World Class: Upfront with Tamar Lurie
Few real estate agents can say they have met Kofi Annan, Lyndon B. Johnson and a seemingly endless trove of political leaders, royalty, renowned artists and Nobel Prize winners. But Tamar Lurie holds the exclusive bragging rights.
A top Coldwell Banker Previews International® luxury specialist in Greenwich, Conn., Lurie has enough stories of associating with the world’s most influential leaders that she could fill an entire book. Married to Ranan R. Lurie (who famously appears in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most widely syndicated political cartoonist in the world), she is equal parts real estate powerhouse and sophisticated socialite. Her story is punctuated by a quiet, idyllic suburban life in Greenwich, Conn. (40 years) and a life “on world tour” (6 years), after Ranan was invited to be a resident political cartoonist by influential international newspapers in Honolulu, Bonn, London, Tokyo and Washington D.C. Now with her four children grown and living on the West Coast, she and Ranan relocated to Manhattan, the media center of the world. And in typical Lurie fashion, they have chosen a prestigious Central Park West address with Sting, Denzel Washington and Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein as their neighbors. (Lurie, however, still commutes to Greenwich everyday and owns a home in town.)
All of these experiences, of course, have made Lurie a more refined, not to mention, more connected real estate agent with an elite sphere of influence worthy of envy. Previews Inside Out spoke to Lurie about her life on tour, her accomplished family and meeting some of the world’s most influential people.If I wasn't a real estate agent, I'd be: I would be a U.S. Career Ambassador.
Historical figure I most identify with: Clare Boothe Luce. Clare was truly a renaissance woman. Her career spanned seven decades and nearly as many professional interests—journalism, politics, the theatre, diplomacy, and intelligence. I met her in 1979 when we lived in Hawaii and developed a friendship that lasted until she passed away in 1987.
Famous person I’ve met that I most admire: Kofi Annan, the U.N. Secretary General and his wife Nan. The relationship between him and her was so beautiful, that in my eyes they "became one.” With your permission, I would like to wrap them as an independent single entity.
The society event I look forward to every year: The United Nations/Ranan Lurie Political Cartoon Awards, the yearly competition among political cartoonists from around the globe, with 41 UN Ambassadors serving as judges.
Greatest extravagance: Going on a cruise with my entire family and the creative exchange of ideas with the family. They are really a very special bunch. My son Rod is a graduate of West Point and now an Oscar-nominated screenplay writer and director; Barak, a Stanford J.D. and M.B.A., is a leading California real estate attorney; Dr. Daphne Lurie is a Williams alum and current in-house clinical psychologist at the San Diego Scripps Research Institute; and my youngest, Danielle is a Stanford graduate and filmmaker.
Greatest necessity: The art of controlling my time. Finding the 25th hour of the day.
If I could buy any 4 Previews homes in the world, they would be in: New York, Greenwich, London and Hawaii. I have lived in all of these locations and decided it would be the best of all worlds to have homes there and spend three months a year in each home.
Favorite Greenwich moment: Buying our first home in Greenwich 40 years ago and selling it four consecutive times both as listing and selling broker each time.
Most treasured possession: My oil portrait, painted by my husband in 1966. It was the 5th portrait he did of me: the first four were sold out before the paint could dry!
I can't live without: My love (my Ranan).
I feel most inspired when: When I compete.
Best piece of advice: Trust your judgment.
Most memorable possession: A photograph of me being chauffeured around by President Lyndon B. Johnson in his white Lincoln convertible at his Texas ranch. He would stop every so often, get out of the car, stand next to a tree and press a button. All of a sudden, we’d hear his taped voice describing his childhood on the farm. It was touching to see a former president listening to his own voice, with so much nostalgia.
Most spectacular home I’ve ever visited: The Presidential Palace in Mexico, where President Salinas asked me quietly how much I thought he could get for it.
Wish I had met: Mozart (and I’d advise him to beware of Salieri).
Preview the Greenwich Lifestyle: A commanding Italianate Villa set on four and one-half acres off Round Hill, overlooking a peaceful fresh water lake. Pure lakeside grandeur for $26,080,000 USD.
A licensed Greenwich Realtor since 1976, Tamar Lurie has repeatedly been honored as one of the premier sales associates in the country. She is the no. 1 individual Realtor out of all Greenwich real estate firms, and ranks among the top 100 Realtors in the USA out of 1,200,000 Realtors according to The Wall Street Journal. She has sold over $500 million worth of real estate in the last four years combined and her current portfolio of listings exceeds $200 million. More information on Tamar Lurie can be found here. PHOTO CAPTION: Lyndon B. Johnson driving Tamar through his ranch in Austin, Texas.
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