Who Owns the Most Expensive Homes Around Washington, D.C.?

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, former Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder and the government of Saudi Arabia own some of the priciest homes in and around Washington, D.C.

The home-sale record for the Washington area was set in 2021, with Snyder’s $48 million purchase of an estate in Alexandria, Va. That falls short of other international capital cities and their environs, however. A London megamansion, for example, changed hands in 2020 for £210 million, or around $272 million.

Washington is a smaller market than many capital cities, said Jonathan Taylor of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty, and the area is primarily government-oriented, while cities like London are centers of banking and finance. In the U.S., Washington’s home prices are eclipsed by those in New York, California, Colorado and South Florida. In 2019, hedge-fund billionaire Ken Griffin paid roughly $240 million for a penthouse in New York City, while a Malibu estate that recently sold for $210 million holds the California record.

Historically, the Washington area’s priciest home sales have occurred on Virginia’s Gold Coast, which includes parts of Alexandria and McLean on the Potomac River. Located west of the nation’s capital, the area is prized for its river and city views and is home to business titans, professional athletes and members of the Washington elite.

In recent years, luxury prices in the Washington area have been steady. During the third quarter, the median luxury sale price in the Washington metro area was about $2.5 million, up from about $2.4 million a year prior, according to data from Sotheby’s International Realty, which included Fairfax and Montgomery Counties.

Local real-estate agents said the market paused in the weeks ahead of the presidential election, however. Transactions will likely pick up after the election, said Jamie Peva of Washington Fine Properties. Luxury home buyers who have been waiting on the sidelines will be ready to pull the trigger, he said, while incoming political appointees could also join the buyer pool.

Despite some hesitancy before the election, Peva said the market never ground to a halt. Late last month, a newly built mansion sold to a mystery buyer for $25.5 million, one of the area’s highest sales in several years, records show. Read on for a look at the metro area’s ten priciest deals.

1. Sale Price: $48 million

Year: 2021 | Location: Alexandria, Va.| Buyer: Dan Snyder | Seller: Michelle and Robert Stevens

The priciest sale in the D.C. metro area was Snyder’s purchase of a 16.5-acre property that was once part of President George Washington’s original Mount Vernon estate. Snyder bought it from Robert Stevens, former chief executive of global defense contractor Lockheed Martin, and his wife, Michelle Stevens.

The main house, which is about 16,000 square feet, runs parallel to the Potomac River. Built around 2018, it has a game room and an elaborate wood-paneled library. The property, known as River View Estate, also has a guesthouse and carriage house. The Snyders listed the property for $60 million in June. “They’re not going to be living there,” said listing agent Heather Corey of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty.

2. Sale Price: $43 million

Year: 2018 | Location: McLean, Va. | Buyer: Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia | Seller: Steve Case

Known as Merrywood, the estate is best known as the childhood home of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. AOL co-founder Steve Case sold it to the government of Saudi Arabia in 2018. Set on 7 acres on the banks of the Potomac, the Georgian-style house is about 23,000 square feet with nine bedrooms. The gated estate has formal gardens, a swimming pool and tennis court. A pavilion has an indoor lap pool, gym and kitchen, while a carriage house contains a security office and staff quarters.

3. Sale Price: $42.7 million

Year: 2020 | Location: McLean, Va. | Buyer: 600 CBR LLC | Seller: James V. Kimsey

A Virginia-based entity purchased this property from the estate of AOL co-founder James V. Kimsey. The roughly 3-acre estate straddles McLean and Arlington on the Potomac River and contains two houses: a six-bedroom, roughly 24,500-square-foot Italianate mansion and a 1950s house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Designed for entertaining, the main house has four kitchens, one of which has a loading dock for catering trucks. Since buying this estate, the owner has purchased several pieces of adjacent land, creating a 10.58-acre property for a total of roughly $94 million

4. Sale Price: $35 million

Year: 2017 | Location: McLean, Va. | Buyer: 750 CBR LLC | Seller: Dwight Schar

Housing tycoon Dwight Schar sold his custom-built mansion in McLean to a mystery buyer for $35 million in 2017. Schar, the founder of home builder NVR, paid $7.1 million for the 6.5-acre property in 2001. Built around 2002, the residence is roughly 12,000 square feet, according to property records. At the time of the sale, the property wasn’t listed.

5. Sale Price: $25.5 million

Year: 2024 | Location: McLean, Va. | Buyer: Unknown | Seller: Kyle and Roger Mody

The Cliffs, a newly-built house in McLean with a professional-style indoor basketball court, changed hands in October, becoming the priciest deal in the area in several years. The buyer isn’t known; the seller was Roger Mody, former CEO of government information-technology contractor Signal and a part owner of the Washington Wizards, and his wife, Kyle Mody.

6. Sale Price: $24.5 million

Year: 2005 | Location: McLean, Va. | Buyer: Steve Case | Seller: Joanne and William E. Conway Jr.

Steve Case paid a then-record $24.5 million for Merrywood in 2005. The sellers were William E. Conway Jr., a co-founder of the Carlyle Group, and his wife, Joanne Conway. They purchased the estate for $15.5 million in 1999, records show.

7. (tie) Sale Price: $24 million

Year: 2020 | Location: McLean, Va. | Buyer: 600 CBR LLC | Seller: Norma and Russ Ramsey

The mystery buyer who paid $42.7 million for the Kimsey property in early 2020 shelled out another $24 million in November of that year for 2.95 acres of land adjacent to the Kimsey estate. The seller was Russ Ramsey, founder of investment firm Ramsey Asset Management, and his wife, Norma Ramsey. They purchased the land in 2013, records show.

7. (tie) Sale Price: $24 million

Year: 2020 | Location: McLean, Va. | Buyer: Sirena Holdings LLC | Seller: Janice C. Smith

An unknown buyer purchased a 6-acre estate known as Little Falls in 2020. The seller was Janice Smith, ex-wife of former ABC News correspondent Sam Donaldson. Built in the 1990s, the 8,600-square-foot estate has four bedrooms, an indoor pool and stone terraces. There is a separate patio house and detached garage.

9. (tie) Sale Price: $23 million

Year: 2016 | Location: Washington, D.C. | Buyer: Jeff Bezos | Seller: Capital Star Property

Three years after buying the Washington Post for $250 million, Jeff Bezos paid $23 million for side-by-side mansions in Washington’s fashionable Kalorama neighborhood. Built in the early 1900s, the historic mansions previously housed the Textile Museum. Bezos has since renovated the 27,000-square-foot home, where he’s thrown parties attended by Bill Gates, Ivanka Trump and others.

9. (tie) Sale Price: $23 million

Year: 2022  | Location: McLean, Va. | Buyer: 600 CBR LLC | Seller: Chuck Robb and Lynda Robb

The mystery buyers of the Kimsey estate added 3.92 acres of land to their growing assemblage on the Potomac in 2022. The seller was former U.S. Senator and Virginia Gov. Chuck Robb and his wife, Lynda Robb, a daughter of former President Lyndon B. Johnson, records show. A fire in 2021 had destroyed the couple’s home, according to news reports at the time.