Marcelo Claure, a top executive at Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group, paid $11.1 million for a waterfront teardown on Miami Beach’s North Bay Road, The Real Deal has learned.
Claure, CEO of Softbank Group International and executive chairman of New York-based co-working giant WeWork, bought the house at 5212 North Bay Road through a trust in his name, confirmed Nelson Gonzalez of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices EWM Realty. Gonzalez brokered both sides of the deal.
Gonzalez said the home “hands down, is a teardown, but it’s not going to happen right away.” The 5,116-square-foot house was built in 1986 on a 0.6-acre lot. It was listed in October for $13.4 million, and was reduced in February to $12.9 million, according to Redfin.
The Isaac Olemberg Trust sold the property. The late Olemberg founded Olem Shoe Corp., and he and his late wife, Nieves, were philanthropists, endowing Olemberg Halls at Temple Menorah and Temple Beth Shmuel in Miami Beach, and at Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center in Aventura. Nieves died in 2014, and Isaac in 2016, according to his obituary.
Gonzalez said Claure will be in New York for a while, but eventually plans to build a new house on the site, which has 150 feet of frontage on the open bay with a view of downtown Miami. “He is talking to architects and builders, so it may be sooner rather than later,” Gonzalez said.
Claure already owns a waterfront mansion at 2060 North Bay Road, which he purchased for $11.5 million from former Miami Heat player Rony Seikaly in 2010.
Bolivian native Claure, who is also COO of Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp., oversees the group’s operating companies. He is in charge of reworking WeWork’s strategy after its failed IPO attempt last year, as it continues to be pummeled by the effects of the pandemic on the office sector. In July, WeWork hired JLL and CBRE to help fill millions of square feet now vacant in New York City and Los Angeles. Last week, WeWork launched an “On Demand” pay-as-you-go offering that allows users to drop in for as little as an hour and $10 that is being piloted in New York City.
Claure is known as a hands-on leader, who has a track record of creating billion-dollar companies from scratch and turning around sinking ships. He is also active on Twitter, posting about marathons, travel and enjoying time with his wife and six children.
In addition to WeWork, Claure oversees Arm, Brightstar, Fortress, SB Energy and Boston Dynamics, as well as SoftBank’s ownership in T-Mobile US and SoftBank Latin America, according to his LinkedIn.
He is also chairman and part owner of Inter Miami CF, Miami’s major league soccer team, and runs Club Bolivar, Bolivia’s soccer team.
On North Bay Road, other high-profile homeowners include JDS Development’s Michael Stern, singer-songwriter Phil Collins, and basketball stars Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.
The bayfront street has seen several high-priced sales during the pandemic. Last month, Richard Lane, chairman emeritus of New York-based real estate firm Olnick Organization and his wife Barbara paid $9 million for the house at 6380 North Bay Road. Also in July, David Deshe, co-founder and president of Vero Water, purchased a lot at 4350 North Bay Road for $8.5 million.