Billionaire investor and legendary hedge fund manager Michael Steinhardt opens his 57-acre garden to the public only twice a year.
CNBC's "Power Lunch" got a sneak peek at the rare and wonderful collection of flora, fauna and exotic animals, which included real black swans (not the scary figurative ones that often portend financial doom).
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Since closing his hedge fund in the mid-1990's, Steinhardt has focused much of his energies and personal fortune on his Mount Kisco, New York, estate. He is also focused on philanthropic efforts and chairs The Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life.
—By CNBC's Kerima Greene
Posted 20 Dec 2015
Camels, wallabies and lemurs, oh my!
The property features a menagerie of exotic wildlife, including camels, albino wallabies, zebras, capybara, flamingos and lemurs.
The wolf-deer cat
Most of the animals roam freely behind low fences, including this rare serval (Leptailurus serval), a medium-size wildcat native to sub-Saharan Africa. The name "serval" is derived from a Portuguese word meaning "wolf-deer."
The Domestic Diva approves
Friend and neighbor Martha Stewart called Steinhardt's place a "veritable paradise" and an "exotic wonderland."
A bit of Japan in New York
Steinhardt's estate features a 7-acre cultivar of Japanese maple trees, the largest collection in North America. Most trees were transported directly from Japan.
These black swans don't care about markets
A 1-acre enclosed pond is home to over 75 variety of birds and waterfowl, including several Australian black swans (Cygnus atratus). The species was immortalized in Nassim Taleb's book, "Black Swan," about rare and unpredictable events that impact the financial markets.
Lots of food, and people to feed them
The billionaire's animals consume over 100,000 pounds of feed annually. The estate also employs dozens of groundskeepers and wildlife specialists.
The main house
The Steinhardts' personal residence area includes an Adirondack-style main house, barns, paddocks and a working vineyard.
What you can do with $4 billion
Steinhardt called the place "the only physical possession in my life from which I derive real pleasure." (Architectural Digest, May 2003). He spent 29 years running a $4.4-billion hedge fund with returns of 30 percent each year.
A peaceable kingdom: The estate is less than an hour drive from Manhattan