Kerry: Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
Charles Farley
March 23, 2004
Five Kerry Homes Valued at Nearly $33M
By LOLITA C. BALDOR
WASHINGTON -- From a sailing mecca to a ski resort, presumptive
Democratic nominee John Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, enjoy
the trappings of their wealth in at least five homes and vacation
getaways valued at nearly $33 million.
Some are private escapes for the family, while others serve as prime
spots to host fund-raisers and exclusive gatherings for wealthy
donors. All reflect the couple's status -- he is a four-term
Massachusetts senator, she is heiress to the $500 million family
ketchup fortune -- with breathtaking vistas, elegant furnishings and
enclosures that protect the property from prying eyes.
Each home has a place in the family's life, with its own history and
mission, from the preppy island of Nantucket and Boston's Beacon Hill
to the Pittsburgh countryside, from the Idaho mountains to the
nation's capital.
Kerry is on a weeklong break from the campaign at the home in the
wooded mountains of Ketchum, Idaho. Located near the banks of the Big
Wood River, the nearly $5 million house is a reassembled barn,
originally built in England in 1485, and brought to Idaho by Heinz
Kerry's late husband, H. John Heinz III. The Pennsylvania Republican
senator died in a plane crash in 1991.
The classic yet comfortably furnished farmhouse, profiled in
Architectural Digest magazine in 1993, was inspired by Heinz Kerry's
memories of an inn in Swaziland where she vacationed with her parents.
Its central point is an enormous, 57-by-24-foot great room with a
25-foot ceiling framed with original oak beams.
The Heinz family has had the house since 1966, and traditionally
spends time there in August and during the Christmas holidays -- often
throwing a New Year's Eve party capped with fireworks.
While Ketchum provides a respite from politics, the tony Beacon Hill
brownstone in Boston has been a more frequent campaign way-station for
Kerry and his wife. Assessed at nearly $7 million,it is the only
residence that is theirs as a couple.
Formerly part of a convent, the five-story, 12-room Boston town house
-- with six fireplaces, a rooftop deck and an elevator -- is Kerry's
main residence. It is where he is registered to vote, where his cars
and motorcycle are registered and is located blocks from the State
House where he began his political career as lieutenant governor.
Visitors say the town house, with its modern two-story kitchen built
for entertaining, is filled with books, decorated with family photos
and Dutch still-life paintings and boasts a striking portrait of "Moby
Dick" author Herman Melville that hangs in the small library just
inside the entrance.
Just beyond the historic Brant Point Lighthouse in Nantucket's harbor
is Heinz Kerry's $9.1 million waterfront estate. Rimmed by tall
hedges, with a wide deck and a lawn that reaches to the beach, the
three-story, five-bedroom manse was the site of the couple's Memorial
Day weekend wedding in 1995.
Since then, the house has been used for campaign retreats and
Democratic receptions for the party's big money donors.
Visitors say that while the homes are adorned with pricey art and
antiques, they are generally friendly and comfortable and not
ostentatious.
While Kerry calls Boston home, Heinz Kerry's base is Pittsburgh.
Located on a $3.7 million, 90-acre family farm in Fox Chapel, the home
is a nine-room white colonial fronted with six columns, and at the end
of a steep drive, hidden from the road by a curtain of woods. The
property includes a deep-red, nine-room carriage house.
Their fifth home, in Georgetown, is perhaps the most utilitarian, and
is necessary to accommodate the time they spend in Washington when the
Senate is in session. Also belonging to Heinz Kerry, the 23-room, $4.7
million town house, with its wide stairway and landscaped courtyard,
is filled with antiques, fine art, including paintings by Dutch
masters, and family photos.
Cap'n Fishlips
Farley) wrote:
>Associated Press
>March 23, 2004
>
>Five Kerry Homes Valued at Nearly $33M
>
>By LOLITA C. BALDOR
>Their fifth home, in Georgetown, is perhaps the most utilitarian, and
>is necessary to accommodate the time they spend in Washington when the
>Senate is in session. Also belonging to Heinz Kerry, the 23-room, $4.7
>million town house, with its wide stairway and landscaped courtyard,
>is filled with antiques, fine art, including paintings by Dutch
>masters, and family photos.
>
>
>http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=536&ncid=536&e=7&u=/ap/20040322/ap_on_el_pr/kerry_homes
Georgie W is not what you'd exactly call "On Welfare" eh?