What do you do after selling the family tobacco business for almost $3 billion? You buy the Philadelphia Phillies, and then you buy your son a mansion in Hollywood, which he promptly abandons.
The House That Middleton Built
- Thread starter woodsroad
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I guess they are disposing of all that disposable income. Like dad would say “fools and their money are easily separated”
Well, let's see: Middleton or Altria promptly discontinues many of the blends that made Middleton worth that much money in the first place. This includes Walnut, London Dock, Hickory, Sugar Barrel, Cherry Blend, and the Kentucky Club mixtures, to name just a few.
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I don't blame the kid. Who wants to live in Hollywood? Buy me a nice ranch in Montana with a lake view.
It is the best way to make a small fortune in baseball. Unfortunately, you have to start with a large fortune.
Call me skeptical but I suspect there is something else happening. There were two mansions, in two different areas, deemed abandoned, in which squatters took up residence, graffiti'd, destroyed, reported in the news ... and both were owned by the same person ??? Immediately after being in the news, work crews showed up to board them up ???
Maybe my reading comprehension sucks, but I don’t see a mention of a second house owned by Middelton. The article talks about an unfinished office tower, but doesn’t state that he owns it. There’s a quote from a Phillies employee that says he owns “the properties” without mentioning the office tower specifically. I think that’s a misquote.Call me skeptical but I suspect there is something else happening. There were two mansions, in two different areas, deemed abandoned, in which squatters took up residence, graffiti'd, destroyed, reported in the news ... and both were owned by the same person ??? Immediately after being in the news, work crews showed up to board them up ???
EDIT:
I did some research and the graffitied unfinished office building is wholly owned by a Chinese company, Oceanwide Holdings.
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"The vibrant colored graffiti features a deviously grinning heart character “standing” the entire height of the home."
You gotta admit, those are some hard working squatter graffiti artists.
nypost.com
You gotta admit, those are some hard working squatter graffiti artists.
California squatters overtake abandoned mansion owned by son of Philadelphia Phillies owner John Middleton
Residents in the ritzy neighborhood allege they were subjected to abuse while one suspected squatter attacked a homeowner with a “steel rebar and beer bottle.”
nypost.com
I read/watched 3-5 site stories that indicated/implied his first mansion was also deemed abandoned and graffiti'd ... hence my comment. I'll see if I can find it again. Maybe the news commentator misspoke or I misunderstood ... we're both blondes ! Now I may be completely wrong and misstating facts here as my interest level in this is pretty low and its just a blog and non-pipe related so I'm not being as diligent as I would be were I to go up against some of the legal eagles herein ! It was just my first thought .,, like Bart Simpson "What an unusual thing to say" ...
Here it is - his other mansion on Sunset Plaza was also taken over by Squaters:
Abandoned Hollywood mansion almost entirely covered in graffiti by vandals: "This is a public safety issue"
An abandoned multi-million dollar mansion on Los Angeles' iconic Mulholland Drive in the Hollywood Hills has become a canvas for vandals, who have nearly covered the entire home with fresh graffiti.
www.cbsnews.com
In the news video on your link the commentator (I think) comments that the prior house was the subject of court action or something like that ... edit time is running out I'll see if i can find it.
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Hardly. The value of the Phillies franchise has gone up at least 2-3x since Middleton bought in. It’s a game for billionaires and a surprisingly lucrative one.
One of the reasons the Bible must be essentially true is that people never, ever change.
The inadequate son who abandons mansions (plural) and creates public nuisances has been an astounding success in his own right making movies:
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As of 2024, Middleton's 30 films and 2 television series have a cumulative box office of $1.59 billion.[8] These projects have been nominated for 1,008 awards, winning 314, including 9 Academy Award nominations (with 2 wins) and 8 Golden Globe nominations (with 2 wins).[9]
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Whereas his parents have used their wealth for good, at every turn:
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Middleton and his wife, Leigh, share philanthropic involvement in several organizations,[18] including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Penn Medicine,[19] the Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church,[20] the Academy of Natural Sciences, and Project HOME.[21]
In 2012, the Middletons announced a gift of more than $16.2 million to the Philadelphia School District, Philadelphia Youth Network, Philadelphia Academies and Drexel University for career and technical education.[22]
In 2013, the Middletons pledged $30 million to Project HOME[19] in an effort to end chronic homelessness by doubling the number of its apartments for homeless people, opening a new medical center and leveraging additional public and private funds.[23]
The Middletons received the 2013 Philadelphia Award, in 2014, for their philanthropic works in the Philadelphia area, directed towards education, homelessness, and workforce development projects.[24][25]
Middleton serves as a member of the board of trustees of Amherst College, which awarded him its Medal for Eminent Service in 2004, in recognition of his dedication to the college.[4]
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The original father of the prodigal raised two sons.
One took the wrong path, the other stayed true.
A successful man who abandons mansions will not come to a good end, unless he comes home and repents.
The true stories in the news are many times more entertaining than fiction.
The inadequate son who abandons mansions (plural) and creates public nuisances has been an astounding success in his own right making movies:
Xxx
As of 2024, Middleton's 30 films and 2 television series have a cumulative box office of $1.59 billion.[8] These projects have been nominated for 1,008 awards, winning 314, including 9 Academy Award nominations (with 2 wins) and 8 Golden Globe nominations (with 2 wins).[9]
Xxxx
Whereas his parents have used their wealth for good, at every turn:
Xxxx
Middleton and his wife, Leigh, share philanthropic involvement in several organizations,[18] including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Penn Medicine,[19] the Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church,[20] the Academy of Natural Sciences, and Project HOME.[21]
In 2012, the Middletons announced a gift of more than $16.2 million to the Philadelphia School District, Philadelphia Youth Network, Philadelphia Academies and Drexel University for career and technical education.[22]
In 2013, the Middletons pledged $30 million to Project HOME[19] in an effort to end chronic homelessness by doubling the number of its apartments for homeless people, opening a new medical center and leveraging additional public and private funds.[23]
The Middletons received the 2013 Philadelphia Award, in 2014, for their philanthropic works in the Philadelphia area, directed towards education, homelessness, and workforce development projects.[24][25]
Middleton serves as a member of the board of trustees of Amherst College, which awarded him its Medal for Eminent Service in 2004, in recognition of his dedication to the college.[4]
Xxxx
The original father of the prodigal raised two sons.
One took the wrong path, the other stayed true.
A successful man who abandons mansions will not come to a good end, unless he comes home and repents.
The true stories in the news are many times more entertaining than fiction.
I guess I take an interest in all this because the Middleton business was located near where I grew up. The legacy foundation has contributed to many societal and cultural institutions in my home town, Philadelphia. Also, I went to elementary school with one of the Middletons, although I'm not sure of her lineage to the fortune. I assume it's not a direct connection, since it was a public school, albeit a very good one.
It is interesting in a way. The producer has some mental health issues since childhood and is allegedly a severe alcoholic and his father whisked him away to treatment which may explain the abandonment of the properties. Search his name and Hollywood reporter if you want to sift through the sordid details; multiple lawsuits both ways. While I feel sorry for him generally, there is sufficient family money to assist him in his needs unlike others in the world.
Sad.
Big money just lets big problems get bigger, and more public. I won’t mention the son of a certain world leader, because that wouldn’t be allowed.
I believe that individual was a hunter in search of fame and fortune the easy (and possibly questionable) way!
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