US billionaire Leon Falic has bought a home in Herzliya for NIS 88 million through a company which he owns. Falic is one of the biggest supporters of former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In an unusual barter deal, Falic paid for part of the Herzliya home, by exchanging another house that he owns with the seller.
The 900 square meter three-floor house that Falic has bought is in a 1,900 square meter lot at 75 Eshel Street. A decade ago the home was nearly sold to the Egyptian government for the ambassador's residence but the deal fell through and the house was bought in 2009 by French businessman Binyamin Estroc Kahan through his company Derby Business Group for NIS 58.3 million. At the same time he bought an adjoining 1,000 square meter lot for NIS 15.1 million, which today serves as a tennis court.
The Falic family own duty free stores worldwide and are known in Israel for their donations to right wing causes and their support of Netanyahu. Leon Falic owns a winery in Israel in the Psagot settlement in Samaria.
The house was on the market for a year but did not attract major interest. Real estate agent Gal Akoka who brokered the barter deal estimates that a nearby house owned by Falic, which he is selling to Estroc Kahan, was worth an estimated NIS 70 million, with Falic adding an estimated NIS 18 million to complete the deal.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 21, 2021
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