Mega-mortgages

Ron Burkle is worth $3.5 billion, according to the latest Forbes tally, which would suggest that he doesn't need to borrow money. But Burkle has $56 million in loans against his two houses, reports the WSJ's John Emshwiller. One of them is the famous "Green Acres" mansion in Bev Hills, the Renaissance-style palazzo built in the 1920s by Harold Lloyd. Burkle won't say how he's using the money, but in general rich guys love to borrow, as long as interest rates are low enough (and these days they're next to nothing). See, they can then use the money to make investments that generate a large enough return for them to pay off their loans and then some.

In April, Mr. Burkle renegotiated his $56 million in adjustable-rate mortgages down to 3.25%, which was in line with adjustable home loans of a more mortal size. Recently, his rate adjusted down to about 2.25%, based on publicly available documents. It puts Mr. Burkle's mortgage interest charge at $105,000 a month, give or take.

Frank and Jamie McCourt also like(d) to borrow. They have $28 million worth of mega-mortgages on their L.A. properties.

Their 15,000-square-foot, 10-bath L.A. manse, located in the prestigious Holmby Hills neighborhood across the street from the Playboy Mansion, was purchased in 2004 for about $20 million. For good measure, the McCourts spent $14 million to upgrade the place, including tearing out the tennis courts to install an indoor, Olympic-size swimming pool.<.blockquote>