Stallone, Hannity, Billy Joel lead list of 7 top stories on our site for 2023-24 season
Now that another busy season in Palm Beach had ended, we decided to look back at some of the stories that topped our charts and got people talking on the island.
Some will find it no surprise that this list packs some major star power. But what may surprise you is the simple food story that packed a punch — and majorly resonated with readers.
1. Sean Hannity calls Florida 'my new home'
Conservative firebrand and Palm Beach homeowner Sean Hannity began broadcasting his nationally syndicated radio show from “the free state of Florida, my new home,” he said on the Jan. 2 episode of his program.
He said he was drawn to Florida, in part, by its conservative political climate as compared to New York, the longtime home of “The Sean Hannity Show.”
Hannity has owned a Palm Beach townhouse since April 2021, when he paid a recorded $5.3 million for it.
But Palm Beach law would prevent him from broadcasting from that residence, an official confirmed to Palm Beach Daily News reporter Darrell Hofheinz earlier this year.
2. The origins of Palm Beach's love affair with coconut cake
Surprising the entire Palm Beach Daily News staff was this gem, which emerged as the second most-read story on our website for the season.
Readers were funneled to this article about coconut cake at Henry Flagler's Hotel Royal Poinciana — which included a current lineup of island restaurants that serve the popular dessert — by Google, which brought folks who were eager to read about the delightfully tropical confection.
As she opened the piece, food and dining writer M.M. Cloutier asked, "Is there anything more beloved over decades in Palm Beach than coconut cake?" It would seem the answer is no. And readers were hungry for more, as a follow-up piece with Palm Beach-born recipes for coconut cake and cream pie also was well-read.
3. Lakefront waterfront restaurant Tutto Mare gets key approvals
Palm Beach is set to have its first lakefront waterfront restaurant in less than a year, after a string of presentations left town officials ecstatic over the opening of Tutto Mare, a fine dining eatery to accompany the rebuilt Royal Poinciana Playhouse.
The meetings marked a milestone in the nine-year effort to reopen the historic Royal Poinciana Playhouse.
“I think it’s a beautiful project. I’m ready to go there for dinner, tonight,” Landmarks Preservation Commission Chair Sue Patterson said during a Dec. 20 meeting. “It’s fabulous that we’ll have a restaurant on the water.”
4. Billy Joel looks to spend more time in Florida
Billy Joel's real estate activity over the past few years — buying and selling homes in Palm Beach, Manalapan, Wellington and New York — was a means to an end as he sorted out his plans to spend more time in the Sunshine State.
When asked about the listing ― for $49 million ― of his home on Long Island, where he was born and raised, he said during a concert on New Year's Eve 2023: "I'm just gonna spend a little more time in Florida, like old Jewish guys from Long Island do."
The not-so-old Jewish guy from Long Island isn't completely abandoning his New York state of mind. He has a second home in the area that he's planning to keep.
5. Sylvester Stallone says he and wife will move to Florida 'permanently'
Hollywood icon Sylvester Stallone and his wife decided the next chapter of their lives will be spent in Florida rather than California, the “Rocky” star announced during an episode of “The Family Stallone” reality TV series.
Stallone and his wife, former model Jennifer Flavin Stallone, have owned a vacation home in Palm Beach since December 2020, when they bought their estate through a trust for a recorded $35.38 million. They have since remodeled the gated lakefront property , which has a main residence and two outbuildings, at 1480 N. Lake Way on the North End.
Sylvester Stallone told his daughters — Scarlet, Sistine and Sophia — about the decision to relocate “permanently” to Florida on a Feb. 21 episode of the television series. The episode kicked off the show’s second season.
6. Funeral for Melania Trump's mother, Amalija Knavs
Under a sky filled with gray clouds that promised rain later in the day, the casket carrying a former first lady’s mother was lifted into the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach on Jan. 18.
The funeral for Amalija Knavs, mother to Melania Trump and grandmother to Barron Trump, began at about 10 a.m., with the former first lady, her father Viktor Knavs, Barron, former President Donald Trump and the Rev. Tim Schenck, Bethesda’s rector, meeting the casket at the church sanctuary’s west-facing entrance along South Ocean Boulevard.
Donald, Melania and Barron Trump were joined at the church by friends and family, including the former president’s daughters Ivanka and Tiffany, and their spouses, Jared Kushner and Michael Boulos. Also present were Donald Trump's eldest sons, Don Jr., who attended with partner Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Eric, who was there with wife Lara Trump.
Republican Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina also attended the service, along with two former members of Trump's White House cabinet: Dr. Ben Carson, who was secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and Wilbur Ross, who was secretary of Commerce.
7. Palm Beach is home to 59 billionaires
The mega-wealthy, for the most part, got mega-wealthier over the past year in Palm Beach, a town that can count at least 59 billionaires among its property owners, according to an exclusive Palm Beach Daily News analysis of the list of the world’s wealthiest people released in April by Forbes.com.
The majority of the Palm Beach billionaires — 41 in all — watched their estimated net worth increase over the past year, while 15 saw their wealth shrink. And another three saw their fortunes remain flat.
Among the Palm Beach billionaires whose wealth dropped over the past year is former President Donald Trump. The estimated net worth of the town’s most famous resident decreased from $2.5 billion in April 2023 to $2.3 billion on the new list.
Read the full story and see the list of Palm Beach billionaires here.
Bonus: 'Palm Royale'
The hit Apple TV+ series set in the high-society world of 1969 Palm Beach fascinated Palm Beach Daily News readers — particularly as the show highlighted the Shiny Sheet in several episodes.
The series starred Kristen Wiig as an eager social climber, Josh Lucas as her hapless husband, Carol Burnett as Lucas' aunt and the queen of Palm Beach society, Allison Janney as her successor, Ricky Martin as the bartender who had the key to the island's secrets, plus Laura Dern, Leslie Bibb, Amber Chardae Robinson, Kaia Gerber, Julia Duffy, Claudia Ferri and Mindy Cohn.
Check out our list of 5 locations Palm Beach locals will recognize.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Stallone, Hannity, Billy Joel top list of Palm Beach season stories
