Globe says Ivanhoe promoter drops price on swish digs

2008-12-03 06:10 ET - In the News

The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that a year ago stock promoter Robert Friedland had sold his lavish abode in Marin county, California, on a conditional basis. The Globe's Patricia Best writes in the Nobody's Business column the property was not Mr. Friedland's principal residence. It was listed at $65-million (U.S.). The 1895 mansion boasted 12,000 square feet and a sweeping vista of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. The deal fell through and now, a year later, Mr. Friedland has slashed his price by 26 per cent to $48-million. This is not customary in megahome circles. The Ivanhoe Mines founder is not quite under water on it. He paid $5.5-million for the place in 1995 and he says he spent nine years and $32-million renovating it. In September his listing agent Olivia Hsu Decker organized a five-day tour of 20 unsold properties (including Mr. Friedland's) in the San Francisco Bay area for 100 potential buyers from the United States, Britain, France, Switzerland, Taiwan and Macau. Prospective buyers were treated to opera and symphony performances. Recently, the agent has offered to throw in a $174,000 (U.S.) Bentley sedan for the buyer of Mr. Friedland's piece of extravagance.