'The Profit' Host Looks To Turn A Quick One On Lake Forest House

LAKE FOREST, IL — Local millionaire CEO and reality TV host Marcus Lemonis last month listed a Lake Forest mansion last month for nearly $1 million above the price he paid for it just over 100 days earlier. Its current asking price is more than 35 percent higher than its sale price last September.

Built in 1930, the two-story, brick and cedar traditional-style mansion sits on nearly 1¼ acres across the street from Forest Park, "overlooking the wooded bluff and gorgeous views of Lake Michigan," according to its listing.

Property records show the host of the CNBC show "The Profit" purchased the six-bedroom Lake Road house on Sept. 28 for $1.85 million.

The roof was replaced in December 2018, all three chimneys were rebuilt and tuck-pointed, and the interior was freshly painted, according to its listing.

On Jan. 8, Lemonis put the property back on the market asking for nearly $2.8 million.

Then on Friday, the price was reduced to just under $2.5 million, representing a 35 percent markup and $650,000 above its last sale price.

According to the Lake County Assessor's Office, the home's estimated market value for taxing purposes is $2.45 million.

The Lake Road mansion was designed by Walter Frazier, who designed "stylish and livable classical residences" on the North Shore as well as clubs, hotels and banks in Chicago from the 1920s until his death in 1976, according to a 2009 book about his career published by the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Historical Society. A summary described him Frazier as "among the most prominent yet least studied architects of mid-20th century Chicago."

The 6,500-square-foot home was the former home of Ralph Austin Bard, who served as undersecretary of the U.S. Navy during World War II. It has a "grand living room, handsome library and elegant dining room with original built-ins," according to the listing. There are 13 rooms with six wood-burning fireplaces and a pair of garages. The estate also includes a coach house with an additional bedroom and a sprawling backyard.

The property is adjacent to another Lemonis-owned mansion on Spring Lane, which he bought in 2013 for nearly $5 million.

Lemonis, chairman and CEO of Lincolnshire-based Camping World, has an estimated net worth of $900 million.

In 2016, he sold another Lake Forest mansion on Ridge Road for $2.7 million after spending close to $5 million on it in 2005.

Earllier: Marcus Lemonis Buys Lake Forest Mansion Next To His Other Mansion