Rush Limbaugh’s Rich Palm Beach Friends Get Much Richer

Posted by Jose Lambiet , August 1, 2012 Print

Radio talker Rush Limbaugh‘s best friends and neighbors in Palm Beach quietly sold their beachfront mansion to a billionaire in a private deal last week for a whopping $41.5 million, according to county records.

The 2-acre compound at 1473 North Ocean Boulevard was a forced passage for Republican Party candidates for higher office who came there for multi-million dollar fundraisers.

– Click to tour the properties of dozens of famous South Floridians

In January, presidential candidate Newt Gingrich and his wife Calista were guests of departing owners Gay and Stanley Gaines.

The new owner is said to be the Arizona-based Discount Tire Co. boss Bruce Halle.

With $4.2 billion to his name and a No. 255 ranking in the Forbes 400 richest Americans, Halle is way more loaded than the Gaineses but nowhere as politically minded.

Except for a small contribution to former presidential hopeful John McCain, Halle makes occasional $1,000-contributions to the NRA.

The Gaineses, who are often spotted at dinner in Palm Beach restaurant with Limbaugh, had not made public their intention to sell the main home and a guest house, and never listed it in the MLS.

They bought the crib in 1998 for $6.5 million, according to records. Taxing authorities estimated the property’s value at $19.9 million.

The sale amount is the highest on the island since Donald Trump sold for $95 million in 2008 the beachfront palace he bought in bankruptcy from former nursing-home mogul Abe Gosman.

The Gaines property boasts 17,800-square-feet of living space. It was built in 1960 but the couple added plenty goodies like an elevator and a breathtaking fountain.

In addition to raising cash for Gingrich, Gay Gaines is running the former Speaker of the House’s non-profit, GOPAC. She also got former president George W. Bush to appoint her the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

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