The founder of a toy company who sold his $79 million Miami mansion to Jeff Bezos for less than the asking price is now suing his realtor for failing to disclose that the Amazon billionaire was the buyer.
Leo Kryss, co-founder of Tectoy, a Brazilian toy and electronics company, alleges that the real estate brokerage Douglas Elliman misled him about the buyer’s identity, even specifically denying that it was Bezos.
In May 2023, Kryss listed his seven-bedroom luxury home in Indian Creek Village, which boasts a wine cellar, library, theater, and pool, for $85 million.
The following month, Bezos purchased a neighboring 2.8-acre property for $68 million. Soon after, Kryss received an offer for his home that was $6 million below the asking price.
According to a lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade County’s 11th Judicial Circuit and obtained by *The Independent*, Kryss directly inquired whether Bezos was the buyer.
Jay Parker, Elliman’s CEO for the Florida region, personally assured Kryss that Bezos was not involved and stated the buyer would not go above $79 million. However, this information was later proven false after Kryss agreed to sell the home at a 7.1% discount.
The lawsuit claims, “In reliance upon Mr. Parker’s affirmative representations regarding the identity of the potential and ultimate buyer of the home, Kryss was induced to reduce the sale price of the home by millions of dollars.”
It continues, “But for these misrepresentations and in reliance upon the Broker’s duties to deal honestly, fairly, and with due care towards TAM, Kryss would not have reduced the purchase price or sold the home for $79,000,000.”
Kryss further stated that knowing whether Bezos was behind the purchase was “highly material” to the negotiations and the final sales price, especially given that Bezos already owned the neighboring property. This made the home “significantly more valuable to Bezos than to other potential buyers,” according to the lawsuit.
Douglas Elliman earned a 4% commission on the sale, amounting to more than $3 million, according to the complaint.
In a statement shared, Dana Clayton, Kryss’s legal representative, said, “Douglas Elliman failed to fulfill their duties to our client.
The facts, as set forth in our complaint, speak for themselves; they knew or should have known who the ultimate beneficial purchaser was and misrepresented that very important fact to our client.”
The lawsuit seeks damages exceeding $750,000, alleging the broker’s “breach of contract, breach of duties, and negligent misrepresentations” concerning the buyer’s identity.
Douglas Elliman declined to comment on the lawsuit, although a spokesperson told *The Wall Street Journal* that the company could not discuss ongoing litigation.
Bezos, currently the third-richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $197.6 billion according to *Forbes*, announced his move from Seattle to Miami in February 2023.
He now owns more than four acres of bayfront property on Indian Creek Island, a gated community often referred to as the “Billionaire Bunker.”
The island is also home to other high-profile residents, including Tom Brady, Jared Kushner, and Ivanka Trump.
