A waterfront Southampton Village Estate Section home, built by the late Ahmet Ertegun, the co-founder of Atlantic Records, and his wife, Mica Ertegun, a noted interior designer and philanthropist, sold last month for $29 million.
Tim Davis of the Corcoran Group and Harald Grant of Sotheby’s International Realty had the co-exclusive on the 5.5-acre property at 623 Halsey Neck Lane. Davis also represented the buyer.
“623 Halsey Neck Lane is a truly spectacular property— an exquisitely designed home set against an iconic backdrop, with breathtaking waterfrontage and magical views,” Davis says. “The house also happened to be owned by remarkable, accomplished people who filled it with life by hosting unforgettable parties and gatherings while sharing its beauty with friends.”
Ertegun, a monumental force in the music industry for decades, played a pivotal role in shaping the careers of Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and many more. Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger and Henry Kissinger were among their guests at their Southampton home..
“When I met the couple who purchased the house at the property, I sensed that it was a perfect fit for their family,” Davis says. “They brought fresh vision about how to live their lives there and excitement for the next chapter. We shook hands and they closed within weeks. A happy ending for all.”
The deal closed on May 2, and turned up in the Suffolk County deed transfers last week.
“623 Halsey Neck Lane is one of Southampton’s most distinguished estates — rare in both scale and setting,” says Grant. “With over 5.5 acres and 450 feet of direct waterfrontage, it offers a level of privacy and presence that is increasingly hard to find. Its recent sale marks a significant moment for a property of true architectural and historical importance.”
Built in 1990, the 11,000-square-foot residence was designed by the world-renowned architect Jaquelin T. Robertson for the Erteguns, positioned on the parcel so it was facing west with 450 feet of frontage on Taylor Creek, where there is a boat dock. The property also faces a nature reserve, once owned by the DuPont family. It also enjoys direct ocean breezes and sunset views.
The 10-bed, 14-bath home, which includes a staff wing, features “grand proportioned rooms with high ceilings throughout,” according to the listing, and it was described as being in excellent condition.
A swimming pool measures 20 by 75 feet and is elevated to boast water views.
When the estate went on the market in March of 2024, it was the first time it had been offered since the Erteguns built it. The property sold for half of what the original asking — $52 million.
The seller was listed as Ioana Ertugen Trust (Born in Romania, her full name was Ioana Maria Banu Ertugen), while the buyers were veiled by a limited liability corporation, 623 Halsey Neck Lane.
Mica Ertegun founded the interior decorating firm MAC II in 1967 with her best friend, the former Vogue editor Chessy Rayner. Their clients included Keith Richards, Kissinger, Bill Blass and Saks Fifth Avenue. She was known for her unique sense of style beyond just decorating and became a fashion icon, even being named to the International Best-Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1971.
A prolific collector, Ertegun’s art and objects that hung in the couple’s homes in New York, Paris and Southampton, as well as her jewelry, were auctioned in late 2024. Christie’s reported all of the items — more than 600 items — were sold for $196.1 million, a significant portion which was to be donated to philanthropic causes, according to auction house.
Headline items in the various sales was a work by Pablo Picasso, “Trois personnages debout,” from 1969, which sold for $567,000, and a Cartier Art Deco multi-gem and diamond brooch, which sold for $1.4 million following “a fierce bidding battle,” according to the auction house.
The Erteguns’ New York townhouse, located at 121-125 E. 81st St., sold in October for $9.3 million, and according to The Post, the proceeds of the deal were donated to the late couple’s charity.
Ahmet Ertegun, who died in 2006 at the age of 83, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which he had helped create, in 1987. With the support of others, he provided $1.5 million to establish the Rhythm and Blues Foundation to award money to underpaid blues artists, following a lengthy battle from Atlantic artists over unpaid royalties. Other record companies later followed suit.
The couple, who married in 1961, had always been philanthropic worldwide and in the States, funded chairs in in Turkish Studies at both Georgetown and Princeton University (Ahmet was Turkish-born). In 2012, Mica made a significant donation to the University of Oxford, establishing the Ertegun Graduate Scholarship Programme in the Humanities, providing 25 annual scholarships in perpetuity.
She also made lead donations towards the restoration of the Holy Edicule at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and to Jazz at Lincoln Center in Manhattan, where the Mica and Ahmet Ertegun Atrium opened in 2015.
She died in December of 2023 at the age of 97.
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