During a tumultuous divorce battle, the Real Housewives of New York’s Sonja Morgan accused her ex-husband of barring her from their co-owned properties, while he lives on a private island near Stamford, CT. The island is now listed for sale for almost US $19M.
(Image of Greenaway Island Copyright F. Vladi)
Sonja Morgan, one of the flamboyant “stars” of the reality television show, Real Housewives of New York, has been embroiled in a long divorce settlement with her ex-husband, 80-year old John Adams Morgan, one of the great-great-grandchildren of the legendary banker J.P. Morgan. According to media reports of court papers filed by the outspoken socialite, she is accusing her former husband of owing a $3M divorce judgement and more than $300,000 in alimony. His lawyers, meanwhile, have responded by claiming that they are reviewing the matter, as they believe he has paid more than their pre-nuptial and other agreements warrant.
Sonja, who after a failed business venture recently filed for bankruptcy to the tune of $19M, and, according to reports in the UK’s Daily Mail, is also in danger of losing her $6M New York City primary residence, has also claimed that she has been prohibited by her ex-husband from visiting, using or selling any of the couple’s jointly owned properties – including homes in Colorado and France – while Adams Morgan lives extravagantly on Greenaway Island, also known as Caritas Island, a beautiful private isle off the coast of Stamford, CT.
The 3.5 acre Greenaway Island, however, was newly listed on the market in the spring of 2011 for $18.9M through a Greenwich branch of Sotheby’s Realty, with the advertisement simply titled, “Island Paradise.” The island had failed to sell in 2006 when it was originally offered for $25M – but of course, that price tag was pre-credit crisis. The 26-room manor home on the island is both historic and lavish, constructed in 1906 and containing 11 bedrooms, 10.5 baths, a library, and stunning entertainment areas. Updated with a few modern touches like an outdoor lap pool, this +14,000 square foot residence is undeniably luxurious.
Whether it will sell at the current asking price, however, is another story; the US real estate market has hardly begun a recovery, but the more than $6M discount may prove attractive for those with cash to spare and a love for the island’s elegant charms. Fittingly, the Latin word “caritas,” in addition to meaning charity, has a more literal translation of expensive and high priced – but for the right buyer, it might be $18.9M well spent.
Read an interview with Sonja Morgan in the NY Post: link
