Talk about a real deal. The folks at Redfin have confirmed that rapper Rick Ross has purchased the monstrous former Fayetteville home of boxer Evander "Real Deal" Holyfield — and that he got it for a relative steal. According to Redfin, Ross paid a cool $5.879 million for the 12-bedroom, 45,000 square-foot mansion. That's less than half of the $14 million Holyfield reportedly owed on the property before the bank foreclosed in 2012, and more than a few bucks shy of the original ask of $8.5 million. At the deeply discounted price, Ross gets 104 acres, one of the country's largest swimming pools and a dining room that can host 100 people. That, and a financial albatross that Holyfield once said cost him $1 million a year to operate.
Ross, who owns another property down the street, told music site Revolt that he'd had his eyes on Holyfield's former digs for a while now. We're still not entirely sure what he's getting at, but the rapper apparently plans to use the mansion for some kind of mentoring program. "If you a person like me, that's inspired by certain things, I just felt like me acquiring that property is me really speaking to some kids and giving them that same passion and they're looking in my eyes and me telling them, 'Yo, this is real,'" he said, in part. " … So, we're going to open the doors to the kids of New Orleans, from Atlanta, from Miami and open their minds a little bit." With monthly power bills as high as $17,000, he might need to charge admission.
— By Curbed Atlanta contributor Tyler Estep
· Evander Holyfield Heavyweight Mansion Sells For $5.879 Million [Redfin]
· Rick Ross reflects on buying Evander Holyfield's mansion [REVOLT]
· Holyfield's Absurd Mega-Mansion Back On The Market [Curbed Atlanta]