Wealthy Family Selling $35M Private Island They've Owned for 100 Years - Business Insider
Summer vacations on a private island are a dream for most families.
They were a luxurious reality, however, for descendants of William Ziegler Sr., an industrialist who cofounded the Royal Baking Powder Company in the 1800s.
Over 100 years ago, the Ziegler family acquired Hay Island, an 18-acre spit of land off the Connecticut coast with a 8,684-square-foot New England colonial home, a two-bedroom guest house, an infinity-edge pool, and two beaches.
While it previously served as summer "cottage," it was recently used as a full-time residence. As family members moved to other places in the country, though, they no longer needed the island in the Long Island Sound. Now, the family has put Hay Island on the market for $35 million.
The Zieglers have recent experience offloading a private island for a eight-figure sum. In 2023, the family sold Great Island — just across Ziegler Cove from Hay Island, for $85 million to the town of Darien, which plans to turn it into a public park.
The Ziegler family's current net worth is unclear, but Forbes estimated it to be $2.8 billion in 2015, due in part to investment in a cigar company.
Take a look around Hay Island to see how the Zieglers lived and vacationed.
William Ziegler Sr. amassed the family's wealth in the late 1800s after cofounding the Royal Baking Powder Company.
The island was used as a full-time residence. Before the construction of the current house, it was used as a summertime retreat.
The 8,684-square-foot home was designed by architect Austin Patterson Disston.
Leslie McElwreath of Sotheby's International Realty's Greenwich brokerage has the listing.
Helen M. Ziegler, an heiress to the baking-powder fortune, sold a home in Palm Beach for $15.9 million in 2024, Palm Beach County property records show.
The Ziegler family listed Great Island, a 60-acre island across Ziegler Cove from Hay Island, for $100 million in 2022. Darien, a small town know for its wealthy residents, bought Great Island for $85 million with plans to turn it into a public park.
The home has six bedrooms and seven bathrooms.
The family room offers room for indoor and outdoor seating with access to a screened-in porch.
According to the listing, the library includes custom bookshelves, window seats, a wet bar, and a fireplace.
The island has two beaches — the rest is a rocky shoreline.
The outdoor terrace also includes an outdoor fireplace and a built-in barbecue.
The guest house has a fully equipped kitchen, a private office, and a fireplace.
