PROPERTY PORN

Paper Uses X-Rated Photo of Tech Billionaire’s New Home

Images published online of Google co-founder Larry Page’s new home feature an unusual sculpture.

The Wall Street Journal removed a photo featuring what appears to be a naked woman from an article about Google co-founder Larry Page’s new $101 million Miami home.

The article, published on Wednesday, confirmed that Page had purchased two Miami estates worth a combined $173.4 million following the announcement of a proposed tax on billionaires in California.

The live version of the article does not feature the image, but an archived version does. In the photo, first noticed by users on social media, what appears to be a naked woman can be seen reclining through the glass walls on the house’s lower level.

It is unclear when the image was removed from the article, and a spokesperson for the Wall Street Journal did not confirm that the paper had done so—though they did state that “the photo features a sculpture; it is not a live woman.”

An uncensored version of the image was also used in a Dec. 30 article about the real estate deal, which did not identify Page as the buyer. In that article, the “sculpture” is still visible on the Journal’s website.

Other photos available online of the 4.5-acre compound, located on Biscayne Bay in Miami’s exclusive Coconut Grove neighborhood, do not feature the same sculpture.

The home previously belonged to Jonathan Lewis, whose father, the late Peter B. Lewis, was the CEO of Progressive Insurance.

Jonathan, who passed away in 2023, opened several restaurants in Miami before shifting his focus to philanthropy and political causes. The house originally hit the market in 2024 for $135 million, and was most recently priced at $115 million before eventually selling for $101.5 million.

Jonathan’s husband, Mark Lewis, described the home, known as “Banyan Ridge,” as being like a “secret Garden of Eden” in a 2024 interview with the Journal.

“When you’re on the property, you don’t feel like you’re in the city,” he said. “You feel like you’re in a tropical oasis.”

In addition to Banyan Ridge, Page also purchased a nearby property for $71.9 million from heiress Sloan Lindemann Barnett and her husband, Roger Barnett, on Jan. 5.

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California’s proposed tax on billionaires, known as the Billionaire Tax Act, would impose a one-time tax of 5 percent on the total wealth of Californians whose net worth exceeds $1 billion. The tax would apply retroactively to those who were California residents as of Jan. 1.

In response to the proposal, several of the state’s billionaires have begun migrating to Florida, including Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel, who last week announced that he has maintained a personal residence in Miami since 2020. Page’s Google co-founder Sergey Brin is also reportedly in discussions to purchase a home in Miami.

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