The Gloomiest Billionaire in Palm Beach
Six hundred feet south of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, the billionaire Jeff Greene presides over a fiefdom of his own. An army of landscapers lines his driveway, which meanders past a tennis court, a guest house, and a pool before reaching a white stucco colossus: his residence. There are so many doors inside of the courtyard it’s hard to decide where to knock.
The morning I visit, a green door eventually swings open, and the real estate tycoon waves me into the backyard while he finishes a call. A vast lawn, appointed with a jungle gym and bronze mermaid, peers out over the Atlantic. His goldendoodle, Cole, promptly pees on my foot.
Sixty-seven years old and with three young boys, Greene is feeling uneasy about the future. Ensconced in Palm Beach—a literal island of mega-wealth—he sees an economy on the brink.