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The mystery billionaire who let Harry and Meghan stay in his $14million mansion in Canada is reportedly Frank Giustra, a businessman whose close ties to the Clintons have caused controversy in the past.
Canadian mining magnate Giustra, 62, is said to have loaned the couple the home where they finalized their plan to scale back their royal duties over the New Year, according to The New York Post.
The couple have so far refused to refused to name the secretive multi-millionaire who loaned them the Canadian mansion.
But Page Six reports Giustra is the owner of Mille Fleurs, the seafront home close to Victoria, British Columbia. He is understood to have loaned the home for free.
Giustra is close friends with David Foster, who arranged for the Duke and Duchess to stay at the imposing home. Music producer Foster is the husband of Broadway star Katharine McPhee, a friend of Meghan’s since their school days.
Ownership by Giustra would be at odds with what DailyMail.com was told by a realtor involved in the 2014 sale of the home. That person, who had to sign a non disclosure agreement, said it was bought by a billionaire who is neither Canadian nor or American for $18 million CAD – $14 million.
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Giustra is close friends with David Foster, who arranged for the Duke and Duchess to stay at the imposing home. Music producer Foster is the husband of Broadway star Katharine McPhee, a friend of Meghan’s since their school days. Bill Clinton, left, is pictured with Giustra
Luxurious getaway: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spent their first Christmas with baby Archie in Mille Fleurs, $14.1 million waterfront mansion near Victoria, British Columbia
Harry and Meghan have so far refused to refused to name the secretive multi-millionaire who loaned them the Canadian mansion
Giustra, the co-founder of Hollywood studio Lionsgate, is one of the biggest donors to the Clintons and is on the board of their foundation.
He ran into controversy when, in 2005, he traveled to Kazakhstan with then President Bill Clinton.
There they met the country’s despotic president Nursultan Nazarbayev. Clinton’s appearance is seen as helping Giustra secure a deal to start his UrAsia uranium company in Kazakhstan, which would later merge with Uranium One.
Giustra would donate $31.3 million to the Clinton Foundation in 2006 and helped start the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative.
In 2016 emails then showed Giustra and fellow billionaire Carlos Slim gave the Clinton Foundation an endowment of $20 million for the Haiti Development Fund six years earlier. But reports said ‘there is almost nothing in the public record’ showing what happened to the money.
Giustra called the controversy ‘insanity, a f***ing circus’.
Dailymail.com revealed how the homeowner has used highly controversial methods also deployed by money-launderers and tax-evaders to conceal his identity.
The multi-millionaire who owns the home has declined to identify himself voluntarily ahead of new legislation in the Canadian province which will make it compulsory for the owners of properties to be publicly named.
An association with someone who goes to extraordinary lengths to hide their identity will raise questions over judgment as they pursue earning opportunities in their attempt to ‘work towards financial independence.’
The royals declined an invitation by DailyMail.com to reveal the mystery mansion owner’s identity. The couple’s spokeswoman also declined to say whether they had paid for the vacation.
DailyMail.com has contacted Giustra and Foster for comment.
The owner of Mille Fleurs was apparently not known to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex until Foster introduced them.
There was no sign of Meghan Saturday at the mansion on Vancouver Island after she flew back to Canada without Harry to rejoin baby Archie, who had been left with a nanny.
In a sign of the couple’s wish to spend considerable time in North America, they have moved their pet dogs to the property.
Harry and Meghan’s intention to quit as senior Royals has widened the gulf between the two siblings, with William understood to be ‘incandescent’ over his brother’s blindsiding of the Family.
The home named Mille Fleurs (above) is where the royal couple finalized their plan to scale back their royal duties over the New Year
Grandeur: The main house is 11,416 square feet with five bedrooms and eight bathrooms and a 2,349 square foot guest cottage with three beds and two baths
Luxury property: The French country-inspired mansion was listed by Sotheby’s in 2012 and sold in 2014
Frank Giustra has close ties to the Clintons. He is understood to have loaned the home to the royals for free
It also emerged the Duke of Sussex pulled the trigger on his abdication decision because he feared his wife, who had not settled well in the UK, was ‘on the brink’ and could suffer a meltdown if she remained in the country permanently.
Anxious to avoid exacerbating an already tense situation, the Royal Family is keen to tread carefully. A source said: ‘There is no suggestion that they will be punished or stripped of their Royal titles or HRH status. Everyone wants to find a solution to this as quickly as possible.’
After laying down a 72-hour ultimatum to aides on Friday to hammer out a solution to the Sussexes’ future roles, Her Majesty summoned Princes Charles, William and Harry to her Norfolk Estate to put an end to the turmoil ravaging the monarchy – while Meghan is expected to join the discussions via a conference call from Canada.
Courtiers have quickly crashed together a document outlining several blueprints for Harry and Meghan’s new position within the Royal ranks.
David Foster told DailyMail.com how his wife Katharine McPhee, 35, discovered that the Duke and Duchess were in need of a discreet spot for their first Christmas holiday. McPhee (right) went to school with Meghan (left) in Los Angeles and the two did theater together growing up
Giustra, 62, donated $31.3 million to the Clinton Foundation in 2006 and helped start the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative. He is pictured in 2018
Giustra is pictured with former president Bill Clinton in Haiti in 2014
Mille Fleurs is officially owned by the Towner Bay Country Club Ltd.
The Towner Bay Country Club owns all 27 properties on the private Towner Park Road, just outside the small town of North Saanich.
When the homes are put on sale, the buyer does not buy the house directly.
Instead they buy shares in the country club, which gives them effective ownership of the property. The buyer’s name therefore does not appear on the title of the land, which is a public document.
The office address given by the Country Club on its corporate filings is at a local law firm, Henley & Walden LLP in Sidney. The firm refused to comment.
It refused to name the shareholder to DailyMail.com.
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