Chris Hughes, the baby-faced half-billionaire best known for being Mark Zuckerberg's college roommate and facilitating the demise of the New Republic, and his husband, political failure Sean Eldridge, are selling their massive Greenwich Village townhouse for $26 million.
A Wall Street Journal report suggests the four-bedroom, 6,000 sq. ft. mansion isn't big enough for the Facebook couple. They are "selling to move into a new home with their expanding family," according to their real estate agent.
The couple purchased the property for $22.3 million in 2015, making it a considerably more successful investment than the $20 million Hughes reportedly sunk into the New Republic, presumably because he was bored. It sounds like a pretty nice place:
Located in Greenwich Village, the 1840s-era Greek Revival townhouse is about 6,000 square feet and has four bedrooms, Maria Pashby said. It has front and rear living room areas on the parlor floor, each with wood-burning fireplaces, making for a large entertaining space. The master suite spans a full floor, with a large dressing room, a fireplace, two bathrooms and a terrace. The basement level includes a gym, a screening room and a wine cellar.
There are outdoor spaces on almost every floor, including a garden on the roof, Maria Pashby said. At the rear of the property there is a small carriage house with a finished roof garden that is connected to the main house via an underground walkway.
The property had been renovated and restored by the previous owner, but the couple installed new smart home systems to make the home more efficient. They also reduced the number of bedrooms in favor of more living spaces.
Hughes, who is credited with inventing the Facebook "Poke" button, recently authored a New York Times op-ed calling on lawmakers to "hold Mark [Zuckerberg] accountable" by breaking up the social media giant. He also published a book on the perils of income inequality. Eldridge, meanwhile, has launched a new political activist group to "resist Trump's dangerous agenda" through "impactful action."
Hughes and Eldridge won the Free Beacon Couple of the Year award in 2014.