Billionaire entrepreneur David Hoffmann pays $85 million for Naples home

David Hoffmann, whose company in the past year has made headlines for buying dairies in Illinois, ferry companies in Michigan and expanded its newspaper holding, has bought an estate in his adopted hometown of Naples.

The billionaire founder of The Hoffmann Family of Companies paid $85 million for a 17,202-square-foot waterfront house at 575 Admiralty Parade W.

The newly built Port Royal house sits on 2¼ lots and has 250 of frontage on Naples Bay, according to Gulf Coast International Properties and The Agency, which brokered the deal. It has eight bedrooms and 10½ bathrooms.

The property, according to Collier County property records, was previously owned by a revocable trust which paid $5.85 million in 2021.

News of the sale to Hoffmann comes just days after a trust bought three continuous residential properties in Port Royal for $225 million — 2200 Gordon Drive, sold for $113.17 million; 2340 Gordon Drive sold for $46.91 million: and 2170 Gordon Drive sold for $44.91 million.

The Hoffmann Family of Cos., which has its roots in Missouri, first came to Naples in 2015 when it bought a $75 million portfolio that included seven properties and a parking lot.

Today, the family-owned and -operated company owns more than 100 national brands and employs 9,000 employees with businesses located in 30 countries.

It has been especially active in the past year. In March 2024 it bought CDN Controls, a Western Canada-based company that specializes in electrical and instrumentation. Then in May it bought the nearly 100-year-old suburban Chicago Oberweis Dairy out of bankruptcy.

A couple months later, it bought Mackinac Island Ferry Co. in Michigan and Sip n’ Sail Cruises, also in Michigan, increasing its fleet to 46 ships in seven states.

That’s all happened as the company has been expanding its media holdings.

Since 2022 the Hoffmann Media Group has bought 14 media companies covering 30 markets including in Michigan, California and Florida. And in November it bought a 5% share of DallasNews Corp., the parent of The Dallas Morning News.

Last year it became the second largest shareholder in Lee Enterprises, which Hoffmann is now trying to take full ownership of.

Lee, one of the largest chains in the country with a roster that includes The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Buffalo News, as well 350 weekly and specialty publications.

Timothy P. Savage of Gulf Coast International Properties and Chris Resop with The Agency represented the Hoffmann and the seller.