Wednesday, Aug. 7, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
The world's richest man has vetoed a proposed $55 million deal to buy 40 acres of vacant land at the Strip and Sahara Avenue.
Agents claiming to represent the sultan of Brunei had made the offer to Sahara hotel-casino owner William Bennett, who bought the two parcels from Summa Corp. about 14 months ago for $40 million.
They also had approached several experienced gaming operators for help in developing the property, which is just west of the Sahara and north of Circus Circus.
But the intermediaries for Sultan Sir Hassanal Bolkiah apparently acted without his knowledge, prompting the ruler of the tiny Asian sultanate to order the transaction canceled.
The purchase would have marked the sultan's third Las Vegas real estate venture. He bought Mayor Jan Laverty Jones' former home on 10 acres at Tomiyasu Lane about five years ago and later paid $8 million for a 16-acre parcel at Spanish Trail.
In those transactions, the sultan's nephew, Prince Jefri, acted on behalf of the man who reigns over the oil-rich Islamic country along the South China Sea on the northwest coast of Borneo.
Prince Jefri also completed the sultan's purchase of the Beverly Hills Hotel from oil billionaire Marvin Davis for $201 million -- $65 million more than Davis paid for it -- and owns two homes there.
He also bought the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles for $60 million last year.
An avid collector, the sultan has more than 700 luxury and sports cars housed in his garage in Brunei. While there, he lives in a 1,778-room palace with his two wives and their children.
Widely recognized as the world's richest man, the sultan is estimated to be worth $35 billion, about twice the reputed $18 billion wealth of Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
Forbes Magazine, which recently declared Gates the world's richest man, excludes royal families and heads of state from its annual list.
The sultan's Tomiyasu Lane property, near the homes of casino owner Gary Primm and entertainer Wayne Newton, features polo grounds and other amenities.
The Spanish Trail acreage is the site of a residential complex that will feature more than 100,000 square feet of living area and other recreational facilities once construction is completed.
Despite those purchases, the sultan hasn't visited Las Vegas. Yet over the past six years, people claiming to represent him have reportedly attempted to negotiate the purchase of such diverse properties as the MGM Grand and the Desert Inn.
Sources familiar with those negotiations say the representatives may have been more interested in potential commissions than in whether the prices they reportedly offered made economic sense.
That wasn't the case in the latest deal. With vacant Strip land at a premium, $55 million for Bennett's 40 acres would have been a bargain, according to one real estate adviser.
It's certainly a price the sultan could afford. Just last month, he paid $50 million for entertainer Michael Jackson to perform at his 50th birthday party in July.
While 60,000 of Brunei's 200,000 people attended the event, the sultan had dinner with polo partner Prince Charles instead.
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