Why Is This Man Smiling If His Company Just Lost $1.8 Million On A Tiburon Mansion?

Maybe because it was his mansion?

The Italian-style villa at 3650 Paradise Drive cost Edward Mueller $8.3 million a few years back, and it came with bay views, beach access, a wine cellar, a bar and a large limestone veranda.

But then the former Williams-Sonoma exec got hired in August to be Qwest Communications' CEO and moved from Marin to Denver; Qwest bought the house for $8.9 million in September.

Qwest listed it for $9.95 million—but ended up selling it for $7.5 million in December. According to today's Wall Street Journal:

Qwest ... reaped only $7.1 million after closing costs and commissions when it sold in December, the latest proxy statement says.

The moral of the story:


If you want to sell your house above market value, get hired by Qwest, which "promises to buy the residence of any transferred employee at the vice-president level and above if the home remains unsold for 60 days," the Journal noted.