Everyman Mitt Romney Might Sell His Car-Elevator Mansion

After his presidential hopes were dashed in 2012, Mitt Romney did what any self-respecting man worth $250M would do: embark on a luxury house-building spree to salve his wounds. The former Massachusetts governor recently acquired a 5,900-square-foot mansion outside of Salt Lake City, an $8.9M six-bedroom ski chalet in Park City, Utah, and is also in the process of building an 11,000-square foot estate in La Jolla, California, that can lift cars.

But the plot thickens: the Boston Globe is now reporting that Romney is taking pains to distance himself from his opulent real estate portfolio, in the lead-up to what looks like another presidential bid. He's already shed his luxury condo in the Boston suburbs for $1.2M, and is "retaining a broker who is currently showing the La Jolla home to potential buyers," according to the Globe.

He could not, however, bear to part with his longtime New Hampshire vacation home by Lake Winnipesaukee. Maybe it, and all the ridiculous amenities inside his new Deer Valley ski home—including a stone fireplace big enough to hang Christmas stockings for his 23 grandchildren, and a secret room behind a bookshelf—had an emboldening effect on Romney, because it appears the robotic businessman is back to trying to convince the country he's a normal, red-blooded American man. This week, for instance, he is going to speak in Mississippi, "where aides say he will outline his vision for a better America."

Romney's vast wealth and private equity career were arguably his Achille's heel the last time he hit the campaign trail, with Democratic attack ads depicting him as an "out of touch" rich guy, criticisms that only grew more heated when a video of a speech he gave disparaging the 47% of Americans he said relied on welfare was released. Clearly, he did not have future campaigns in mind when he made the decision to scoop up three fancy new houses. Yet it seems somehow doubtful that the American public will believe, as the Boston Globe reports, that the multimillionaire "refuses to spend money on apps for his iPad."

· Romney built expensive homes after 2012 loss [Boston Globe]
· All Mitt Romney coverage [Curbed National]