Michael Dell and the Price of Boston

Listing Office: Serhant
Listing Agent: Michael Carucci
Selling Office and Agent: The active source record supplies neither credit.

Michael Dell, the founder of Dell Technologies,¹ has a Millennium Tower penthouse with an oven that listing agent Michael Carucci says “has never been turned on”.² The 59th-floor condominium at 1 Franklin Street, Unit PH4B, Boston, spans 4,110 square feet. My November 11th, 2026, check of the MLS Property Information Network, Inc. (MLS PIN) listing showed an asking price of $6.5 million.³

The public listing describes three bedrooms, four full bathrooms, and one half bathroom, with a private terrace and two garage parking spaces. The building offers concierge and valet services, a pool, and fitness facilities.³ A year of association fees at the listed rate would cost about $82,000. The listing also reports almost $110,000 in property taxes for tax year 2025, putting those two expenses at about $192,000 before financing and other costs.⁴ A buyer has more to price than the view.

Mansion Global reports that Michael Dell bought the penthouse through a limited liability company for $10.9 million in 2016.² I’m not a big fan of Dell, but respect his success. The MLS PIN records show the same $10.9 million asking price in February 2024, followed by reductions to about $9.5 million by July, about $8.5 million in January 2026, and about $7.9 million the following month. The September 17th reduction brought the asking price to $6.5 million.⁵ The current ask is $4.4 million below that reported purchase price.

Paramount Realty USA, the auction firm working with listing agent Michael Carucci of Serhant, advertised a sealed-bid auction with the same $6.5 million reserve, an October 29th deadline, and a 6 percent buyer’s premium.⁶ The offering page still displayed availability on November 12th, and my November 11th MLS PIN check showed the listing as active after a November 5th extension. I still don’t have a verified closing price, and Dell’s reasons for selling remain unconfirmed.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s transfer-fee proposal would add a charge to a future sale; her 2026 petition seeks authority for a seller-paid fee of up to 2 percent on the portion of the price above $2 million.⁷ The Massachusetts General Court would have to authorize the charge before the city could adopt it by ordinance.⁸ The fee would be based on the sale price rather than the seller’s profit. A hypothetical $6.5 million sale would leave $4.5 million above the exemption; the maximum 2 percent rate would produce a $90,000 seller fee.⁹ I object to another charge on a sale even when the owner receives less than the original purchase price.

The proposal would leave many of Boston’s current homeowners stuck with a bill they didn’t bargain for when buying their properties; the charge would arise with a taxable sale after adoption. A buyer considering Boston could face the same charge on a later resale. A buyer who hasn’t settled on Boston can compare its rules with those in Cambridge, Somerville, or Quincy. I think some buyers will object to the principle behind the money, even when they can afford the charge. A buyer can afford Boston and still choose another municipality on principle.

Wu’s commercial property-tax proposal would shift more of Boston’s annual levy onto commercial owners to protect residential owners from rising tax bills.¹⁰ A residential condominium such as this penthouse belongs to the class the proposal was intended to shield. The Massachusetts General Court’s docket showed referral without enactment at my November 12th check.¹¹

I don’t think the promise of residential relief answers the investment question. My objection is to shifting more of the city’s annual burden onto commercial owners while proposing another charge on high-value property sales. A buyer can benefit from residential relief and still object to putting more of the bill on commercial owners.

My prediction is that these policies will do nothing but drive wealthy real estate buyers to other municipalities.

The penthouse’s next buyer would be choosing more than a kitchen and a view. A purchase would bring the costs of owning an address in Boston. Boston’s skyline stays in Boston; a wealthy buyer’s money can find another address.

My Brokerage Disclosure

I’m Jonathan Bowen, licensed in Massachusetts as a real estate broker. I must follow the rules of MLS Property Information Network, Inc. (MLS PIN), Massachusetts law, and federal law when publishing real estate posts; fair housing requirements apply. I keep my opinions separate from the information attributed to listing sources. My service area is Massachusetts, and my telephone number is (617) 967-7398. My Privacy Policy describes the treatment of visitor information.

The Listing Record

MLS Property Information Network, Inc. (MLS PIN) supplied the record checked on November 11th, 2026, at 11:49:56 AM Eastern Standard Time; the fields below retain the source values, with the report’s expanded property-type and status labels and its displayed price.³ The native export records the Active Status Flag as “No” separately from the active listing status. The sale price, closing date, selling office, and selling agent are blank in the source record.

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MLS PIN Listing 73474656

Field	Source Value
Property Type	Condominium
Status	Active
Active Status Flag	No
Listing Number	73474656
Street Number	1
Street Name	Franklin St
Unit Number	PH4B
Town	Boston, MA
State	MA
List Price	$6,500,000
Listing Office	Serhant
Listing Agent	Michael Carucci

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MLS Property Information Network, Inc. (MLS PIN) compiled the property details and images from sellers, lessors, landlords, public records, and other third-party sources. The material is solely for consumers’ personal, noncommercial use in identifying properties of the type displayed that they have a good-faith interest in buying, leasing, or renting. MLS PIN and its subscribers make no representations or warranties about the accuracy of the details or images.

The Source Notes

1. Dell Technologies, Michael Dell, official biography, consulted November 11th, 2026. The company identifies Michael Dell as its founder. ↩︎
2. Liz Lucking, Report on Michael Dell’s Boston Penthouse Auction, Mansion Global, September 17th, 2026. The report attributes the oven statement and limited use to listing agent Michael Carucci. Mansion Global cites PropertyShark records for the $10,900,000 purchase in 2016 through a limited liability company. The purchase history remains reported attribution without an independent title search. ↩︎2 ↩︎
3. MLS Property Information Network, Inc., Pinergy, listing 73474656, Public Report, search result and native public-field export, checked November 11th, 2026, at 11:49:56.482 AM Eastern Standard Time. The native export contains property type CC, status ACT, Active Status Flag “No”, asking price $6,500,000, listing office Serhant, and listing agent Michael Carucci. The report supplies the property features, monthly association fee of $6,861.70, and tax-year-2025 property tax of $109,664. The native records require subscriber access. ↩︎2 ↩︎3 ↩︎
4. The annual association fee is $6,861.70 × 12 = $82,340.40. The listing’s $109,664 tax figure for 2025 brings the combined illustration to $192,004.40. The calculation uses the listed fee and the 2025 tax figure; the total excludes financing, unit insurance, utilities outside the fee, and other expenses and doesn’t establish the tax bill for 2026 or a complete ownership budget. ↩︎
5. MLS Property Information Network, Inc., Pinergy Property History and Price History, listings 73203085, 73361444, and 73474656, consulted November 11th, 2026. The asking-price trail is February 16th, 2024, $10,900,000; April 26th, 2024, $9,900,000; July 25th, 2024, $9,450,000; April 18th, 2025, $9,450,000; June 18th, 2025, $8,977,500; January 12th, 2026, $8,499,000; February 5th, 2026, $7,895,000; and September 17th, 2026, $6,500,000. The current listing history records an extension on November 5th, 2026. These are marketing records, with no completed sale price supplied in the reviewed result rows. ↩︎
6. Paramount Realty USA, Penthouse at Millennium Tower, consulted November 12th, 2026. The offering displays a $6,500,000 reserve, October 29th at 4 PM EST as the bidding deadline, a 6 percent buyer’s premium, and availability. Mansion Global’s report identifies Paramount Realty USA as the firm handling the sealed-bid auction with listing agent Michael Carucci of Serhant. Paramount Realty USA describes its business as luxury and commercial property auctions. The page supplies no completed auction result or closing price. The advertised clock label is retained without timezone conversion. The MLS PIN rules define an Auction Listing as a property the listing broker will offer at auction under the listing agreement. Section 10.3(a) prohibits participants and subscribers from displaying MLS listing data, information, or images for Auction Listings or Attachment E listings on their own websites. ↩︎
7. Boston City Council, 2026 Transfer Fee Home Rule Petition, filed January 28th, 2026, sections 2, 3, and 7. The petition seeks authority for a seller-paid fee of up to 2 percent, with the first $2,000,000 exempt. The city would adopt the fee by ordinance and could provide additional exemptions. The petition identifies other Massachusetts municipalities pursuing similar authority. ↩︎
8. Massachusetts General Court, H.5464, An Act relative to real estate transfer fees and senior property tax relief in the city of Boston, legislative history reviewed November 12th, 2026. The displayed history records referral to the Joint Committee on Revenue on May 28th, 2026, without an enactment entry. Boston’s June 30th, 2026, update describes the transfer-fee petition as awaiting state legislative consideration. The bill and petition establish proposals rather than a presently assessed charge on this property. ↩︎
9. The transfer-fee illustration assumes an otherwise taxable sale at the $6,500,000 asking price, state authorization, city adoption of the maximum 2 percent rate, and no additional exemption. The calculation is ($6,500,000 − $2,000,000) × 0.02 = $90,000. The illustration supplies neither an actual sale price nor an actual fee owed by Michael Dell, and it doesn’t measure buyer migration. ↩︎
10. City of Boston, Mayor’s Office, Mayor Michelle Wu Refiles Residential Tax Relief Legislation, January 13th, 2025. The proposal seeks changes to residential and commercial tax classification. The package includes provisions for seniors, small businesses, and potential residential rebates. The city presents residential tax relief as its purpose; the article’s investment judgment and prediction about wealthy buyers belong to Jonathan Bowen. ↩︎
11. Massachusetts General Court, HD.4422, An Act relative to property tax classification, the senior homeowner property tax exemption, and the personal property tax exemption in the city of Boston, filed February 13th, 2025, legislative history reviewed November 12th, 2026. The displayed history lists referral to Revenue on March 20th, 2025, as its latest action. The proposed text addresses tax classification for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. The displayed history records no enactment. ↩︎