Anderson Cooper and his partner, Benjamin Maisani, will be relaxing in historic splendor in Connecticut’s affluent Litchfield County this summer. Multiple sources tell us the CNN anchor has splurged on a massive, 10,127-square-foot Tudor revival stone mansion, called Rye House, for the mid-to-high seven figures.
The tony estate — sold by Karen Shaw, a former Miss Connecticut who starred on “Dallas” and “The A Team,” and her husband, Marc — was built in 1908 and designed by Wilson Eyre, a founder of House & Garden magazine. The home includes an Olympic-size swimming pool and tennis court, and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Its 18 rooms feature original chestnut wood paneling, limestone fireplaces and a hand-carved marble staircase. There’s also a private four-bedroom guest wing. The 280-acre grounds boast Japanese pagoda trees, wisteria, magnolias, a walkway with stone pillars and a grape arbor.
The Shaws, who bought the house 15 years ago and lovingly restored it, have been renting it out for $1,800 per night, sources said. Depending on which local you ask, Cooper bought the property in leafy Litchfield for anywhere between $5 million and $9 million.
The anchor will be in good company: The Litchfield area has been home to Meryl Streep, “The Normal Heart” playwright Larry Kramer, Henry Kissinger, NBC Sports vet Dick Ebersol and Susan Saint James, and HBO documentary doyenne Sheila Nevins.
Anderson and Maisani already own another unusual property, an 8,240-square-foot Greenwich Village firehouse they bought in 2010 for $4.3 million. In April, Cooper also listed one of two waterfront properties in Quogue for $2.99 million.
In November, Cooper, who makes around $11 million a year at CNN, signed a contract extension through the 2016 presidential election. Despite being the son of Gloria Vanderbilt, Cooper recently told Howard Stern, “My mom’s made clear to me that there’s no trust fund.”
Reps for Cooper did not return calls.