Hearst widow sees mansion auctioned

PALM BEACH, Fla., Feb. 26 (UPI) -- The widow of publishing heir Randolph Hearst can now count herself among thousands of U.S. citizens who have had a bank foreclose on their property.

Veronica Hearst's 52-room mansion on Manalapan's beach in Palm Beach County, Fla., attracted eight bidders and sold for $22 million at a courthouse auction on Tuesday.

New Stream Capital purchased the mansion within five minutes of the opening bid, the Palm Beach Post reported.

Hearst's lawyer, Al LaSorte, said the widow was willing to pay $20 million to stop the proceedings, but that he had advised her to let the auction proceed.

Among those in attendance were golfing great Greg Norman and his fiancee, tennis great Chris Evert.

He was just looking, apparently. "I'm just an interested bystander," Norman said.