Barack and Michelle Obama’s Former Martha’s Vineyard Hideaway Sells to Victoria’s Secret Billionaire Les Wexner for $37 Million
The sprawling Martha’s Vineyard estate where Barack and Michelle Obama used to spend their summers has sold for a staggering $37 million—having reportedly been snapped up by billionaire businessman Les Wexner.
Known as Blue Heron Farm, the sprawling Massachusetts property played host to the Obamas for three consecutive summers starting in 2009, with reports at the time suggesting that the family paid a staggering $50,000 a week to rent the abode.
But the family was forced to find an alternative summer sanctuary when the Chilmark home was sold to new owners—who carried out extensive renovations on the 28.5-acre property, while also taking it off the rental market, instead using it as a full-time dwelling.
In May, those owners, Norman Foster and his third wife, Elena Ochoa Foster, decided to part ways with their waterfront playground, listing it for $39 million. The property went under contract just a few weeks later.
Now, the sale price of the opulent dwelling has been revealed, with records showing that it was sold for $2 million below the initial list price. The deal officially closed on July 10, just over two months after the listing went live.
As first reported by The Real Deal, the property was purchased via a trust with close ties to Wexner, 87, who founded L Brands, the parent company of major brands such as Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, and Lane Bryant.
Wexner is also known for having a long-term personal and professional relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, who served as the L Brands founder’s financial adviser for 20 years, until 2007.
Records indicate that the trust is managed by Matthew Zieger, Wexner’s longtime attorney, who is based in Ohio, where many of Wexner’s business interests are located.
In addition to Blue Heron Farm, Wexner and his wife, Abigail, reportedly own properties in New Albany, OH, which serves as their main residence, and Jupiter, FL.
Realtor.com® has contacted Wexner’s spokesperson for comment.
The property—which was listed by Brian Dougherty and Maggie Gold Seelig with Corcoran—was last sold in 2011, when the Fosters bought it from Mollie and William Van Devender for $22.4 million.
Since then, Norman—who founded architecture firm Foster + Partners and has since been involved in the design of several iconic U.K. structures, including The Gherkin and Wembley Stadium—has made several significant updates to the property, which features a main residence and a guesthouse.
In total, there are 13 bedrooms, a design studio, gym, tennis court, equestrian riding rings, and paddocks.
A 150-year-old barn that was originally built in Pennsylvania before being relocated to the Martha’s Vineyard site is the first structure to greet guests as they make their way up the lengthy drive to the main residence, which offers 7,000 square feet of living space and a beautiful wraparound porch.
During his ownership of the abode, Foster added an expansive—and very modern-looking—pool house, which complements the waterfront boathouse that was already located on the property.
“This historic estate with notable farming roots has been meticulously updated and modernized over the years, with significant investments made in timeless renovations, extensive foliage planting, and build-out for new amenities across the property,” a statement about the listing reads.
The home’s many amenities are rounded out by a private dock and a private stretch of beach, allowing guests and residents to enjoy all manner of outdoor activities—while still maintaining a sense of privacy and seclusion.
It was that feeling of safety that first drew the Obamas to the home, according to Gold Seelig and Dougherty, who said in a statement that the then-president and his family picked the property “for its incredible privacy, serenity, and significance.”
Indeed, the Obamas were so fond of the home that—according to Foster—Barack tried to persuade him to continue leasing it to them as a summer rental.
In an interview with the New Yorker in February, Foster revealed that the former president had approached him about renting the home again after they met at a gathering at a neighbor’s house.
Foster noted that Barack had applied “jokey pressure” to encourage him to continue the arrangement that the Obamas had with the former owners, but said that he ultimately had to turn the father of two down.
“[He] was quite amusing about it,” Foster said, but noted that Barack’s humorous plea had done little to change his mind about leasing the property, recalling that he told the former president: “Sadly, no.”
The change in ownership of the Martha’s Vineyard abode did not deter the Obamas from continuing to summer in the tony neighborhood—with the family pivoting to renting another nearby dwelling in 2013.
In 2019, the couple opted to invest in their own home in the area, snapping up an $11.65 million dwelling that they still own to this day.
That property is one of several in the couple’s portfolio, which also includes a dwelling in the Kalorama Heights neighborhood of Washington, DC, where Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were based during Donald Trump‘s first presidency. That home still serves as the couple’s main residence, more than seven years after they purchased it in an off-market deal.
The couple is understood to have paid $8.1 million for the nine-bedroom, 8.5-bathroom residence, which was previously the home of Joe Lockhart, former press secretary to President Bill Clinton.
In 2018, Michelle opened up about their move into the property from the White House, joking to TV host Ellen DeGeneres that her husband had been “shortchanged” by getting the “smallest room” as his office space.
“He still talks about this,” she told DeGeneres. “He got so shortchanged on this whole deal. He doesn’t have enough closet space—sorry! He’s got the smallest room for his office.”
Should Barack require a bit more space, however, he need only venture to one of their other homes, including their $1.65 million property in the tony Chicago neighborhood of Kenwood. The Obamas snapped up that property in 2005, before Barack entered the White House for his first term, and they are thought to still own it.
The Obamas are also understood to have recently invested in a property in Hawaii, having spent years using the same vacation rental for their island getaways.
Reports began emerging in 2020 that the pair were lining up their own property on the island of Oahu—a stunning beachfront home that is part of a trio of residences being developed by their close friend Marty Nesbitt.
Nesbitt purchased a prime plot of waterfront land for the eye-watering sum of $8.1 million in 2015 and began building a luxury compound of homes, one of which is rumored to have been earmarked for the Obamas.
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