The former US ambassador’s residence in Tel Aviv sold for $67 million in July, according to an Israeli tax record made public on Monday, the highest price ever for an Israeli property.
The sale helped cement the embassy’s controversial move to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv authorized by President Donald Trump while also recognizing the former city as Israel’s capital.
In September, the Israeli daily Globes reported that the property’s buyer was Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino magnate and major pro-Israel Republican donor who supported the embassy move. After the State Department informally confirmed that the buyer was Adelson, U.S. lawmakers looked into “whether the deal complied with regulations,” The Associated Press reported.
The US Embassy said in August that “the buyer was selected solely on the basis of having submitted the highest and best offer.”
Many Israelis and Jewish Americans rejoiced at the embassy move — one promised by Trump during his 2016 campaign. The Palestinians and their supporters, who want authority over part of Jerusalem in an eventual two-state solution deal, decried it.