Edwards' estate is raising eyebrows

Anti-poverty candidate's estate valued at $6 million
By ROB CHRISTENSEN
The Charlotte Observer
Jan. 29, 2007

CHAPEL HILL - Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, who toured the country last fall talking about other people's homes, is now fielding questions about his own $6 million estate outside Chapel Hill.

Edwards had hit the talk show circuit to promote his book "Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives," which describes the childhood homes of various more-or-less famous people, including his own modest mill village houses.

But since he announced his second run for the presidency in December, Edwards has been asked more about any contradictions between his 29,000-square-foot Orange County estate and his pledge to reduce poverty and help the working poor.

The questions underscore how everything about a presidential candidate -- including lifestyle decisions -- becomes fair game in a political campaign.

Edwards, a former U.S. senator from North Carolina and a Democratic vice presidential candidate in 2004, was not available for comment last week. But he told CNN last month that he didn't think the house presented him with an image problem.

"I came from a very different place," he said. "And I have been lucky enough to ... have everything you could ever have in this country. And I feel a responsibility to help people help themselves. It's for you and the American people to judge whether they think that's real and authentic."

The criticism of Edwards' wealth is not new. He was attacked during his 2004 presidential campaign for living in a Georgetown mansion at the time he was stressing inequalities of "the two Americas."

But his more intense emphasis on fighting poverty in his current campaign, which was announced from a hurricane-ravaged neighborhood in New Orleans, is likely to invite greater scrutiny.

"It might well cause problems," said Andy Taylor, a political science professor at N.C. State University. "There will be Democrats who say, `You clearly are not practicing what you preach here.' Some may see some inconsistency."

Millionaire lawyer

Edwards made millions as a Raleigh trial lawyer, and he and his family have moved into increasingly expensive homes. During the last presidential campaign, Edwards listed assets valued at between $19 million and $69 million.The new Edwards home is in the rolling countryside south of Chapel Hill.

Across the road from the entrance to the estate is Big Valley Auto Repair, a modest garage crowded with cars.

There is a sign painted on the fence: "Go Rudy Giuliani 2008," a reference to the former New York mayor who is expected to seek the Republican nomination for president.

Monty Johnson, owner of the garage site and one of Edwards' closest neighbors, is no Edwards fan. Johnson has left standing an abandoned house facing the entrance to the Edwards property.

"He claims to be for the poor people," said Johnson, 55, a farmer and retired landscaper. "He don't care about us. I see him jogging. He doesn't pull over and say, `How are you doing?' "

A 102-acre site

Edwards' wife, Elizabeth, said they purchased 102 acres -- valued for tax purposes at $1.1 million -- in 2003 after spotting it while searching on the Internet.

They began building their home shortly after his Senate term ended in January 2005 and moved in last summer, although construction is continuing on one wing.

Through their campaign spokeswoman, the Edwardses declined to allow a reporter or photographer to view the property. There is a no-trespassing sign at the entrance.

Visitors to the estate leave the highway and take a winding road to the house, which is set in a clearing. The building is valued for tax purposes at $4.2 million, making it the most expensive house in Orange County, according to the tax assessor.

The main living section is 10,778 square feet and has a tax value of $3.1 million. It has five bedrooms, six baths and a library. A second wing of the house is connected by a heated enclosed walkway, valued at $192,664, that is lined with family and political photographs.

The second wing, called "The Barn" by the family, has 6,336 square feet and includes a lounge and offices that are 70 percent complete. It has a current tax value of $567,403. It also has a basketball court, which is 60 percent complete and is valued at $300,960; a racquetball court, 70 percent complete and valued at $41,000; and a pool.

The tax value for those projects is based on appraisals as of Jan. 1. The appraisals will rise when the house is finished.

Elizabeth Edwards said the gym fulfilled her husband's dream of having his own basketball court.

"Every kid who grew up in North Carolina has the same dream," she said. "Even though he is 53 and not in basketball shape, he goes down and shoots."

Functional, not grand

She said the house was designed to be a functional home with room for her children to play outdoors and a large kitchen to entertain friends and family.

"This house is a truly fabulous family home," she said. "The house has one fireplace, no grand staircase. It's not unlike our lives in smaller quarters for over 30 years."

She portrayed their lifestyle as lacking pretension.

"We don't take fancy vacations," she said. "When the kids were young, we used frequent-flier miles to take a trip to Europe. We don't have jewelry. We don't have furs. We don't have fancy cars. Those kinds of accoutrements don't matter to him. What matters to him is home."