Palm Beach condo of late Carl Shapiro, early investor in Bernie Madoff's firm, brings $9M

The oceanfront condo purchased new by the late Carl J. Shapiro and his late wife, Ruth, for about $1 million in 1987 was just sold by their daughters for $9 million on Breakers Row in Palm Beach.

Noted philanthropists, the Shapiros made headlines when their family charitable foundation lost a reported $145 million in the massive Ponzi scheme perpetrated by the late Bernard Madoff, whose fraud surfaced in late 2008. Carl Shapiro has often been described in published reports as a longtime friend of Madoff and an investor who helped launch his investments business.

Insurance executive Alan Jay Kaufman used a trust in his name to buy the two-bedroom corner condo, according to the deed recorded Dec. 22. A poolside cabana was included in the sale price.

Kaufman is chairman and CEO of Burns & Wilcox, which wholesales specialty insurance worldwide, according to its website. The company, which traces its roots to a business founded by Kaufman’s father, is headquartered in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

The condo that just changed hands is on the fourth floor of the South Building at 2 N. Breakers Row. Unit No. 2-45 has 3,728 square feet of living space, inside and on its private terrace. Kaufman paid about $2,414 per square foot, based on that measurement.

Businessman and investor Carl Shapiro died at 108 in 2021. His wife died in 2018 at 95.

With longtime ties to the Boston area, Carl Shapiro had the Palm Beach condo designated as his primary residence in the Palm Beach County tax rolls.

Two of the Shapiros’ daughters, Ellen S. Jaffe of Palm Beach and Linda S. Waintrup of Brookline, Massachusetts, signed the deed, acting as co-trustees of a trust in Ruth Shapiro’s name.

Broker Christian Angle of Christian Angle Real Estate handled both sides of the sale. Angle, Kaufman and the trustees on the sellers’ side couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.

FROM THE 2021 ARCHIVES: Bernie Madoff dies in prison, but Palm Beach long ago moved on

The condo was the second to sell within a week at 2 N. Breakers Row, a white-glove-service development built in 1986 on land just north of The Breakers hotel. Unit N-43 in the North Building sold with a cabana for $10.125 million, the price recorded Dec. 15 with the deed.

The Shapiros bought their apartment nearly 37 years ago from a company affiliated with The Breakers, which developed the condos. The resort still owns the land beneath the two buildings that comprise 2 N. Breakers Row.

The apartment Kaufman just bought includes a combination living-and-dining area with direct-ocean views through floor-to-ceiling windows and glass doors. The floorplan also includes an expansive master suite, a library, a butler’s pantry and a laundry room.

In addition to the covered terrace, the condo has several open-to-the sky balconies.

The condo had been on and off the market since June 2021, when it was listed at $14.85 million, according to records in the multiple listing service. The asking price had dropped to $11.395 million by the time the sale closed Dec. 21, the MLS shows.

Carl Shapiro transformed his family coat business into dress manufacturer Kay Windsor, which he led before selling it to Vanity Fair Corp. in 1971. He stayed on with the company for five more years.

ANOTHER BREAKERS ROW SALE: Palm Beach oceanfront condo sells for $10.125 million; it was part of a 2012 swap

Over many years, Shapiro invested heavily with Madoff and also withdrew millions of dollars from his Madoff-administered accounts, according to court records.

In 2010, Carl Shapiro “and various related people and entities” agreed to forfeit $625 million to resolve claims against them in the Madoff fraud scandal, according to an FBI statement released at the time. The settlement included $38 million to be forfeited by money manager Robert Jaffe, Shapiro’s son-in-law, according to a 2010 statement released by Irving Picard, the trustee in charge of liquidating Madoff’s financial empire. As part of their settlement, neither Shapiro and Jaffe admitted to wrongdoing. There also was "no finding or admission of fault against Shapiro or his family," the FBI’s statement said.

The settlement specified Picard would receive $550 million from Shapiro and family members who held Madoff accounts, the FBI statement said. In addition, the Shapiro family agreed to pay another $75 million to the Department of Justice to settle civil forfeiture claims, according to the FBI’s statement.

The money was earmarked for victims who were scammed out of billions of dollars by Madoff, a former Palm Beach seasonal resident who died in federal prison in April 2021.

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Reporting by former Palm Beach Post writer Jane Musgrave contributed to this story.

This is a developing story. Check back for any updates.

Darrell Hofheinz is a USA TODAY Network of Florida journalist who writes about Palm Beach real estate in his weekly “Beyond the Hedges” column. He welcomes tips about real estate news on the island. Email dhofheinz@pbdailynews.com, call 561-820-3831 or tweet @PBDN_Hofheinz.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach home of late Carl Shapiro, Madoff investor, brings $9M