"Albemarle House," south of Charlottesville, owned by Patricia Kluge.Photo by Sotheby's Auction House.
Want a peek inside the lives of the rich and famous who live around Charlottesville, Virginia? Your chance to see how the other side lives will be available this week as Sotheby's auctions off the contents of "Albemarle House," a 45-room mansion located on 300 acres that was home to John and Patricia Kluge, once known as the richest couple in America. They divorced in 1990 with Patricia keeping the house plus a reported settlement of $1 billion.
Yes ... that's billion-with-a-"B." One estimate at the time broke it down into $1.6 million a week.
The 8-bedroom, 13-bath, 29,000-square-foot estate in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains was put on the real estate market last fall with an asking price of $100 million including contents that were valued at $13 million. After no nibbles, the price was slashed to $48 million earlier this year, and the contents to be auctioned separately this Saturday and Sunday in what some have called a billionaire's yard sale.
For just $65, the cost of a Sotherby's 600-page catalog that lists the wide array of items to be auctioned, your foot will be in the door of the country estate that has seen powerful movers-and-shakers but few locals and, thus, the intrigue.
After years of hearing about opulant parties, murder mystery weekends, dinners, croquet gatherings, card games, and charity events, the general public will have an opportunity to not only check out the interior of the house but also browse the trappings of the rich ... artwork, Faberge silver, Chippendale furniture, a Chinese Qing Dynasty clock valued at up to $1 million, firearms, china, and other numerous items.
John Kluge, now 96, is one of the most influential media moguls in the country and, though his name is not as well known to the general public, those inside media and social circles know it well. This entrepreneur's holdings have included the Ice Capades, music companies, syndication rights to TV shows, sports teams, long-distance phone service WorldCom, Inc., and restaurants such as Bennigan's and Steak and Ale. A billionaire living in the hunt country of Virginia, he sold his Metromedia independent TV stations to Rupert Murdoch for $2 billion, the beginning of Mr. Murdoch's extensive Fox TV network.
In 1981, when the twice-divorced 75-year-old Murdoch married Patricia, 35 years younger and also divorced, they built Albmarle House, a project that took four years, and furnished it with antiques from around the world.
The marriage did not last but the influence of the Kluge name can be seen throughout Charlottesville in the Kluge Children's Rehabilitation Center, Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum, and Patricia's latest venture with her third husband, the Kluge Winery. Columbia University, Mr. Kluge's alma mater, has benefited with $100 million in gifts over the years.
Cross-posted at The Washington Examiner
Yes ... that's billion-with-a-"B." One estimate at the time broke it down into $1.6 million a week.
The 8-bedroom, 13-bath, 29,000-square-foot estate in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains was put on the real estate market last fall with an asking price of $100 million including contents that were valued at $13 million. After no nibbles, the price was slashed to $48 million earlier this year, and the contents to be auctioned separately this Saturday and Sunday in what some have called a billionaire's yard sale.
For just $65, the cost of a Sotherby's 600-page catalog that lists the wide array of items to be auctioned, your foot will be in the door of the country estate that has seen powerful movers-and-shakers but few locals and, thus, the intrigue.
After years of hearing about opulant parties, murder mystery weekends, dinners, croquet gatherings, card games, and charity events, the general public will have an opportunity to not only check out the interior of the house but also browse the trappings of the rich ... artwork, Faberge silver, Chippendale furniture, a Chinese Qing Dynasty clock valued at up to $1 million, firearms, china, and other numerous items.
John Kluge, now 96, is one of the most influential media moguls in the country and, though his name is not as well known to the general public, those inside media and social circles know it well. This entrepreneur's holdings have included the Ice Capades, music companies, syndication rights to TV shows, sports teams, long-distance phone service WorldCom, Inc., and restaurants such as Bennigan's and Steak and Ale. A billionaire living in the hunt country of Virginia, he sold his Metromedia independent TV stations to Rupert Murdoch for $2 billion, the beginning of Mr. Murdoch's extensive Fox TV network.
In 1981, when the twice-divorced 75-year-old Murdoch married Patricia, 35 years younger and also divorced, they built Albmarle House, a project that took four years, and furnished it with antiques from around the world.
The marriage did not last but the influence of the Kluge name can be seen throughout Charlottesville in the Kluge Children's Rehabilitation Center, Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum, and Patricia's latest venture with her third husband, the Kluge Winery. Columbia University, Mr. Kluge's alma mater, has benefited with $100 million in gifts over the years.
Cross-posted at The Washington Examiner
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