Manhattan
17 East 79th Street
The house: A five-story, 7,500-square-foot limestone Beaux-Arts mansion. Bloomberg bought it in 1986 for $3.5 million. Today it might be worth $17 million. Recently, he bought a part of the building next door so he could expand the dining room.
The Décor: A period-mixing fantasy wrought – some might say overwrought – by decorator Jamie Drake, who also decorated Madonna’s Manhattan apartment. An Adams-style molded-plaster ceiling and a George III armoire are in the bedroom. The foyer is paved with porphyry, a rare Egyptian marble. Artworks include a sketch by Fragonard, hunting-dog oil paintings, and black stone busts.
The Neighborhood The Gold Coast, of course. A short walk to the 77th Street subway for his famous schlep to City Hall.
The Guest Book: An old fraternity brother, Dr. Jack Galotto, a Maryland doctor, was a houseguest the night of Bloomberg’s mayoral victory. “It’s an interesting place,” he said, adding that he agreed with a remark he’d heard that it was “like Louis XIV on hallucinogens.” But Galotto couldn’t be more impressed with his old frat-mate. “The guy is just brilliant at knowing what needs to be done to get something accomplished,” he said.
Tucker’s Town, Bermuda
Tucker’s Town Road
The house: A sprawling two-story, 6,000-square-foot postmodern “cottage” built on about two acres after the existing structure was torn down. Value: $10.5 million.
The Décor: Another Jamie Drake project, featuring Bermuda cedar. Outdoors, there’s a small infinity pool, a trellised patio, a winding path down to a 64-foot jetty, and a view of the north side of tony Tucker’s Town peninsula and a bay crowded with yachts.
The Guest Book: While Bloomberg’s neighbors on Bermuda include Ross Perot and Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi (who’s actually richer than Bloomberg), his public socializing tends to be low-key, consisting mostly of golf at the Mid Ocean Club. A member of the Bloomberg corporate board of directors, Hugh Lowenstein, who runs Bermuda-based Shore Capital, Ltd., lives in Tucker’s Town in a house named “The Jungle.” Bloomberg is near-invisible down here. “He’s not part of the businessman clique,” said Bermuda Royal Gazette reporter Mairi Mallon. “He’s not seen out.”
North Salem, New York
Titicus Road
The house: An 1820s white clapboard farmhouse on twenty acres known as “Salem Sunshine Farm,” with four bedrooms, four baths, and an indoor riding ring, bought in 2000 for $3.6 million. A twenty-horse stable is under construction. At the back of the land is a stone roadway called Elephant Walk – it was once used by the North Salem circus.
The Décor: Jamie Drake hasn’t been seen in these environs as yet. Bloomberg’s real-estate agent, Carol Goldberg of Vincent & Whittemore Real Estate, said the redecoration was appealingly modest. “They just spruced it up. A little paint here and there. Not marble bathrooms. It’s not a pretentious place at all.”
The Neighborhood: Locals are happy that the property is being kept for horses. “Some builder could have come in and subdivided that twenty acres. You could have seen mansions up here,” said Goldberg.
The Guest Book:Mike’s ex-wife, Susan Brown, was involved in the decision-making. “The mother goes to the horse shows with the girls,” Goldberg said. Bloomberg spent Thanksgiving here with his ex-wife and daughters.
Cadogan Square, London
The house: Redbrick Victorian townhouse worth upwards of $10 million.
The Décor Getting official permission for renovation was “an unusually big pain in the ass,” a friend says. For the London townhouse, Drake and Bloomberg decided on American art: a Jasper Johns flag painting, works by Andy Warhol and Henry Moore, and a portrait of George Washington.
The Neighborhood: Prime Sloane Ranger territory, Cadogan Square has more than a passing resemblance to New York’s East Sixties, with some of the city’s best shopping (Harrods, Valentino, Hermès, Prada, and Christian Dior) nearby. George Harrison had offices here; other residents have included Ivana Trump and ex-husband Ricardo Mazzucchelli, Phil Collins, and Roger Moore. Parking’s a nightmare, and the resident’s permit is more difficult to come by than an East Hampton beach pass.
The Guest Book:Bloomberg has dined with Bryan Ferry, Paloma Picasso, Sir Terence Conran, Sir David Frost, and Lord Archer, along with any number of business associates.
Vail, Colorado
East Meadow Drive
The house: A four-bedroom condominium, the Mountain Haus is a 72-unit hotel-like condominium with a communal pool, indoor and outdoor whirlpools, daily maid service, concierge service, and room service from the on-premises George Restaurant & Pub.
The Décor: Each unit has its own fireplace. Bloomberg’s top-floor suite is the best of the lot. “He’s got an awesome view,” says a Mountain Haus employee. “He can see the village and the mountain. He can see east and west.”
The Neighborhood: Vail lacks Aspen’s Hollywood glitz (ex-president Gerald Ford is a signature celebrity). Bloomberg is a member of the Game Creek Club, an exclusive restaurant located midway down a ski trail on the mountain, accessible at night only by a Sno-Cat ride. He has been a skier since his days at Salomon Brothers; four years ago, he learned to snowboard; he once horrified his daughter Emma by appearing on the slopes in baseball hat and fake ponytail.
The Guest Book:Bloomberg’s friends include Wall Street Journal Washington columnist Albert Hunt, Denver stockbroker Paul Esserman, and Vail Resorts chairman Adam Aron. Bloomberg spent Christmas weekend here with Emma. Even here, Bloomberg lives on New York time. Esserman told the Denver Post that, at a New Year’s party chez Bloomberg, “he insisted on having the toast at 10 p.m. because that was his midnight.”