by Fred Seely
Editor
As Tiger Woods’s golf game goes sour, so does the value of his spectacular residence.
And up goes the cost of maintaining it.
Woods sold his Orlando home two years ago and moved to Jupiter Island, one of the world’s wealthiest neighborhoods and part of the Hobe Sound area just north of Palm Beach.
The $54.5 million home, built before the marital split brought on by the golfer’s indiscretions, apparently has become a drain on his dwindling finances.
“Rumors have been swirling that the triple strain of Tiger’s divorce costs, lack of golf winnings revenue, and drastic drop in advertising income will compel Woods to sell his home,” says Jeff Lichtenstein, a high-end Realtor who works the lucrative Palm Beach-to-Hobe Sound market. “Not even Woods is immune to a recession.”
The home is stunning, even by that area’s standards. He paid $40 million in 2006 and tore down the existing home, even though it was only 13 years old.
He built a 10,000 square foot, four-bedroom home with a three-hole golf course, two swimming pools, a massive wine cellar, a guest house, a tennis court and a dock for his $15 million yacht.
The location couldn’t be better. The island has only 800 people (one road to get on and off, of course) and with a top 10 per capita income in the nation.
Residences typically have both ocean and Intracoastal Waterway frontage, and Woods’s neighbors include fellow golfers Nick Price and Gary Player, singer Celine Dion, publisher Nelson Doubleday, and entertainer Alan Jackson. Nearby is former basketball star Michael Jordan’s 28,000 square foot home.
Even with a $54.5 million mortgage, it might be financially sound if you are still the world’s No. 1 professional golfer, lead all others in endorsements, and are married.
But, if your golf game has plunged to the point of embarrassment, your endorsements have dried up due to your bad decisions and your wife is now an ex-wife with a big monthly drain for alimony and child support, times can be tough.
And they may be.