A jaw-dropping $37 million deal just reshaped the elite real estate scene on Martha’s Vineyard.
This blockbuster transaction involves the iconic Blue Heron Farm, a sprawling waterfront estate in Chilmark, sold on July 10, 2025, to a trust connected to billionaire Les Wexner, the Ohio-based founder of L Brands and Victoria’s Secret.
The New York Post reported that starting in 2009, Barack and Michelle Obama rented Blue Heron Farm as their summer escape for three consecutive years, shelling out a reported $50,000 per week for its serene privacy.
That cozy rental arrangement ended in 2011 when British architect Norman Foster and his wife, Elena Ochoa Foster, snapped up the 28.5-acre compound for $22.4 million.
Under the Fosters’ ownership, the estate—boasting a 7,000-square-foot main house, guesthouse, gym, tennis court, equestrian facilities, private dock, and a modern pool house—underwent extensive renovations, transforming it into a secluded haven with historic charm.
Norman Foster, known for urban marvels like London’s Gherkin, even added a sleek new pool house, and as a listing statement gushed, the estate became “a historic property with notable farming roots” enhanced by “timeless renovations.” Well, isn’t that a lovely way to gloss over turning a presidential getaway into an untouchable fortress?
Speaking of presidential nostalgia, Norman Foster once shared in a New Yorker interview that Barack Obama applied “jokey pressure” to resume the rental deal after the purchase.
Foster’s response? A firm but polite “Sadly, no,” shutting down any hope of a White House redux on the farm.
Meanwhile, the Obamas moved on, purchasing their own Martha’s Vineyard retreat in 2019 for $11.65 million—a nine-bedroom spread previously owned by former White House press secretary Joe Lockhart—proving they weren’t exactly roughing it post-rental.
Now, fast forward to 2025, when Blue Heron Farm, listed at $39 million in May, sold for $2 million less after just weeks on the market, brokered by Corcoran agents Brian Dougherty and Maggie Gold Seelig.
The buyer, a trust managed by Wexner’s longtime attorney Matthew Zieger, ties the deal to Les Wexner, whose real estate portfolio already spans Ohio—home of L Brands’ headquarters—and Jupiter, Florida.
Wexner’s past association with Jeffrey Epstein, who acted as his financial adviser until 2007, inevitably casts a shadow over this high-profile purchase, even if the transaction itself is purely business. It’s a reminder that in the world of elite dealings, baggage often comes with the deed.
Blue Heron Farm’s allure, as agents Dougherty and Seelig previously noted, lies in its “incredible privacy, serenity and significance,” which initially drew the Obamas. B
ut let’s be real—such exclusivity also symbolizes a growing disconnect between America’s ultra-wealthy and the everyday folks who can’t fathom a $50,000 weekly vacation tab.
As conservatives, we can admire the free market at play in this $37 million sale, yet still question the cultural priorities of a progressive elite who seem more at home in secluded compounds than addressing the struggles of ordinary citizens. It’s not envy—it’s a call for balance in a nation where such deals feel increasingly out of touch.