Trump Buys Winery of Embattled Former Billionaire

Patricia Kluge will likely stay on, he says
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 8, 2011 9:58 AM CDT
Donald Trump Buys Winery of Embattled Former Billionaire Patricia Kluge
This 2000 file photo provided by the family of Patricia Kluge shows Patricia Kluge modeling a gown that will be up for auction in the Roman Hallway at the Albemarle House outside Charlottesville, Va.   (AP Photo/Kluge Family, Jim Carpenter, File)

The strange saga of former billionaire Patricia Kluge continues: Her winery was snapped up at a foreclosure auction yesterday by none other than Donald Trump. The 776-acre Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard "had a $28 million mortgage on it, and I bought it for $6.2 million," Trump tells the Washington Post. "It’s a Trump deal!” In recent weeks, the real estate mogul has been negotiating the purchase of other properties once owned by Kluge.

“I’m really interested in good real estate, not so much in wine,” Trump says, noting that he'll likely keep Kluge and her husband on board to run the winery. Kluge and The Donald have known each other since they were in their 20s, and “she has a great instinct for wine, which I don’t,” Trump adds. Though Kluge did not attend the auction, she says she is "thrilled that Donald owns the company” because of his commitment to continue the winemaking business. Click for the story of Kluge's downfall. (More Patricia Kluge stories.)

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