Biography & Early Wealth Journey

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Kryss's lawsuit claims that he was assured personally by Douglas Elliman regional CEO Jay Parker that Bezos was not the buyer and that the buyer wouldn't go a penny above their initial $79 million offer. The lawsuit claims this detail "was highly material to his negotiations and his decision on the ultimate sales price" and that had he known the offer was being made by Bezos, he would never have agreed to the discount.

Here's a press statement from Kryss's attorney:

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"Douglas Elliman failed to fulfill their duties to our client.… They knew or should have known who the ultimate beneficial purchaser was and misrepresented that very important fact to our client."

For Parker's part, he sent Kryss an email following the close of the sale and the revelation that Bezos was indeed the mystery buyer, claiming that he had been in the dark on the matter as well, believing the buyer to be someone related to Benny Klepach, the duty-free retail mogul who also happens to be the mayor of Indian Creek Village. By some odd coincidence, Klepach's daughter Celine Klepach was hired by Douglas Elliman in the weeks leading up to the closing of the sale and even reportedly made a commission on it, although she denies she was involved in the sale and is no longer employed with the company.

It's not unusual for ultra-wealthy individuals like Bezos to try to conceal their identities to avoid unanticipated price increases in big real estate deals, but Leo Kryss obviously feels his experience with Bezos and Douglas Elliman went out of the usual bounds of fair play.