Agents see no end to run on town’s real estate with latest deals
Once viewed for development as a spec home, this lot was split between David MacNeil and Larry Ellison. Photo provided
By Jane Musgrave
Fueled largely by two well-known multibillionaires who have invested heavily in Manalapan in recent years, real estate sales in the tiny coastal town have broken local, state and even national records in recent months.
The latest eye-popping purchase came in June when WeatherTech founder David MacNeil plunked down $32 million and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison agreed to pay $35 million to split a 4-acre ocean-to-Intracoastal lot that was to become home to one of the most expensive houses in the United States.
Former Manalapan Mayor Stewart Satter was the mastermind behind the idea of building a $285 million spec house on the land at 1960 S. Ocean Blvd. that he purchased in 2024 for $27.5 million.
Instead, the real estate entrepreneur abandoned plans to build a 50,000-square-foot custom-designed house and instead sold the lot for $67 million to the two business moguls, allowing them to become neighbors.
The new neighbors are both major supporters of President Donald Trump, who makes his home about eight miles north at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach. Trump nominated MacNeil to the Federal Trade Commission. Ellison has long been part of Trump’s inner circle.
Satter declined comment on the sale because Ellison hadn’t closed on his half of the property. But in the past, Satter has credited the real estate boom in Manalapan to the 81-year-old business tycoon who was known as the “bad boy” of tech as he built his fortune.
Satter called it the Ellison effect. He is one of the five richest men in the world, worth an estimated $201 billion to $238 billion, and people take notice of him, Satter said.
Ellison burst on the scene in 2022 when he paid $173 million for the 16-acre former Ziff estate immediately south of the 2 acres he is buying from Satter. It was the most expensive residential real estate transaction in Florida history, shattering the previous state record of $122.7 million.
Two years later, Ellison doubled down, buying the 310-room Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa for $277.4 million.
Other luxury real estate experts agreed that Ellison’s record-breaking land buys put Manalapan in the spotlight.
But, they said, Manalapan is unique.
‘No signs of slowing down’
“I think many buyers who can’t necessarily find what they want in Palm Beach have come down to Manalapan and realized they can get more,” said Nick Younker, of William Raveis Real Estate in Palm Beach.
Wealthy buyers fall in love with the large lots that stretch from the Atlantic Ocean to the Intracoastal Waterway — property that doesn’t exist in Palm Beach, he said.
Margit Brandt, who represented MacNeil in the purchase of Satter’s land, agreed.
“Manalapan continues to be the premier destination for ocean-to-lake transactions, attracting more and more discerning buyers year over year,” said Brandt, of Premier Estate Properties in Palm Beach.
To underscore her point, on the same day MacNeil closed on the deal with Satter, Brandt represented Pan-Pacific Mechanical CEO Ron McMackin when he and his wife, Town Commissioner Cindy McMackin, sold their estate at 1660 S. Ocean Boulevard for $72 million.
The combination of MacNeil and McMackin gave Brandt a $104 million day, cementing her standing as the top-ranked agent in Manalapan for 2026.
But, Younker said, such days are no longer unusual. “There will have been multiple $100 million-plus sales by the end of this year,” he said. “It shows no signs of slowing down.”
Earth-moving equipment and workers are busy at 1960 S. Ocean Blvd. in Manalapan on June 29. The work is taking place on David MacNeil's side of the property that he and fellow multibillionaire Larry Ellison agreed to split. Combined, the two men have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Manalapan real estate recently. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
MacNeil’s parcels
MacNeil, a car accessories magnate with an estimated net worth of $4.2 billion, has done his part to keep land prices in Manalapan sky-high.
The 2 acres he bought from Satter will allow him to more than double the size of the adjacent 17,558-square-foot fully furnished house that he bought earlier this year on land once owned by pop singer Billy Joel.
According to plans that he submitted to the Manalapan Architectural Commission, the 2½-story addition will add 20,578 square feet of living space to the home. Other plans include the addition of a second pool and spa with an overflow waterfall feature.
When MacNeil paid $68.3 million for the house at 1940 S. Ocean Boulevard, it was the most expensive residential sale in the country during the month of February.
Two months later, he set another sales record when he sold a 3.5-acre oceanfront lot for $105 million. The sale of the property at 1120 S. Ocean Blvd. is the most paid for vacant land in Palm Beach County history.
When MacNeil bought what were two separate parcels last year, he razed two houses with plans to build a dream house for himself and his family. Instead, he sold the property to HSH-Sunshine Revocable Trust, pocketing $11.5 million. Hidden by the trust documents, the buyer’s identity is unknown.
MacNeil is continuing to expand his footprint.
He is under contract to purchase a house on nearly 2 acres directly north of his recently purchased and growing estate for $36 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. The home is owned by car-dealership owner Ralph Gesualdo and his wife, Mary Gesualdo, who purchased the property for $10.3 million in 2020.
The purchase would bring MacNeil’s total oceanfront compound to nearly 8 acres.
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