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Jerry On The Ball Who's buying, who's selling in the world of high-end real estate: Seinfeld Knows Who's On First The extra-expensive, extra-extravagant Hamptons home of funnyman Jerry Seinfeld is getting costlier by the day. He didn't make a big enough splash when he bought Billy Joel's Hamptons estate for a local record price of $32 million, so now he's spending what one can assume is a dollar or two to build a baseball field on the property, according to the New York Post.
The ball field is going where Joel kept his boat, and it is expected--along with Seinfeld's other renovations of the property--to boost the value of the estate to $50 million, according to the report. Of course, a $50 million valuation is only as good as the buyer who is willing to pay $50 million for a home with a baseball field, and the track record for sales of $50 million homes in the Hamptons hasn't been too impressive. Last year the most expensive residential single-family home sold was a Manhattan penthouse, which went for $42.5 million, and we have seen a couple of $50 million Hamptons houses languish on the market for the last couple of years. For example, Eothen, a large Montauk property with a $50 million asking price, has sat on our list of the Most Expensive Homes in America for the past three years without a buyer; so has Burnt Point, a $50 million mansion in Wainscott, which has made our list for the past two years. Of course, Seinfeld, who earned about $267 million when he made our list of the Top 100 Celebrities in 1999, probably isn't looking to sell the home, nor does he need to make a profit off it. Literary Tycoon Sells The Italian villa owned by prolific writer Gore Vidal is on the market for 14 million euros ($17 million). Located near Ravello, the property, which the 78-year-old Vidal bought about 30 years ago--around the same time he bought his home in Southern California, just above Hollywood--has a storied past. The list of notable guests, including Princess Margaret, Tennessee Williams, Greta Garbo, Andy Warhol and Bruce Springsteen, is quite long.
 The property is also used in director Wes Anderson's upcoming feature, The Life Aquatic, starring Bill Murray and Anjelica Huston. Pop star Sting expressed interest in buying it at one time, and although the home hasn't been shown yet, agent John Bruce Nelson of John Bruce Nelson & Associates in Bel-Air, Calif., says he has received a number of calls from "important people" about it.
The property--called La Rondinaia, or Swallow's Nest--was built in 1920 for the daughter of a British peer. It has two libraries (one of which keeps Vidal's collection of 8,000 books), and the house is believed to be about 5,500 square feet. It sits on roughly seven acres located 2,200 feet above the Amalfi coast. Vidal's best-known books include such historical novels as Burr, Lincoln and Empire. Thanks, Dr. Phil--Er, I Mean--Dad Dr. Phil, aka Phil McGraw, bought his 24-year-old son a $2.4 million home in the Hollywood Hills, where he will live after he graduates from law school this June, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The house, which is 2,700 square feet, has three bedrooms. The master bedroom has a fireplace, walk-in closet and spa tub. In addition, the multilevel home has a butler's elevator, patio and infinity pool, according to the report. If it seems like an extravagant bachelor pad for a kid who hasn't finished school yet, keep in mind that Jay is already a best-selling author, closely following his father's lead. He wrote Life Strategies for Teens as well as Closing the Gap: A Strategy for Reconnecting Parents and Teens and The Ultimate Weight Solution for Teens: The 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom. Let's hope he can avoid some of his father's legal headaches--Dr. Phil was recently the subject of a complaint filed to the Federal Communications Commission by a mental health activist who argues that Dr. Phil's show qualifies as entertainment and should therefore have a warning saying so to viewers. The current disclaimer says the opinions expressed are "educational and informational in nature and are directed only at the individual show guests." Real estate news can be submitted to Betsy Schiffman at bschiffman@forbes.net or by calling her at (212) 366-8937. Subscriptions >
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