The $61 Million Dream Home That Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck Built Together Is Still Sitting Unsold
The man who built a $2.2 billion fortune by knowing when to buy and when to walk away is now walking away from two of the most private addresses in Europe.
Howard Marks, the billionaire cofounder of Oaktree Capital Management, has listed a pair of neighboring vacation villas on Mallorca’s Formentor peninsula. Together at 62 million euros, roughly $70 million.
Separately, La Posada asks 46 million euros ($52 million) and Sa Punta asks 16 million euros ($18 million). Both are listed through Engel & Völkers Private Office.
This is not a distressed sale. This is a reallocation.
The Two Villas
Marks acquired La Posada in 2014 from Mexican billionaire Placido Arango for roughly $19 million. He handed the full renovation to Michael S. Smith, the designer behind the White House private quarters for the Obamas, who has worked with the Marks family for more than two decades.
La Posada spans about 14,200 square feet on more than two acres above Pollensa Bay. Seven bedrooms, a guesthouse, handcrafted tiles, a pool, and a private bathing platform with direct sea access.
Sa Punta is the opposite. The 6,700-square-foot, six-bedroom villa is wrapped in glass with a glass elevator, open-plan lounges, a fitness area, and a terrace pool. Same peninsula. Completely different design language.
The Part Most Coverage Skips
Formentor is not a place where real estate changes hands often. The peninsula sits at the northern tip of Mallorca, flanked by protected nature reserve and the Mediterranean. Properties there almost never reach the open market.
Marks paid $19 million for La Posada in 2014. He is now asking $52 million for it alone. That is over 170% appreciation on a property used purely as a private holiday retreat.
And the Mallorca listing is not the only one. Just two months earlier, Marks listed his Malibu oceanfront estate for $38.5 million, originally bought in 2021 for $29.16 million. Two major vacation properties on the market within weeks. This is someone consolidating deliberately.
If you follow moves like this closely, there is a WhatsApp channel worth having in your feed. It covers luxury real estate as it happens, without waiting for the weekly roundups.
This pattern of high-profile figures making deliberate exits keeps showing up. When Tyler Herro listed his $12 million Miami mansion the same day his NBA trade was finalized, the signal was identical: the decision was made long before the listing went live.
Why This Matters
Mallorca luxury prices rose approximately 9.8% year over year in 2026, with the luxury segment outperforming at 5 to 8% growth. Foreign buyers now represent the majority of transactions above 2 million euros across the Balearic Islands.
Formentor does not follow those averages. Supply is capped by geography and protected land. The buyer here is not purchasing square footage. They are buying something that simply does not come available again.
Smith’s renovation is not a footnote. It is a credential that stays in the walls. When Daniel Arsham listed his 137-year-old NYC firehouse for nearly $9 million, a large part of the price was what the right person had done to it. La Posada carries exactly that argument.
On the buyer’s side, the lesson from Kaka negotiating $800,000 off his $8.7 million Bal Harbour condo still holds. Even in rare markets, knowing your number matters.
Marks built his career buying underpriced assets others missed and exiting when the price was right. La Posada in 2014 was the first move. The $52 million ask in 2026 is the second.
Do you think Marks is exiting at exactly the right moment, or leaving money on the table? Drop your take in the comments.
Wrapping Up
Marks has spent 30 years writing memos about knowing where you are in the cycle. The Formentor listings are that philosophy made physical.
If this kind of story is your thing, Build Like New covers luxury real estate, market moves, and the human side of big transactions regularly. Worth bookmarking.
For more stories like this in real time, follow Build Like New on X (Twitter) and join the conversation on the Facebook community. That is where these get discussed as they break.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. All details are based on publicly available reports at the time of publication.
