M
att Gaetz, a congressman and son of Don Gaetz, a powerful Florida politician worth an estimated $33 million, has been making headlines for his own controversies. The elder Gaetz built his fortune through real estate investments, including the famous "Truman Show" house in Seaside, Florida, which he purchased in 1991 for $125,000 and renovated before it appeared on screen in 1998.
Don Gaetz's real estate portfolio includes several properties in Florida, Wisconsin, and New York. His most valuable home is a $3.7 million property in Seaside, where the Truman Show was filmed. He also owns an 8,500-square-foot estate in Panama City, which he renovated from 2013 to 2015 and is now trying to sell for $3.3 million.
Matt Gaetz has followed his father's path into politics and real estate. He joined the Florida House of Representatives in 2010 and later became a U.S. congressman in 2017. Meanwhile, he bought and sold several properties near his father's home base in north Florida. The younger Gaetz owns a $2 million property through a company called Matterin, which he purchased land for in Seaside in 1991.
The Gaetz family real estate empire includes:
* A $3.7 million home in Seaside, where the Truman Show was filmed
* An 8,500-square-foot estate in Panama City, listed for $3.3 million
* Three other homes in Seaside, including one purchased by Don Gaetz in 1983 for $64,900 and now worth over $2 million
* A Niceville home on Rocky Bayou, valued at $1.6 million
* A New York City apartment, valued at $750,000
* A Santa Rosa Beach home on stilts, valued at $750,000
* A Niceville duplex, valued at $450,000
* A Fort Walton Beach condo, valued at $400,000
* Three empty lots in Florida, valued at a total of $5.2 million
* Five additional vacant lots in Walton, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa counties, valued at $80,000
Matt Gaetz also owns several properties, including a plot of land he purchased at 15 for $35,500 and five vacant lots in Santa Rosa County that he still owns today. His father Don Gaetz owns a plot of land on Washington Island in Wisconsin, valued at $63,000.
