The United States sold the ambassador's residence in Israel for more than $67 million in July, according to an official Israeli record of the sale, which the State Department only confirmed several weeks later without detailing the implications for American taxpayers.
The State Department confirmed the sale in September but refused to identify the buyer or disclose the sale price of the sprawling beachfront compound in the upscale Tel Aviv suburb of Herzliya. It has also declined to say how much the U.S. government is now paying to lease the property.
The Israeli business newspaper Globes has identified the buyer as the U.S. casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, a strong supporter of both U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A representative of Adelson said the billionaire had no comment.