28 August 2012 www.TheRealDeal.com

When it comes to business, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is primarily known for his time as CEO of the private equity firm Bain Capital.

But he and his family also own a variety of real estate in both the U.S. and Canada. Ac-

cording to Forbes, Romney’s net worth of around $230 million includes an estimated $18 million in real estate. This month, The Real Deal took a closer look at Romney’s property investments and his connections to the industry. By Guelda Voien

Romney’s real estate

La Jolla beach house

Mitt and Ann Romney regular-ly visit the vacation home in tony

La Jolla, Calif., that they bought four years ago for $12 million, according to

published reports. But some of the Rom-neys’ neighbors there have complained about their plans for extensive reno-vations. To accommodate their five

children and 18 grandchildren, the Romneys want to expand the

home from 3,000 square feet to 11,000.

Lakeside New Hamp-shire house

Mitt and Ann have another vacation home on Lake Win-nipesaukee, in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. They bought the three-story, six-bedroom home for about $3 million in 1997, according to Zillow, which es-

timates that the 11-acre es-tate is now worth about

$10 million.

Boston homeFor years, the Romneys’ primary

residence was a seven-bedroom es-tate in Belmont, Mass., a quiet Boston

suburb near the local temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The colonial home, which the couple purchased for $890,000 in 1989, sits on 2.44 acres. But with their children grown, they de-cided to downsize in 2009, selling the house for a tidy profit of $3.5 million.

The next year, they paid $895,000 for a 2,000-square-foot, two-

bedroom townhouse in the same town.

Real estate donors Several high-profile real estate players are backing Rom-

ney’s White House bid. According to campaign finance records, Related Companies CEO Stephen Ross gave $100,000 to Re-

store Our Future, the PAC supporting Romney. Meanwhile, Star-wood Capital Group CEO Barry Sternlicht hosted a fund-raiser for the GOP candidate at his Nantucket residence last month. Manhat-

tan attorney Philip Rosen, cochair of the real estate practice at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, is currently on a trip to the United

Kingdom, Israel and Poland with Romney’s finance committee. And Donald Trump endorsed

Romney in May.

Ontario cottage

Romney grew up in Michigan, but his family regularly spent summers in Ontario,

Canada. The family’s cottage on Lake Huron is inside the gated Beach O’ Pines community,

and was the destination of the infamous 1983 trip during which Romney strapped the family dog to the roof of his car. Mitt’s father, George Romney — the one-time governor of Michi-

gan — purchased the cottage in 1950 for $31,900, published reports say, and

the real estate remains in the Romney family.

Park City ski cabin

In 1999, Mitt and Ann bought a seven-bedroom ski cabin on 11 acres

in Park City, Utah. At the time, Romney was head of the organizing committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics in near-

by Salt Lake City. In 2009, Romney sold the house for slightly under

the $5.25 million ask, accord-ing to Zillow.

Bain’s real estate partnership

Romney left Bain in 1999 (or 2002, depend-ing on which presidential campaign you believe). But Mitt and Ann still reportedly receive income

from Bain funds. While it’s unclear which funds the Romneys have a stake in, Bain has recently partnered

with several notable real estate players. In 2005, it joined forces with Vornado Realty Trust on a $5.7 billion deal to

buy out Toys “R” Us. The same year, it teamed up with the Carlyle Group on a $2.4 billion deal to buy Dunkin’

Donuts. And in 2007, it paired with Carlyle again to buy out Home Depot for $8.5 billion, in one

of the largest private equity transactions in history. Bain Capital did not respond

to requests for comment.

Oaktree real estate venture

In 2010, Bain Capital formed a $1 billion investment fund with Oaktree Capital Manage-ment, a Los Angeles–based investment manager. The fund was formed to invest in furniture show-rooms, which Bain and Oaktree reportedly believe are depressed due to the downturn, and thus ripe

for opportunistic investment. So far, the fund has bought 18 furniture display properties

in Las Vegas and North Carolina, according to reports.

Romney sonsOf Romney’s five sons, three followed

him to Harvard Business School. One of those sons, Matt Romney, is currently senior vice president of capital markets for Excel Trust, a San Diego–based,

retail-focused REIT formed in 2009. He previously worked for Excel Realty Holdings, a subsidiary of the company. Ex-

cel recently purchased malls in Arizona and California, for $42 and $24 million, respectively. Another son, Josh Romney, formed the real estate development company

Romney Ventures in 2005. The company is fo-cused on developing properties in the west,

but doesn’t appear to have closed a notable deal yet.

Mitt Romney

Josh RomneyMatt Romney

Romney’sWolfeboro

home

Stephen Ross

Romney’s La Jolla home