In 2018, Chris Christie purchased a $2.9 million New Jersey beach house — only to spend the next four years and millions more to tear it down and build a brand new property, The Post has learned.
Situated in Bay Head, the oceanfront property is now worth more than $5.5 million, according to a Zillow estimate.
However, a source tells The Post they’re unsure how Christie, a Republican who’s currently running for the White House, is affording these expenses since leaving the governor’s office several years ago.
A governor’s salary runs $175,000 per year.
“I don’t even know what the guy is doing now… How is he affording this lifestyle?” the insider said.
It’s unclear if Christie is planning on eventually listing the home for a profit. The Post has reached out for comment.
Before and after photos of the site show a grander, newer home, which now occupies nearly 7,000 square feet. The prior residence was much smaller, spanning a little over 4,000 square feet.
Completed in 2022, the home is just a stone throw’s from the birthplace of Scientology and home to a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member of one of his favorite bands, The Record.
The new home comprises four floors with several balconies and a two-car garage.
A previous description of the now-torn-down property says, “a classic home that is designed for summer or year-round living — enjoy the private, landscaped backyard with pool and spa, or relax in the breeze-filled sunroom.”
When Christie was first shopping for property in the area back in 2016, he made it known to the media that it was “nobody’s business” that he was buying a home.
Christie served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. During the last few years while he was running for president the first time, records show the 32 days he spent campaigning cost American tax payers $193,890. Taxpayers also paid over $600,000 to cover the cost of his security.
A lawsuit was brought on, which claimed he “inappropriately forced New Jersey taxpayers to cover the cost of the governor’s security and other key expenses while pursuing the presidency.” But the suit was later dismissed.
After leaving office, Christie had a brief stint at ABC News as a contributor. In January 2019, he then published a book titled “Let Me Finish.”
In 2020, during the pandemic, he registered as a lobbyist in which he was paid $240,000 on behalf of a Tennessee-based chain of addiction treatment centers and three New Jersey hospital systems seeking federal funding.
He wrote a second book in 2021, titled “Republican Rescue.”
Meanwhile, Christie and wife Mary Pat still own their 7,000-square-foot main home in Menhdam, which they purchased in 1998 for $775,000.
Situated on 6 acres, that home is now worth $2.1 million.