After almost 60 years, the family that founded Lion Country Safari, Florida’s largest drive-through safari, has sold its 600-acre Loxahatchee land holdings for $30 million to the family of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, reportedly the third-richest man in the world.
The property sold to an Ellison entity with the same address as his family foundation, according to Palm Beach County property records. The park, which encompasses 254 acres, is located at 2003 Lion Country Safari Road west of Seminole Pratt Whitney Road and north of Okeechobee Boulevard.
Lion Country Safari announced the sale in a Nov. 19 post on their website. The park’s statement said the drive-by safari will remain open and continue with normal operations.
“After 58 years of leadership and dedication to wildlife, conservation and education, Lion Country Safari is saying farewell to the last members of its founding family, as ownership transitions to the Larry Ellison family who has a longstanding commitment to wildlife conservation,” Lion Country Safari wrote in the statement.
Lion Country Safari opened its doors in 1967, becoming the first cage-less zoo in the United States. When it first started operations, the park only featured lions. Today, the property is home to 89 species, including chimpanzees, rhinos and giraffes.
Ellison an ally of President Trump, wildlife advocate
Technology magnate Ellison also has bought multiple other properties in Palm Beach County, including a Manalapan mega mansion, a waterfront estate in North Palm Beach and the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa that he purchased in 2024 for $277.4 million.
Ellison is a political ally and financial supporter of President Donald Trump. His son, David Ellison, became chairman and CEO of the merged Paramount and Skydance companies this past summer.
Paramount owns CBS, which paid Trump $16 million in a controversial settlement over an interview the network conducted with then-Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024. Ellison and White House officials, according to various media reports, discussed the possibility of Paramount also buying the parent of CNN and then dismissing network on- air hosts viewed as critical of the administration.
The Ellison family has a history of philanthropic efforts on behalf of endangered animals. This year it unveiled the 197-acre Larry Ellison Conservation Center for Wildlife Care in Saratoga, California that offers programs to rehabilitate and breed native species.
“Our proud history and exemplary record in animal care, welfare and preservation will continue to be a core focus in the future,” read the statement by Lion Country Safari. “Operations will continue as normal, and our commitment to engagement, guest experience and wildlife conservation remains unchanged.”
Neil Merin, a longtime Palm Beach County real estate broker, said he expects Ellison will maintain Lion Country Safari as a wildlife park. This is because the purchase appears to be linked to Ellison’s charitable foundation.
“My thought is that he will keep it as an animal preserve,” said Merin, chairman of NAI/Merin Hunter Codman real estate brokerage in West Palm Beach.
Merin noted that Ellison has spent almost half a billion on Palm Beach County land purchases in the past few years. He also spent $300 million for nearly all of the Hawaiian island of Lanai.
Therefore the $30 million price tag for Lion Country Safari “is a drop in the bucket” for the world’s third richest man, Merin said.
“He can afford to keep some hippos and rhinoceroses there,” Merin said.
Ellison’s purchase adds to wealth Palm Beach County migration, investment
Palm Beach County’s saturation of wealth has ballooned since the pandemic when a migration of affluent transplants headed south, escaping strict COVID-19 regulations and looking for friendlier tax and business environments.
West Palm Beach and Palm Beach ranked fourth internationally for the fastest growing “wealth hubs” this year in Henley & Partners World’s Wealthiest Cities Report. The ranking, which was based on the increase in millionaires between 2014 and 2024, beat out Dubai and San Francisco’s Silicon Valley.
While the influx of millionaires may seem sudden, the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County has been working on marketing to company owners and high-income earners since at least 2006.
It was working slowly but saw a rush during the pandemic, starting with three landmark companies − Goldman Sachs, Millennium Management and Point 72 Asset Management – opening West Palm Beach offices in 2021. More firms followed.
“I’m in New York right now and the sky is gray, it’s really depressing and it’s getting colder and darker by the moment,” said Karen Mansour, senior executive vice president for marketing in a Nov. 21 interview. “In Florida, the sky is blue, the ocean is blue and it’s just an easier life.”
Based on tax return information from 2020-2021, the Washington D.C.-based Economic Innovation Group found Palm Beach County had a net gain in adjusted gross income of $7 billion, eclipsing runner-up Miami-Dade County’s $6.4 billion and third-place Collier County’s $4 billion.
The largest contributor to the gain in Florida’s net income was New York, which lost $9.8 billion to the Sunshine State, according to the EIG analysis. New York was also the largest feeder to Palm Beach County at $1.06 billion.
Valentina Palm covers immigration and the western communities of Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Larry Ellison adds Lion Country to PBC purchases including Eau Palm Beach
Reporting by Valentina Palm, Kimberly Miller and Alexandra Clough, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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