Greenwich estate that held title of America’s priciest home now lists for $150M

Copper Beech Farm is the largest waterfront parcel in Greenwich. Situated on a private peninsula, it spans over 50 acres with almost a mile of frontage.
When Connecticut’s Copper Beech Farm sold for $120 million in 2014, it was the priciest home sale the country had ever seen, but the buyer’s identity remained secret. Now the mystery owner of the storied 50-acre estate is putting it back on the market for $150 million.

With nearly a mile of private frontage on Long Island Sound in affluent Greenwich, Copper Beech Farm is considered among the most significant single-family properties in the country. Originally known as Kincraig, the estate dates to the 1890s and once belonged to the Lauder Greenway family - Harriet Lauder Greenway’s father helped Andrew Carnegie start what would become U.S. Steel. The centerpiece is a French-Renaissance mansion spanning around 13,500 square feet.

One of the listing agents, Leslie McElwreath of Sotheby’s International Realty, declined to comment on the current owners, saying only that they are “Connecticutites.” She said their identity has been a “closely guarded secret” in the community since they purchased the property from timber tycoon John Rudey. Records list the owner as the Connecticut-based The Conservation Institute, LLC.

If the property sells for close to its asking price, it will again be among the most expensive homes ever sold in the U.S., said Ms. McElwreath. The current U.S. record holder is a roughly $240 million sale from 2019, when billionaire hedge-fund manager Ken Griffin bought an apartment at 220 Central Park South in New York.

The eight-bedroom main house was recently restored, the listing agents said. It spans four stories, including a partially finished basement with storage, and has nine fireplaces. Two stone towers flank the front door and upstairs balcony. The main rooms have 12-foot ceilings. In the living room, french doors lead out to a large solarium with coffered ceilings. The formal dining room has a plaster tracery ceiling and oak paneling.

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