Billionaire Larry Ellison of software giant Oracle Corp. has paid $34.4 million for an ocean-to-lake vacant lot immediately north of his sizable estate in Manalapan, the wealthy town south of Palm Beach. The price was reported July 29 in the mulptiple listing service.
News of the impending private sale first surfaced in June with reports that Ellison and billionaire David F. MacNeil of WeatherTech were each buying part of a 4-acre vacant lot sandwiched between their sea-to-lake properties. At 2.15 acres with 200 feet of waterfront on both sides, Ellison’s portion is slightly larger than the one MacNeil bought in June.
The purchase expands Ellison’s estate at 2000 S. Ocean Blvd., the largest residential property by far in Manalapan. His land holdings on the south end of town now total more than 24 acres, which includes his original 15.65-acre estate — immediately to the south of the lot — and an additional 6.79 acres on an island west of the estate in the Intracoastal Waterway.
No deed had been recorded for the sale of the vacant land as of July 29, so it’s unclear if the price reported in the MLS will match the one expected to be documented in courthouse records. But the Palm Beach Daily News has confirmed with people familiar with the deal that Ellison is on the buyer’s side.
The bulk of the lot Ellison just bought is on the ocean side of South Ocean Boulevard, although a smaller parcel fronts the Intracoastal Waterway on the west side of the coastal road. The purchase gives Ellison a total of 1,400 feet of beach frontage and about 1,500 feet of additional waterfront on the Intracoastal Waterway.
Ellison has owned his estate since 2022, when he bought it for a recorded $173 million, setting a new Florida residential sales record.
In the just-closed deal, Ellison bought the vacant lot from Manalapan developer and former Mayor Stewart Satter, who once announced plans to build a lavish house on speculation there with a price tag of $285 million. He instead chose to sell the land — and ended up splitting it between the neighbors to the north and south. Ellison’s intentions for the lot are unclear.
The Wall Street Journal first reported June 15 about the two transactions involving the ocean-to-lake vacant lot. The Journal’s story was confirmed independently by the Palm Beach Daily News.
MacNeil on June 15 closed his $32 million deal to buy the slightly smaller remaining portion of the lot, which abuts his house and its parcel of about 2 acres.
The portion of the vacant lot MacNeil bought has about 150 feet of frontage on the lake and on the ocean.
Buying the vacant property wasn’t the only transaction involving MacNeil in the neighborhood. Via a purchase recorded July 19, he paid $36 million for a Mediterranean-style house immediately north of his home. He had paid a recorded $68.32 million for his own house in February. He has spent a grand total of $136.32 million assembling the three properties that comprise his estate.
Using an ownership company, Satter in March 2024 paid a recorded $27.5 million for the land he just sold to MacNeil and Ellison at 1960 S. Ocean Blvd. Satter then razed a 1989 mansion there. In January 2025, Satter announced plans for his never-built contemporary-style spec mega-mansion, which was billed at the time as the country’s most expensive new-construction residential project.
After his plans changed, Satter marketed the property as two parcels, with the one purchased by MacNeil priced at $35 million and the one Ellison bought priced at $40 million.
In a previous interview with the Palm Beach Daily News, Satter described the land as an “extraordinary piece of dirt” and said Ellison had expressed interest in the property “early on.”
Ellison’s representatives eventually “came to us and said they would like to buy part of the lot,” Satter said.
Ellison’s net worth on July 29 was $154.1 billion, according to Forbes. Ellison co-founded Oracle and serves as its chairman, chief technology officer and former CEO. The company, headquartered in Austin, Texas, is billed as the world’s largest database-management company.
Ellison also owns almost half Paramount Skydance, the media company created in August 2025 when Paramount merged with his on David Ellison’s Skydance.
“I’m delighted with the deal,” Satter told the Palm Beach Daily News in June. “I always thought that Mr. Ellison would be the buyer. It always made sense that he would buy it. Why not?”
Agent Nicholas Malinosky of Douglas Elliman’s Exclusive Group represented Satter in the two land sales. Malinosky also acted on Ellison’s behalf.
Satter is a longtime Manalapan resident who has built and sold other residential projects in the barrier-island town through his Carnegie Hill Development Corp. He is the former CEO of Consumer Testing Laboratories.
Margit Brandt of Premier Estate Properties represented MacNeil in his land purchase and acted on his behalf in his recent acquisition of the estate at 1920 S. Ocean Blvd., immediately north of his home at 1940 S. Ocean Blvd. Brandt also represented him his purchase at No. 1940, negotiating opposite agents Philip Lyle Smith and Carla Ferreira Smith of Luxury Resort Portfolio.
Agent Jack Elkins of William Raveis South Florida acted for the sellers of the property at No. 1920.
In 2022, Ellison’s ownership entity bought his estate from a trust controlled by a fellow software billionaire, Jim Clark.
Historically known as Gemini, Ellison’s estate is bisected by the coastal road, South Ocean Boulevard. The two sections of the main house — one facing the lake and the other, the ocean — are linked by a series of tunnels beneath the street.
The original house was designed in the 1940s by noted society architect Marion Sims Wyeth for the Lambert pharmaceutical family, and the estate also served at one point as a seasonal home for Loel and Gloria Guinness. It was latter owned by the Ziff publishing family.
Ellison also owns the Eau Resort and Spa, about 2½ miles north of his estate. He bought the resort in 2024 for about $277.4 million.
In April 2021, a company linked to Ellison paid $80 million for an oceanfront estate on 6½ acres in the Seminole Landing community near North Palm Beach in Palm Beach County.
MacNeil made his fortune manufacturing and selling car accessories through WeatherTech, which is based in Greater Chicago. MacNeil has an estimated net worth of $4.2 billion, according to Forbes.com.
MacNeil’s house lies a mile south of a double sea-to-lake vacant lot MacNeil assembled in 2024 and 2025 and sold for recorded $105 million in April.
Brandt represented MacNeil in April when he sold his 3.5-acre empty lot at 1120 S. Ocean Blvd. to an as-yet-unidentified buyer behind a trust. In that sale, broker Lawrence Moens of Lawrence A. Moens Associates handled the buyer’s side.
Moens also handled both sides of the deal when Ellison bought his estate, which includes part of nearby Bird Island in the Intracoastal Waterway. The south end of the estate is near the Boynton Beach Inlet.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
Portions of this story appeared previously in the Palm Beach Daily News.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Darrell Hofheinz is a USA TODAY Network of Florida journalist who writes about Palm Beach real estate in his weekly “Beyond the Hedges” column. He welcomes tips about real estate news on the island. Email dhofheinz@pbdailynews.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Billionaire Ellison expands estate near Palm Beach with $34.4M lot buy
Reporting by Darrell Hofheinz, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
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By Darrell Hofheinz, Palm Beach Daily News | USA TODAY Network
