry K. Schwartz with Calvin Klein.Barry K. and Sheryl Schwartz.
Aside from spending his ever-growing fortune on horses – one of which he named ‘Degenerate Jon’ (after his son) and another ‘Killer Diller’ (after his friend the media mogul Barry Diller) – Schwartz and his wife, Sheryl, purchased 673 acres of land to the north of New York City in Westchester County in 1979 for the back then far from insubstantial sum then of £2.6 million.
There, not that far from Belmont Park racetrack in the small residential hamlet of Granite Springs, after adding yet more land to take their “equestrian estate” to a grand total of 18 deeded parcels on 740 contiguous acres, the couple created a world-class equestrian establishment that they filled with thoroughbred racehorses. Facilities at ‘Stonewall Farm’ – as it is now known – have evolved to include a turf racetrack, riding trails, a 40-stall yearling barn, two 24-stall broodmare barns, round pens and 4board fenced paddocks and pastures with run-in sheds.
A year after cashing in alongside Klein, stamp collector Schwartz’s new home was completed on the property. It features 24,000 square foot of accommodation, 8 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms. There is a 2,200-bottle wine cellar, a pub, a two-storey library “that would delight any reader” and living spaces that “invites elegant entertaining, whether intimate or on a grand scale,” according to selling agents Christie’s International Real Estate.
Elsewhere in the grounds, there are 8 staff residences (to house the 30 employees that currently maintain the estate), a guest house and a caretaker’s house. Formal gardens, designed by Edmund D. Hollander in geometric French and Japanese styles, adjoin the house and there is a 60-foot long swimming pool within a 4,000 square foot pavilion also.
Stonewall Farm is situated just one hour from Manhattan, but now that Mr and Mrs Schwartz are spending more time at another of their homes in Santa Barbara, California, they have decided to sell. Of it, realtor Kathleen Coumou told The Journal News:
“It’s on one of the largest pieces of property that one can purchase in the county. It was so convenient for [the Schwartzes] to be on this farm, with all its privacy, and still be close to New York… [It’s] magnificently laid out, with a southern-looking main house and behind it, it’s like you’re in Kentucky. You see the pastures with the horses and lots of woodlands. It’s quite spread out – it feels like you’re somewhere else, not in Westchester County… You have gorgeous views – hills and ponds and horses and paddocks, and different levels of rolling hills… You certainly can’t see anybody else around.”
“[Stonewall Farm will be sold to] a billionaire, who could come from anywhere.”
The Names & Numbers – Stonewall Farm, Mahopac Avenue, Granite Springs, Westchester County, New York, NY 10527, United States of America
April 2020 – For sale for £80.7 million ($100 million, €92.1 million or درهم368 million) through Christie’s International Real Estate. Of why, they chose this sum, realtor Kathleen Coumou told The Journal News: “We did a very thorough appraisal of the property – the land and all of the buildings – and came up with a price of $110 million, and then we decided to round it down to $100 million.”
1999 to 2004 – Construction of main house, a “colonial-style manor” with a “white clapboard facade and a slate roof repurposed from the Yale Divinity School,” was completed to the designs of the New York architect Rebecca Rasmussen with an interior by the London based interior designer Kelly Hoppen.
2003 – Calvin Klein and Barry K. Schwartz sell their company to Philips-Van Heusen (now known as PVH Corp.) for £589 million ($730 million, €672 million or درهم2.7 billion).
1979 – Barry K. and Sheryl Schwartz pay £2.6 million ($3.25 million, €3 million or درهم11.9 million) for 673 acres of land. Of buying it, Mr Schwartz later commented: “”It was the easiest negotiation of my life. The seller asked $3.5 million, I offered $3 million and we settled on $3.25 million.” The couple purchased further land shortly thereafter.
1968 – Calvin Klein (born 19th November 1942) co-founds Calvin Klein Inc. with his childhood friend Barry K. Schwartz (born 25th May 1942) with a loan of £8,100 ($10,000, €9,200 or درهم36,700).
Texan estate for sale for sum 43% less than in 2011; it comes with the “finest private bowling alley in America” and a car museum
In March 2015, The Steeple Times featured a Texan mansion described by some as “more iconic than Southfork.” Back then this “replica of George Washington’s Virginia estate” had been for sale for four years already and now, in March 2020, it’s still on the market.
Offered at prices as high as £26.1 million and as low as £12 million, Mount Vernon overlooks White Rock Lake in Dallas and was built between 1928 and 1930. It was sold in 1938 to one of the world’s largest oil baron’s, H. L. Hunt (1889 – 1974) – a man “reputed to have the highest net worth of any individual in the world” at the time of his death.
John Amend with Laura Bush at the bowling alley at Mount Vernon and with his wife Teresa.One of the entrances to Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America.
Passing on to a commercial real estate tycoon and fellow supporter of the Bush political dynasty named John Amend in 1999, the 10,511 square foot house was subsequently renovated and aside from creating spaces including a prayer room, a 10,000 bottle wine cellar, a 1950s style diner and a car museum, what is considered to be the finest private bowling centre in America was added. It comes complete with a digital jukebox that has over 500,000 songs on its concert hall quality sound system
Whilst Mr Amend and his wife Teresa hosted guests including Glenn Close and President George W. Bush at Mount Vernon, in 2011 they decided to “simplify their lives” and placed it for sale. In the time since, its yoyo-ed on and off the market but speaking about the property to the Dallas News in February this year, realtor Allie Beth Allman claimed the Amends have now “made it a goal to sell the property this year.” She went further and stated:
“Many interested buyers have made offers, but the family has been reluctant to sell… The kids are just now at the age that they really enjoy it, and they spend a lot of time over there. It’s hard to give that up when your grandkids are saying, ‘Oh, don’t sell.’”
The Names & Numbers – Mount Vernon, 4009 West Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas, TX 75214, United States of America
March 2020 – Relisted at £14.9 million ($18.5 million, €16.6 million or درهم67.9 million) and still for sale through Allie Beth Allman & Associates.
May 2019 – Relisted at a price of £12 million ($14.9 million, €13.4 million or درهم54.7 million).
May 2016 – Relisted at a price of £14.1 million ($17.5 million, €15.7 million or درهم64.3 million).
March 2015 – Featured in The Steeple Times whilst listed with Allie Beth Allman & Associates and Christie’s Real Estate at a price of £15.3 million ($19 million, €17 million or درهم68 million).
September 2013 – Reduced in price to £15.3 million ($19 million, €17 million or درهم68 million).
November 2012 – Reduced in price to £23.7 million ($29.5 million, €26.5 million or درهم108.3 million).
2011 – Placed for sale for £26.1 million ($32.5 million, €29.2 million or درهم119.4 million).
2004 – Hosted its first event as “the nation’s finest professionally equipped bowling centre.” The alley reportedly cost £1.16 million ($1.45 million, €1.3 million or درهم5.33 million) to construct.
2002 – Renovated and expanded.
1999 – Sold to the self-declared real estate “pioneer and innovator” John T. Amend and his wife Teresa for an undisclosed sum.
1938 – Sold by Thomas Y. Pickett to Harold Lafayette Hunt, Jr. for $69,000 or the equivalent of £740,000 today ($922,000, €826,000 or درهم3.4 million today).
