First they spent their vacation on the estate, now they are supposed to have bought it: Several media report that the former US President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama bought a villa on the beach on the island of Martha's Vineyard.
Dukes County land registry records show that former Boston Celtics basketball player Wycliffe Grousbeck sold the property on Wednesday for $ 11.75 million ($ 10.58 million). The name of the Obama is not mentioned in it. Both the celebrity portal "TMZ" and the local newspapers "Vineyard Gazette" and "Martha's Vineyard Times" announced the purchase.
The buyer is a trust fund, which according to the "Vineyard Gazette" represents the former presidential family. The newspaper reported that the villa in Massachusetts has 640 square meters of living space and is located on a nearly 120,000 square meter property - the latter corresponds to more than 16 football fields. The beachfront house has seven bedrooms, several fireplaces and a pool.
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Barack and Michelle Obama: house by the seaAccording to this report, the Obama have made a bargain: the house has been on the market since 2015. At that time, it had been offered for $ 22.5 million. In the summer, the price was first reduced to $ 16.25 million and then $ 14.85 million.
The Obamas, who, like other celebrities, are regular visitors to Martha's Vineyard, know the place well: they rented it for their vacation in August. Since then, there have been rumors that they could buy the property.
The "Martha's Vineyard Times" quoted from the sell ad, stating that the house offers a "spectacular water view" - including ocean noise. "TMZ" reported that the property also has a boathouse and a private beach.
Even after eight years in the White House, Barack Obama could not afford the mansion only with his presidential salary: The head of the Oval Office gets an annual salary of $ 400,000 in the US.
Nevertheless, the Obama the purchase of the luxury property should not have fallen hard: According to US media reports, they were for an author's contract for two books from a publisher an advance of 60 million dollars. Michelle Obama has sold millions of copies of her memoir, Becoming. Barack Obama's memoirs are still coming soon. However, he earns additional money through lectures.