Donald Trump Buys Ed McMahon's House
 

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) ? Donald Trump will soon be Ed McMahon's landlord.

Trump announced Thursday he would save the television personality's Beverly Hills mansion from foreclosure by buying it for an undisclosed amount and leasing it to McMahon.

The developer told the Los Angeles Times he doesn't know McMahon personally, but acted out of compassion because helping out "would be an honor."

McMahon, 85, who was Johnny Carson's sidekick on the "Tonight" show for three decades, has not worked for about 18 months because of a neck injury. He defaulted on $4.8 million in mortgage loans with Countrywide Financial Corp.

McMahon's spokesman, Howard Bragman, told The Associated Press that paperwork on the sale had not been completed but that McMahon was "very optimistic" the deal would go through.

"When I was at the Wharton School of Business I'd watch him every night," Trump told the Times. "How could this happen?"

McMahon bought the six-bedroom, five-bathroom, 7,000-square-foot house in January 1990. The home was listed at $4.6 million last weekend ? down from a peak price of $7 million.

trump is a nice guy i guess....but i bet he has some plan in mind as well

crafty

He will level it and make it a Golf Course. :1orglaugh

It's nice of him, but I bet he wouldn't do it unless there were a profit somewhere. I wonder what he will charge him for rent :-) And it's probably true that he will level it and make it a golf course or something profitable eventually. Afterall, Ed is 85. I doubt he is going to be a tenant for more than 5 years- 10 tops if he is really lucky.

leasing it back to ed. Of course if the donald is behind it their is profit going to be made in most cases.

The bad news is that Ed isn't making enough from Publishers Clearinghouse, so now he's going to be selling Grit door to door.

such a shame.... amazing that he could fall so far after the life he's lived.

Nice gesture , isn't the apprentice staring up again in a few weeks?

Where's Ed chesee? I mean, so what if he hasn't worked in 18 months. At 85 he shouldn't be working anyway

sorry ed

Donald I beleive is a very compassionate guy and did this almost purely as a good deed. However Im sure Donald also knows the value is down nearly 50% and over the next 10-15 years (if mcmahon lives that long) the house is likely to appreciate rather than depreciate. And when Ed passes or his family moves.....Donald will sell it for over 100% profit margin.

He is obviously buying the house at well below market value and then renting it back to Ed...

CHACHING

its sad to see an 85 year old guy with a mortgage...

My uncle had problems getting a mortgage because he was 50!

Seems a bit odd that McMahon purchased the house 18 years ago yet he's still defaulting on payments. Couldn't he have refinanced the remaining balance so his periodic payments would be less? (Then again, perhaps he already did.)

I wonder if The Donald will help bail out other people who are going into foreclosure?

So Ed MacMahon was living paycheck to paycheck after 90 years in showbiz?

That was a nice gesture

perfect for trump. look at all the good words peeps are saying about him now.

Don't be fooled. Donald Trump did not buy Ed's house out of compassion. He's a sneaky bastard who doesn’t barf for free, no matter what. This was an investment, he only spends money when there's an undeniable chance to make crap loads in return.