According to a survey, the hedge fund manager hit hardest by the GameStop trading frenzy is in the midst of a major restructuring of a $44 million mega-mansion in Miami, despite his business losing $4.5 billion in the mania.
Melvin Capital Management’s short-seller Gabe Plotkin lost 53 percent in January, finishing the month with $8 billion in cash, down from approximately $12.5 billion, primarily due to online trading driven by the r/WallStreetBets Reddit platform.
His business received a $2.75 billion bailout from hedge fund billionaires Ken Griffin and his former boss, Steve Cohen, in the wake of rumours that his company could be bankrupted by the crash.
But as the chaos unfolded, according to The Real Deal, Plotkin had already been preparing a major renovation to merge two adjacent Miami Beach properties he purchased for $44 million in the celebrity hotspot in November.
Although tearing down the waterfront house next door to replace it with amenity courts, he plans to retain one of the houses, a modern 1,316-square-foot cabana, a children’s playground and open space, the outlet reported.
Plotkin, who, according to Forbes, is worth $300 million, has already applied for permits and his lawyer is scheduled to go before next week’s Miami Beach Design Review Board, The Real Deal said.
In addition to Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber, and Karlie Kloss and Josh Kushner, the outlet noted, his current neighbours include billionaire hedge fund manager Dan Loeb.