Hedge fund billionaire John Paulson is suing a builder over multimillion-dollar renovations to the Florida mansion where he hosted a record-breaking $50.5 million Trump fundraiser last month.
This is the latest legal battle for Paulson, who is embroiled in a highly bitter divorce from his estranged wife and an equally toxic dispute with a former business partner.
He claims he owes developers $1.5 million for overpayments on furniture he ordered, and oddly enough, he’s trying to take the matter to court while doing everything in his power to get the notorious defaulter back into the White House.
Donald Trump has a long history of breaking financial contracts and ignoring debts to everyone from the contractor who built the Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City to the man who installed the three crystal chandeliers in Mar-a-Lago’s main ballroom.
Paulson appears unfazed by this, but he is currently in court over unpaid debts amounting to 1/2,333 of the fortune he made from short selling the US housing market, which may have something to do with Trump saying that Paulson would be a good choice for Treasury Secretary.
Donald Trump and Melania Trump arrive at billionaire investor John Paulson’s Palm Beach mansion on April 6, 2024.
Photo Illustration: Erin O’Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty Images
This lawsuit is Aspen Daily NewsThe lawsuit was filed May 4 in Pitkin County District Court in Colorado, where the original contract was made between Paulson and developer Bob Bowden.
In court documents, Mr. Paulson said he gave Mr. Bowden up to $6 million to renovate the interior of his nine-bedroom, 10-bathroom, $110 million Palm Beach mansion.
“Actual costs significantly exceeded budgeted costs by millions of dollars,” Paulson claims in the lawsuit.
According to the documents, Borden offered to buy back “certain furniture” worth $1.5 million, but asked for time to come up with the funds. Paulson agreed to give him up to a year, the lawsuit says, and the two signed a formal redemption agreement.
Under the agreement, Bowden paid Paulson for each piece of furniture sold, promising to pay him in full by March 31, 2024, according to the lawsuit. But Bowden allegedly broke his promises, failed to provide inventory or monthly sales statements and never paid Paulson a cent.
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Paulson’s lawyers declined to comment, but Bowden’s lawyer, Michelle Schindler, disputed the lawsuit, calling it “premature.”
“We dispute the allegations,” she told The Daily Beast. “We believe there was a misunderstanding. We will work to resolve it, and if we can’t resolve it, we will defend the lawsuit.”
Schindler said there had been no communication between Bowden and Paulson about the lawsuit and declined to discuss specific allegations.
“If you want to wait for my response in the lawsuit, you are welcome to do so,” she said.
Schindler described his client as “one of the best developers and contractors in the Aspen interior design world” and said he had worked with Paulson on “several projects.” Schindler quoted Bowden as saying, “John Paulson is one of the nicest people I’ve worked with over the last 10 years on four homes. He has a great eye and I would love to work with him on another project. His current situation is simply a difference of opinion and we will work to resolve it.”
Bowden also faces a related lawsuit filed April 2 in Pitkin County District Court by Lily De Asa Design, the firm that designed Paulson’s home. The suit alleges that Bowden embezzled part of the $167,000 he received from Paulson with the understanding that he would give it to the design firm.
“We just found out about it recently,” Schindler said, “and we don’t know anything about it, so we’re looking into the facts and we’re taking action as necessary.”
Donald Trump and Melania Trump visited John Paulson and his girlfriend’s Arena de Almeida home for a $50 million fundraiser.
Photo Illustration: Erin O’Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty Images
Bowden is also a real estate agent and made local waves in 2015 when he posted a minute-long YouTube video showing actress Melanie Griffith around her $8.9 million home atop Aspen Mountain.
The house remained unsold for four years, but Bowden seemed to have made a name for himself in Aspen, where Paulson bought the house for $24.5 million in 2010, and later purchased two ranches owned by Saudi Arabian Prince Bandar bin Sultan for $49 million.
In 2021, Paulson offered Borden millions of dollars to buy a Palm Beach mansion and make it even more luxurious. But billionaires are hard to please, and it looks like Borden may have gone too far.
His lawyers say Bowden intends to pay off his debt, which is more than anyone can say about Paulson’s friend, Donald Trump.
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