Scorpios: Sold

An era came to an end a few weeks ago for the private island of Scorpios (or Skorpios), the former retreat of Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.  His grand-daughter Athina Onassis Roussel, who inherited it after the 1988 death of her mother, sold the 74 acre island in the Ionian Sea to Russian fertilizer billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev via a foundation in the name of his 24 year old daughter Ekaterina Rybolovlev.


Ekaterina Rybolovlev.
Photo via New York Social Diary.

The sale, which also included the adjacent island of Sparti, was reportedly in excess of US $150 million.  When Aristotle bought Scorpios in 1962 (or 1963 according to some sources) for the equivalent of US $15,000 (or $20,000 as some sources said), it was barren of vegetation and unoccupied.  Onassis built roads, a heliport and eventually a small villa and other auxiliary buildings in addition to planting over 200 varieties of trees.


The island of Scorpios.
Photo via New York Social Diary.

The most important improvement to the island was the dock for the famous Onassis yacht "Christina", named in honor of his daughter, born in 1950. (Christina's mother was Athina 'Tina' Livanos who divorced the womanizing Onassis [having an affair with Maria Callas and others] and married twice more, first to John Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford, and later to multi-billionaire Stavros Niarchos, widower of her older sister Eugenia and Onassis's rival). Originally a WWII Canadian anti-submarine frigate, it was bought for the scrap value of US $34,000 and overhauled at an expense reported to be US $4 million. 


A recent view of the yacht "Christina" and tender.
Photo via Wikipedia.

At a length of 325 feet, the "Christina" has 18 passenger staterooms in addition to a master suite, accommodating as many as 34 passengers served by a crew of 39.  Guests included the most famous names of the day in politics and entertainment.


Plans of the yacht "Christina".

The bottom surface of the swimming pool
on "Christina" is decorated with a mosaic
Minotaur pattern and can be raised at the
touch of a button to become a dance floor.
Photo via marin.ru.

Mrs. Onassis at the shipboard reception
following her wedding.  In the main saloon,
a portrait of step-daughter Christina can be
seen over the fireplace in the background.
Photo via Bunky Cushing blog.

The island was in international news in 1968 when the little chapel on Scorpios became the site of the wedding of Onassis to the former first lady, Jacqueline Kennedy.  Said to be the most famous woman in the world at the time, she became known in the headlines as Jackie O. from then on.


The bride in a white lace dress by Valentino
is led by the groom through the crush of
photographers following the wedding as
Caroline stays close to her mother.
Photos via HOLA magazine.

The ultimate trophy wife, Mrs. Onassis immediately brought in her decorator, which by that time was Billy Baldwin.  Although first in contact with Jacqueline Kennedy in 1963 by way of their mutual friend Mrs. Paul "Bunny" Mellon for a weekend house in Upperville, Virginia, Baldwin was called in after the assassination to pull together the house in Georgetown using their personal furnishings taken from the White House.  That project, too, was cancelled when Jacqueline Kennedy moved to New York City instead.


Jacqueline Kennedy (left) and her sister
Lee Radziwill (right) leaving the Georgetown
house on December 18, 1963 with
Billy Baldwin carrying what appears to be
a roll of renderings, accompanied by a
Secret Service agent.
Image:Bettman/CORBIS.

In his book, BILLY BALDWIN REMEMBERS, his recollections jump to October, 1968, and receiving a call from the yacht "Christina", again asking to meet right away.  Baldwin was in Athens as soon as possible, just three days after the wedding, to be taken to Scorpios to discuss decorating the new house.


Jacqueline Onassis and Billy Baldwin
in the helicopter to depart for Scorpios, 1968.
Photo from BILLY BALDWIN REMEMBERS.

The project, to be completed in less than two months, was to have a comfortable house on the island so her children would not have to stay on the yacht when they came at Christmas.  Additions were being built to an existing structure that became known as the Pink House.  It was near the sea but away from the harbor.  A big room that was to serve as both a living and dining room was constructed and the existing long building with a cloister served as the bedroom wing.


The villa on Scorpios known as the Pink House.
Photo via NYSD.

 Baldwin writes that as each piece of furnish was completed it was sent to Athens on the nightly jet of Olympic Airways which Onassis founded.  Baldwin never saw the finished house but received a cable just after Christmas. "Happy New Year, and congratulations on the Erectheum of Billy, which we are now enjoying.  Love, Ari, Jackie."


Jackie and Ari.
Image via NYSD.

Sand was brought in from other islands to create some small beaches, one of which was given a hut-sized cottage in the traditional Greek style.  But even this isolation did not allow privacy from the paparazzi who caused international outrage when telephoto lens shots of Mrs. Onassis sunbathing nude were published.  Both of Onassis's children, Alexander and Christina, are buried on the island.  Mrs. Onassis was given a cash settlement (undisclosed but widely reported to be around US $20 million) after Ari's death in Paris and Christina inherited the bulk of her billionaire father's estate.  After Christina's early death, ownership of the island passed to her only child Athina, who has visited Scorpios only twice in her 28 years.


The beach cottage in the traditional Greek style.
Photo:  Hello magazine.

Ekaterina Rybolovlev is no stranger to high-priced real estate.  Her father has a house in Hawaii that he bought from actor Will Smith in 2011, and a residence in Paris with his full-time home being a duplex penthouse in Monaco.  (The house in Geneva was demolished to be rebuilt in a royal French style, but the site has just been just a hole for several years).  Located atop the exclusive La Belle Epoque, news reports state he paid US $300 million (or $308 according to some) for the rebuilt apartment that had been the site of a devastating fire started by an employee hoping to win his rich boss' favor by saving his life.  (The scheme did not work).


The duplex penthouse at La Belle Epoque, Monaco,
was bought from the widow of billionaire Edmund Safra,
after the fire intentionally started by a male nurse
using a Slakin candle, and renovated
on speculation by the Candy brothers (inset).

Dmitry Rybolovlev made news in 2008 when he bought the Palm Beach, Florida estate Maison de L'Amitie from Donald Trump for $95 million (or $100 million as there was a $5 million allowance).  First listed at $125 million, it was the most expensive house in the country at the time.  Located at 315 North County Road, it was built on the site of the famous Bythedunes estate, razed by Leslie Wexner.  (My former project, Montsorrel, is next door and the post about that notable house may be read here).  After studying the benefits of various divorce venues, Ekaterina's mother Elena filed for divorce in Palm Beach in 2009, asking for Maison de L'Amitie and half of Dmitry's fortune, estimated by Forbes in March, 2013, to be $9.1 billion.  Despite the high price of the house, it was bought as a 'tear down' and deemed in 'unlivable' condition at the time of purchase.  Ekaterina has visited twice and stayed in the pool house, but no one has spent the night in the main house which has been maintained but not improved because of the pending litigation. 


A birds eye view of Maison de L'Amitie, Palm Beach,
with part of Montsorrel seen in the foreground.
Photo via forbes.com

In December, 2011, Ekaterina's father bought her a Manhattan apartment via a trust in her name for her residence while in school.  Located at 15 Central Park West, it is an $88 million penthouse designed by architect Robert A.M. Stern.  The seller was Joan Weill, whose husband Sandy was formerly chief executive and chairman of Citigroup.  Decorated by Mica Ertegun, it was featured in the April, 2010, issue of Architectural Digest.  The furniture did not come with the sale of the apartment, however.


The floor plan of the penthouse apartment
at 15 Central Park West, New York City.
It serves as 'student housing' for Ekaterina Rybolovlev.

Private island retreats have increased in popularity among rich celebrities such as actor Johnny Depp, illusionist David Copperfield, Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, and British business magnate Richard Branson.  There is speculation that Scorpios could be developed as a resort, but the chances are just as likely that it could remain private.

Magical Montsorrel, A Magnificent Palm Beach Estate

The oceanside view of Montsorrel, Palm Beach, Florida.

With snow falling in New England, it is partly sunny and 85 degrees today in Palm Beach, Florida.  So it is as good time as any to present a project from a number of years ago that is a well known mansion locally, but not otherwise widely familiar.  With a listing price of $75 million, it was once the most expensive home in the nation.  (That price was surpassed when Donald Trump heaved the house next door on the market for $125 million;  see my December 13, 2010, post for more on the legendary house Blythedunes which formerly occupied the neighboring site.  But that is another story).

An arial view of Montsorrel.

Montsorrel was completed in 1969 after five years of planning and construction with design by French architect Jacques Regnault and Stephane Boudin of the legendary interior design firm Maison Jansen.  Boudin died in 1967 without seeing the project complete.  Regnault and Jansen were frequent collaborators with the most visible U.S. project being the building for society jeweler Harry Winston on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue.  The oceanfront estate with 608 feet of private beach sits on about seven acres, though some reports say 15 with perhaps the discrepancy being that the property is on both sides of North County Road.  There are also variations on the square footage, from 35,000 to 44,000 for the main house, and 12,000 to 16,000 for a later guest house/entertainment pavilion.  Plus there are additional service buildings and a caretaker's gatehouse.  In any case, The Devoted Classicist can definitely say that the mansion is immense and truly luxurious.

The entrance motor court of Montsorrel.

The original owner, Anita Ten Eyck O'Keeffe Young, was the widow of Robert R. Young.  They had started the project together, but Mr. Young shot himself in 1965 in the house that was previously on the property.  Local legend blames the suicide on a impluse after a mistaken belief that he had lost his fortune.  Mrs.Young named the estate Montsorrel in his memory;  the main house sets on a slight rise and the name translates as "Mountain of Sorrow".  Robert R. Young was a Texas-born businessman who had a successful Wall Street career before becoming a railroad baron, heading both the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway and the New York Central Railroad.  He introduced high-speed diesel powered passenger trains as well as the first large-scale railroad computer system.  Their only child was Eleanor "Cookie" Young, the first of the Great Depression era "Glamour Debutantes", presented in 1936 at their Newport, Rhode Island estate.  In 1938, Cookie was a 21 year old divorcee after an eight month marriage to socialite Robert Odgen "Bunty" Bacon.  She was killed in a 1941 plane crash.

The gallery of the main floor is repeated in the same width upstairs.

Anita O'Keeffe Young, sister of painter Georgia O'Keeffe, was a noted hostess and philanthropist.  She was a close friend of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor who were frequent guests.  The Jansen decoration, which was still intact during my participation in the project with the exception of the furniture and art, included upholstered walls in the premier guest room in a fabric with a Prince of Wales feather motif;  a small room adjoined for his valet.  The second guest room, decorated for Wallis, also had an adjoining room for her personal maid.  There is a large wing with other servants' quarters but with no direct connection to the three principal bedrooms on the second floor.

The hand-forged stair balustrade, in a favorite combination of steel and bronze, has a mahogany handrail.

I was brought onto the project by interior designer Bunny Williams to make some sensitive architectural adaptations for a couple with a young child in addition to grown children by a previous marriage.  More on these John Tackett Design improvements will be featured in a future post.

The Living Room walls are panelled in green and white marble.

Although there are relatively few principal rooms in the main house, all are particularly large.  The ceiling heights on the ground floor are fifteen feet and the flooring in all the principal rooms are antique parquet de Versailles, reportedly from the very palace.  The walls of the living room are clad in green and white marble slabs installed in a pattern of panelling.  With a flick of a switch, the chandelier can be lowered for maintenance.  Twin loggias facing the ocean each have a glass wall that can be raised from the basement to provide protection from the ocean spray.  These photos are all from Sotheby's DOMAIN magazine, 2001, and show alterations in both Jansen's and Bunny Williams' decorative schemes.

The swimming pool courtyard of the main house at Montsorrel.

The swimming pool is located in a travertine-paved walled courtyard with sliding glass panels to block strong ocean breezes.  Salt water can be pumped from the ocean, and heated to the desired temperature if necessary.  Also, there is a canopy that extends over the west side of the huge pool so laps can be done in the shade.

Mrs. Young died in 1985 and the contents of Montsorrel, along with her palatial Newport summer estate Fairholme, were sold in two celebrated auctions at Sotheby's.  (She had donated her earlier Newport home Ochre Lodge to Salve Regina University in 1966).  When Montsorrel was first listed for sale for $18 million, it was the most expensive house to that date in the eastern United States.  But the high taxes and expense to maintain the estate made the house less than appealing.  In the spring of 1987, it finally sold for $13.5 million.

Montsorrel remains a private home today and tall hedges prevent much of a street view of the main house, but a glimpse of the circa 1990 guest house/entertainment pavilion across the road might be seen down the driveway.  Some might find the satellite views of 545 and 548 North County Road interesting, however.  Fairholme is located at 237 Ruggles Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island, and was listed on the market last year for $18 million.  Harry Winston, Inc., is located at 718 Fifth Avenue, New York City;  the 1959 alteration of an earlier building has provided an identity that has been duplicated in their stores world-wide.