Bloomberg buys a veddy proper London mansion for $25M

Bloomberg buys a veddy proper London mansion for $25M

Michael Bloomberg, erstwhile mayor of New York City and perhaps prospective mayor of London, has outbid three people to buy a pedigreed home in the Old Chelsea section of London that the Times of London calls "a 'jewel in the crown' mansion."

He paid 16 million pounds, or about $25 million — a million pounds over the asking price.

CLICK A PHOTO FOR A SLIDESHOW.
CLICK A PHOTO FOR A SLIDESHOW.

The 300-year-old mansion overlooks the Thames River on Cheyne Walk, a street that the listing agency said "has probably known more famous residents per square metre than any other thoroughfare in London": Ralph Vaughan Williams, Dante Gabriel Rossetti (who was "banned from keeping peacocks because they made too much noise"), James Whistler, Henry James, J.M.W. Turner (who rented under the name Puggy Booth, and died at No. 119) ... and Mick Jagger (at No. 48) and Keith Richards (No. 3). Rocker Bryan Adams lives down the road, the agency said.

The novelist George Eliot died in Bloomberg's own residence, No. 4, after contracting a throat infection. She had moved in just 19 days earlier.

The mansion comprises more than 6,000 square feet of living space, including reception rooms that have been kept precisely as they were when the house was built in 1715, the agency said. There are seven bedrooms (eight if you count the playroom), five bathrooms, two kitchenettes (in addition to the main kitchen) and an elevator, in case Bloomberg is loath to use what the listing agency calls an "important sweeping staircase" with original wooden balustrade.

British observers have speculated that Bloomberg might be contemplating a run for London mayor, but Bloomberg has said there is "zero chance" of that.

Click here or on a photo for a slideshow of the pedigreed 300-year-old London mansion that Michael Bloomberg just bought for $25 million.

Also on Yahoo Homes:

Trump takes a bit of a haircut on NYC penthouse (18 photos)
Elderly heir knocks $60M off estate, even agrees to move out (36 photos)
From high school teacher to his own private island (43 photos)