Pierre Lagrange, who is a hedge fund manager and former Goldman Sachs Group Inc trader, has sold his London mansion for a whopping 90 million pounds or $145 million. Who�s the buyer you ask? None other than famous billionaire real estate addict Roman Abramovich. Pierre purchased the home, which is located in London�s exclusive Kensington Palace Gardens (right next to the home of billionaire Lakshmi Mittal), for 19 million pounds back in 2004. The sale comes after Lagrange and his wife filed for divorce. He was ranked 236th in this year�s Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated fortune of 331 million pounds.
GLG star sells 90 mln stg mansion ahead of divorce-source
By Laurence Fletcher
LONDON | Mon Sep 5, 2011 6:32pm IST
(Reuters) - Star hedge fund manager Pierre Lagrange has sold his mansion on London's so-called "billionaires' row" for 90 million pounds ($146 million) ahead of what could be one of Britain's biggest divorce settlements, a source familiar with the matter said.
The long-haired Belgian, who bought the property in London's exclusive Kensington Palace Gardens for 19 million pounds in 2004, has sold it to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea Football Club, the source added.
The sale comes after the 49-year-old GLG star and his wife Catherine, a big donor to the Conservative party, filed for divorce.
Lagrange, a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc trader and backer of the comic book-based action film "Kick Ass", which was released last year, was ranked 236th in this year's Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated fortune of 331 million pounds.
Along with GLG co-CEOs Emmanuel Roman and Noam Gottesman, Lagrange bagged $500 million in Man Group Plc shares through the acquisition last year of GLG by Man Group, the world's largest listed hedge fund manager.
However, this was well below the value of their holdings at GLG's flotation in 2007, when the company was valued at $3.4 billion and they received $1 billion in cash between them.
A Man Group spokesman confirmed Lagrange and his wife had filed for divorce, adding it was "a private matter".
($1 = 0.617 British Pounds)
(Editing by Sinead Cruise and David Holmes)
