Former Army general, U.S. secretary of state sells Palm Beach mansion

Alexander M. Haig Jr. and his wife, Patricia Fox-Haig, sold their home at 685 Island Dr. in Palm Beach's Everglades Island to Eric and Harriet Rothfeld for $15.625 million on Feb. 10, 2006.

The Haigs paid $4.875 million for the 8,809 square foot home, which was built in 1994, in June 1997.

Mr. Haig, a retired four-star general in the U.S. Army, was the secretary of state of former President Ronald Reagan and White House chief of staff of Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Prior to his chief of staff appointment in 1973, he was vice chief of staff in the U.S. Army. He was also the ex officio commander of all U.S. and NATO troops in Europe before working for the Reagan Administration.

As a young officer, he served on the staff of General Douglas MacArthur in post-war Japan where he met his future wife, Patricia Fox, the daughter of MacArthur's deputy chief of staff.

After his stint in the Korean War, he worked for the Pentagon and went back to combat during the Vietnam War. In 1969, he was appointed military assistant to the Presidential Assistant for National Security Affairs, Henry Kissinger, which was a post he retained before being appointed White House chief of staff by Nixon.

For his service in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, he was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, as well as the Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster and the Purple Heart.

In 1988, he unsuccessfully ran for the Republican Party nomination for president.

He is currently the host of "21st Century Business" which is aired on CNBC and Fox Business Network. The independently-produced show provides information on latest issues and trends across various industries. He also hosted the "World Business Review" until 2006.

A West Point graduate in 1974, Haig also holds a degree in Business Administration from the Columbia Business School and a master's in International Relations from Georgetown University.

Home sales in Palm Beach dropped almost six percent through Dec. 15, 2007 versus the same period in 2006. The median sales price remained at $1.2 million.

BlockShopper Metrics began tracking home sales in South Florida in 2001.

Address: 685 Island Drive
Buyer(s): Eric Rothfeld and Harriet Rothfeld
Seller(s): Alexander M Haig and Patricia Fox Haig
Sale date: Feb. 10, 2006

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