Man sues after discovering he sold his home for a discount to Jeff Bezos

Indian Creek island, Florida, is one of the most exclusive gated communities in the world. 

But that didn’t stop Bezos, the founder of Amazon, from buying, not one, but three properties on the island this year, for a total of US$237 million (AU$348 million).

Now the owner of the second Indian Creek property, Leo Kryss, is suing real estate agency Douglas Elliman for not telling him the buyer of his property was the richest person in the world, according to an exclusive by the Wall Street Journal.  

Kryss intends to argue in court that the agency deliberately misled him about the buyer’s identity, and he would not have cut the price had he known, the newspaper reports. 

When Kryss, the wealthy co-founder of Brazilian toy company Tectoy, listed his seven-bedroom Miami house in May 2024 for US$85 million, he received an offer from an anonymous buyer. 

Bezos had purchased the house next door to Kryss just weeks before. 

But when Kryss asked the real estate agency whether the Amazon founder was behind the offer, he alleges CEO Jay Parker rang him up personally to tell him that Bezos was not the buyer, the Wall Street Journal reports. 

Parker also told him that the buyer would not pay more than US$79 million (AU$116 million) for the property, and Kryss agreed to the sale at a US$6 million (AU$8.8 million) discount from his original asking price, Kryss alleges.

Later, however, Kryss learned that the buyer was a business entity tied to Bezos. 

The Brazilian businessman is suing Douglas Elliman on the grounds that “it was highly material to his negotiations and his decision on the ultimate sales price” to know the billionaire’s identity.