Former mayoral candidate Tony Buzbee accepting Bitcoin for $27.5M River Oaks Mansion

Former mayoral candidate Tony Buzbee is now accepting Bitcoin for his Tudor-style residence in Houston’s prestigious River Oaks neighborhood. The trial lawyer recently listed his five-bedroom, five full-bathroom home on the market with an asking price of $27.5 million, real estate brokerage Douglas Eillman announced Friday. The 12,209 square-foot home at 1722 River Oaks Boulevard is in the upscale enclave of Country Club Estates, just three doors from River Oaks Country Club. Buzbee said in an email that he and his new wife had been discussing relocating elsewhere in Houston and decided now was a "good time, given market conditions."

If the couple sells this house prior to finding a new one in Houston, Buzbee said they would temporarily live on their ranch, called Frances Farms, in Burton, Texas about hour outside of Houston. The couple plans to set up an animal rescue charity at the farm sometime in 2022, Buzbee said. The two also have a 7,000-acre ranch in East Texas. The River Oaks house underwent renovations last year that involved adding a new suite and expanding a workspace in the residence, Buzbee said in an email. For at least part of the time during renovations, Buzbee stayed in the Four Seasons Hotel Houston -- except for one night around the time of the historic winter freeze February 2021. That’s when he stayed on the streets to “prove a point and raise awareness” of what it was like to be homeless in the cold in what he called a “learning experience" that reminded him of the value of a warm, safe home, he said in social media posts.