Peter Thiel has quietly dropped $12 million on one of Buenos Aires\u2019 most storied mansions \u2014\u00a0and the city\u2019s luxury real estate market may never be the same.<\/p>\n
The PayPal co-founder, Palantir chieftain, and early Facebook backer \u2014 whose net worth eclipses $30 billion \u2014 has acquired a grand estate on Dardo Rocha Street in Barrio Parque, according to Forbes Argentina.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n The home is in the rarefied enclave tucked inside Palermo Chico that serves as the closest thing Buenos Aires has to a plutocrat\u2019s row. The property sits directly across the street from the residence of Argentine entertainment legend Susana Gim\u00e9nez. Neighbors have already noticed an uptick in private security personnel shadowing the grounds.<\/p>\n Thiel did not respond to a request for comment.\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b<\/p>\n Billionaire investor Peter Thiel has purchased a roughly $12 million mansion in Buenos Aires\u2019 ultra-exclusive Palermo Chico enclave. Google Maps<\/p>\n The property spans about 1,600 square meters \u2014 roughly 17,200 square feet \u2014 and sits in Barrio Parque, one of the city\u2019s most elite, embassy-lined neighborhoods where trophy homes rarely come to market. REUTERS<\/p>\n The mansion itself is the kind of address that doesn\u2019t come available often. Spanning roughly 17,200 square feet of interior space \u2014 a footprint virtually unheard of within the city limits \u2014 the property was designed by Alejandro Bustillo, the Argentine architect whose fingerprints are on some of the country\u2019s most iconic structures, including the Llao Llao Hotel in Bariloche and the Mar del Plata Casino.\u00a0<\/p>\n Its French Academic facade \u2014 all stately symmetry and old-world gravitas \u2014 places it firmly in the tradition of the European-influenced grand residences that defined Buenos Aires at the height of its Belle \u00c9poque ambitions.\u00a0<\/p>\n The previous owners gutted and rebuilt the interior from the ground up, and the result marries Bustillo\u2019s classical bones with a clean, minimalist aesthetic calibrated for the international premium buyer, according to Forbes. <\/p>\n The ground floor flows from a double entrance foyer through formal living and dining rooms, a dedicated office, and dedicated service space for wine and silverware. The kitchen opens toward the garden.\u00a0<\/p>\n The home is a stately French-style residence originally designed by renowned Argentine architect Alejandro Bustillo and recently gut-renovated. Google Maps<\/p>\n A sweeping marble staircase anchors the home, leading upstairs to six en-suite bedrooms, an additional office, and service quarters. A wine cellar and garden-facing terrace round out the property.<\/p>\n The $12 million sum reset the ceiling for residential transactions in Palermo Chico, one of the city\u2019s most liquid-yet-illiquid luxury submarkets.\u00a0<\/p>\n