Rex Tillerson Buys D.C. Digs Near Political Friends and Foe

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By Amy Dobson
Special Contributor

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and wife, Renda, aren’t waiting until they can find a buyer for their waterfront property in Horseshoe Bay Resort before putting down roots in Washington D.C. They bought a D.C. home back in February as a private, off-market sale for approximately $5.6 million. The sellers were none other than former AOL executive Richard Hanlon and his wife, Pam who paid $3.15 million for the home in 2011.

But it is their new neighbors that are going to keep things interesting. This leafy and luxurious D.C. neighborhood of Kalorama also has Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner as the new renters of a home owned by a Chilean billionaire. The Obamas have also purchased a stately home from former spokesman Joe Lockhart, and don’t forget one of the biggest D.C. home sales of all time that went to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in the same neighborhood.

All parties involved in the Tillerson sale, including the agent who represented the sellers, are keeping mum on the subject so there won’t be any peeks inside this property. 

So what do we know? The four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bathroom at 1832 24th ST NW, Washington, D.C., sold on February 10th, 2017, about a week after Tillerson was confirmed by the Senate. He and his wife had been house hunting in this Kalorama neighborhood since January, according to reports. To try to keep themselves incognito they bought this home under the auspices of an LLC called R2 Real Estate — a possible nod to their first names of Rex and Renda. Here is a photo of the exterior:

Of all the high-profile residents in this Kalorama neighborhood, the biggest splash was when former President Barack Obama and wife Michelle purchased an $8.1 million home on Belmont Road.

This castle-like abode brings a touch of old Europe to the neighborhood. The nine-bedroom, eight-full-and-one-half-bathroom home is a stone-built mansion measuring 8,200 square feet and was formerly owned by Joe Lockhart, former press secretary under President Bill Clinton and current vice president of communications for the National Football League. You have to imagine it was the 10-car garage that appealed to them so the Secret Service would have plenty of room to maneuver.

The Obama family purchased this $8.1 million Kalorama home and will be neighbors with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and his wife, Renda.

Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, are renting a home just around the corner from the Obamas (and on the same street where the late Senator Ted Kennedy was a longtime neighborhood resident). The Wall Street Journal reported (paywall) they are paying the owner, Chilean billionaire Andrónico Luksic, $15,000 per month to live in the 8,200-square-foot home with six bedrooms and eight bathrooms. Built in 1923, the home was designed by the famed architect Waddy Wood. Here’s what Town and Country said about the home. 

It would take combining all three of these homes to compete with the purchase by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon — the company that recently bought the Austin-based Whole Foods Market grocery store chain.

He and his wife paid cash for what will become the largest home in D.C. after some extensive renovations are completed. Prior to the Bezos purchase, this building was home to The Textile Museum and consists of two impressive buildings, plus chauffer quarters. The total living space measures approximately 27,000 square feet and comes with an existing 10 bedrooms and 14 bathrooms. No word yet on how many there will be once renovations are complete. But we’re guessing there’s going to be a lot of ‘em.

SecondShelters.com Contributor

SecondShelters.com Contributor