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Wealthy Family Sold $26.5M Private Island They’ve Owned for 100 Years

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Many families dream of having a private island to call their own. In Connecticut, a new family just made that a reality.

Hay Island, an 18-acre piece of land off the coast of Connecticut, was sold for $26.5 million.

The last owners owned it for over 100 years. The Zielgler family acquired the island over 100 years ago, according to property records. The family is descended from industrialist William Ziegler Sr., who cofounded the Royal Baking Powder Company in the 1800s.

The island remained in his family as a summer cottage but was most recently used as a full-time residence by Cynthia Ziegler and her husband, Renfrew Brighton, according to Mansion Global.

The earlier summer cottage has been replaced with an 8,684-square-foot New England colonial home. The property also includes a two-bedroom guest house, an infinity-edge pool, and two beaches.

Property records show the island was sold in two transactions in November 2025 to Hay Island CT II LLC, one for $6,360,000 and the other for $20,140,000.

While this wasn’t the first island the Ziegler sold, it was the last. In 2023, the family sold their other island, Great Island — just across Ziegler Cove from Hay Island — for $85 million to the town of Darien. The town plans to turn it into a public park.

The Ziegler family’s current net worth is unclear, but Forbes estimated it to be $2.8 billion in 2015, due in part to investments in a cigar company.

Take a look around Hay Island to see where the Zieglers once lived and vacationed.

Hay Island was in the Ziegler family for over 100 years.

An aerial view of a private island in Connecticut.

The Ziegler family acquired the home over 100 years ago.

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William Ziegler Sr. amassed the family’s wealth in the late 1800s after cofounding the Royal Baking Powder Company.

The current house on the property was built in 2010.

The front of a three-story house.

The 8,684-square-foot main house.

Modern Media LLC

The island was used as a full-time residence. Before the construction of the current house, it was used as a summertime retreat.

The 8,684-square-foot home was designed by architect Austin Patterson Disston.

The island eventually sold for $26.5 million.

An aerial view of a private island in Connecticut.

The property is an island, but very close to the mainland.

Modern Media LLC

Leslie McElwreath of Sotheby’s International Realty’s Greenwich brokerage had the listing.

The Zielger family has relocated and no longer regularly visits the Connecticut home.

The rear of a home.

The main house.

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Helen M. Ziegler, an heiress to the baking-powder fortune, sold a home in Palm Beach for $15.9 million in 2024, Palm Beach County property records show. [does she still live in palm beach? where is she now?]

The family also owned other islands in Connecticut, and this is the last of their collection.

A veranda.

A covered outdoor space with views of the water.

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The Ziegler family listed Great Island, a 60-acre island across Ziegler Cove from Hay Island, for $100 million in 2022. Darien, a small town known for its wealthy residents, bought Great Island for $85 million with plans to turn it into a public park.

Most rooms in the home have views of the Long Island Sound.

The foyer of a home.

Doors opening up to the views of the Long Island Sound.

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The home has six bedrooms and seven bathrooms.

The Ziegler family once gathered in the family room.

A family room inside a home.

A living room.

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The family room offers indoor and outdoor seating, with access to a screened-in porch.

The library — like most rooms in the house — has water views.

A library inside a home.

The main home’s library.

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According to the listing, the library includes custom bookshelves, window seats, a wet bar, and a fireplace.

The chef’s kitchen gets plenty of light from several windows facing the water.

A kitchen.

The chef’s kitchen.

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While there are plenty of water views, the island is accessible by road to the mainland.

“You get the benefits of an island, the privacy and 360-degree water views, but you also get the ability to come and go freely,” McElwreath told Mansion Global.

The breakfast room has its own fireplace — one of six fireplaces in the home.

A breakfast room.

The home has its own breakfast room.

ChiChi Ubina

According to a document from the county’s Planning and Zoning Commission, the new owner proposed to construct additions onto the main house.

Hay Island is 18 acres.

A beach on a private island.

One of the private beaches.

Modern Media LLC

The island has two beaches. The rest is a rocky shoreline.

The infinity pool also overlooks the Long Island Sound.

An infinity pool overlooking the Long Island Sound.

The infinity pool overlooking the Long Island Sound.

Modern Media LLC

The outdoor terrace also includes an outdoor fireplace and a built-in barbecue.

The property also has a two-bedroom guest house.

An aerial view of a private island in Connecticut.

An aerial view of the main house on Hay Island.

Modern Media LLC

The guest house has a fully equipped kitchen, a private office, and a fireplace.



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