Culture & Design
A Green Megamansion Rises in South Florida
A billionaire is spending tens of millions of dollars to create his own environmentally friendly dream home.
A mystery buyer spent $48.8 million on a 10,800-square-foot beachfront mansion two years ago, a southwest Florida record. Then tore it down.
That got the neighbors buzzing. At a charity gala at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, they gossiped about their new neighbor’s identity. When they finally figured it out, it was pretty ho-hum. After all, this wasn’t any neighborhood. It was the seaside Port Royal community of Naples, also home to John Legere, former chief executive officer of T-Mobile US Inc., and Tom Golisano, founder of Paychex Inc. The house wrecker’s name—Peter Gilgan—barely registered.