Self-made billionaire Don Hankey, known as the “king” of subprime car loans, is selling his Highland Beach estate in Palm Beach for $43.85 million. Standing 17 feet above sea level, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, the bunker-style estate is listed with Samantha Curry of Douglas Elliman.
“This property is truly breathtaking, it’s the kind of home that instantly makes you feel like you’re at a five-star resort,” says Curry of the estate at 3715 S Ocean Boulevard. “From the moment you walk in, you’re enveloped by stunning ocean views with every detail thoughtfully curated to enhance the connection to the outdoors while maintaining complete privacy. It’s an exceptionally rare multigenerational estate—homes of this caliber and scale rarely become available in the Highland Beach market.”
The resort-style estate boasts 120 feet of ocean frontage and a striking four-level residence. With 11,000 square feet of interiors, plus a 3,000-square-foot sky deck with panoramic views, there’s no lack of luxurious space, most with stellar vistas.
The contemporary design includes seven bedrooms, seven bathrooms and two half baths with features such as lava stone floors and walls, a living green wall and a floating stone fireplace.
There are eventwo kitchens in the home — a sleek open entertaining one and a separate catering kitchen outfitted with top-of-the-line appliances to please any chef.
The oversized primary suite offers a glass-enclosed office, a private exercise room, a wet bar, an open-air Jacuzzi terrace, a spacious marble bathroom and generously-sized closets.
The layout also includes a screening room, a 1,200-bottle wine wall, a spa and an exercise room. An elevator serves all levels.
There is also a six-car attached garage.
A brand new infinity-edge $250,000 pool and spa is located on a second level, cantilevering out above the ground-level patio, “creating ultimate poolside privacy while also enhancing visibility of the ocean views,” according to the listing.
A statement outdoor staircase leads down to the beach level. enables convenient access from the pool down to the covered loggia and the lush lawn and towering palm trees, with the beach just beyond it. At twilight, the landscaped backyard is enhanced with expert exterior lighting for the perfect ambiance.
There is also an outdoor shower.
Built in 2017, the house last changed hands in September of 2021, during the COVID-19 real estate boom in Florida. Hankey, who has a net worth of about $7.8 billion, according to Forbes, bought it for $29.5 million, records show. Curry represented him in the deal.
Hankey, who lives in California, leads the Los Angeles-based auto services consortium, Hankey Group, which includes an insurer, a subprime auto lender and a commercial real estate investment firm.
One of his companies, Knight Specialty Insurance, provided President Donald Trump with $175 million for his appeal bond in a New York civil fraud case in 2024, according to NBC News, which prevents the New York Attorney General from collecting on the $464 million judgment while the appeal is in process.
In recent years, some of his companies’ business practices have come under scrutiny in by the U.S. Justice Department, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the California Department of Insurance.
In 2017, for example, the Department of Justice filed a complaint in federal court in California against Westlake Financial, which works with 50,000 car dealerships nationwide, NBC reported.
“Westlake and its subsidiary Wilshire Commercial Capital, the DOJ complaint alleged, illegally repossessed at least 70 vehicles owned by military service members protected under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. The companies paid $761,000 to settle the allegations,” NBC reported. “Five years later, the Justice Department returned with another complaint against Westlake, alleging that it had failed to provide service members with interest rate benefits they were owed under the law. The company paid $225,000 to settle that matter.”
There is no word on why he is selling the Florida mansion.
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