The Truth About Mitt Romney Upsetting His Neighbors
Sen. Mitt Romney announced the sale of his vacation home in San Diego County, per The Salt Lake Tribune. The Utah senator announced the sale during a meeting with the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, closing the book on the controversial La Jolla, California, property. The Republican senator and his wife upset the neighbors of their oceanfront San Diego vacation home for years.
The controversy about Romney's vacation home made headlines, but most people view the GOP senator as friendly...that is unless your name is Donald Trump. Romney has consistently been one of the only Republican senators to stand up to Trump, voting twice to impeach the former president. In Trump's first impeachment trial, Romney was the only Republican who voted to impeach Trump. According to CNN, in Trump's first impeachment trial, Romney was the "first senator in US history to vote to remove from office a president from the same party."
In Trump's second impeachment trial, Romney was one of seven GOP senators to vote to impeach. In addition to his impeachment votes, the Utah senator had consistently spoken out when he believed Trump was wrong. The Utah Republican party tried to censure Romney for his impeachment decisions, per CNN.
So what did the senator, former presidential candidate, and former Governor of Massachusetts do to upset his California neighbors? Keep reading to find out.
Neighbors were upset about Mitt Romney's rebuild of his vacation home
Mitt Romney sold his San Diego vacation home for $23.5 million, per the New York Post. Neighbors have been upset for years about the oceanfront home after the Romneys tore down the original house and rebuilt a massive mansion.
Romney's former neighbor Anthony Ciani talked to The Post about the neighborhood controversy, telling the outlet that his concern was that the rebuild hindered public use of the beach. Ciani said, "Not all of the neighbors had issues with the Romneys' project, but others, including me, disputed their claim to own the sandy beach west of the historic property line which could interfere with the historical public use of the beach." However, Romney's former neighbor said he no longer has a beef with the senator because he kept his promise to "dedicate the beach for public use."
The Romneys purchased the original 3,000-square-foot home in 2008 for $12 million, then tore it down to build their mansion. Romney's 11,000-square-foot vacation home made national news during his 2012 presidential campaign after the press found out he was planning to install a car elevator. Then-President Barack Obama brought up Romney's wealth and multiple homes during the presidential campaign. The sale of the mansion still leaves Romney with four other homes. Let's take a look.
Mitt Romney's Other Vacation Homes
With all this talk of Romney's California home, let's take a look at some of his other properties. In 1999, Mitt Romney and his wife Ann Romney purchased a ski chalet vacation home in Park City, Utah. But if you're picturing a small quaint ski chalet, think again. According to The Denver Post, the Romneys' vacation home is a 7-bedroom, 9.5-bath home on 11 acres. The outlet reported that the couple purchased the Park City chalet when he was CEO of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
On top of that, there's also the Romneys' New Hampshire summer home. The family lived in nearby Massachusetts at the time, and paid $3 million for the lakefront home in 1997, which sits on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, which is credited as "the oldest summer resort in America." The 5,400-square-foot home is a contemporary style with three stories and six bedrooms, and also boasts a guest house. They certainly use the space — the entire Romney family, including all the grandchildren, gather at the Lake Winnipesaukee home in the summer.
Mitt Romney's main home in Utah is mysterious
According to The Salt Lake City Tribune, Mitt Romney's main family home in Holladay, Utah, has a mysterious feature in it. The Utah outlet reported in 2013 that the 5,900-square-foot house in the Salt Lake City suburb of Holladay has a secret door and a hidden room! There is a study off the massive living room, and a door is hidden in the bookshelves of the study that opens up to a hidden room. There is no information on what the mysterious room is used for, but it's a safe bet that the Romney grandchildren love it. According to The Sun, the Romneys have five sons and have 24 grandchildren.
The Denver Post reported that Ann Romney purchased a home and land in Holladay in 2013 after her husband's failed presidential campaign. The couple tore down and rebuilt the new 5,900-square-foot home in 2014. Taylor Oldroyd of the Utah County Association of Realtors told The Tribune, "That's a good-size house, but he has a lot of grandkids so he needs a place to host everybody."
Celebrity Net Worth reports that Mitt Romney is worth a whopping $250 million, so it makes sense that a good portion of that goes to housing the whole Romney brood.