Osama's Million-Dollar Hideout? More Like $250K

Local real estate experts say it's not as posh as initial accounts suggested
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted May 4, 2011 12:47 PM CDT
Osama bin Laden's Million-Dollar Mansion Was Not Even Worth Half That
Pakistani media personnel and local residents gather outside the hideout of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad.   (Getty Images)

Another aspect of Osama bin Laden's grand finale is getting a dose of reality. US officials initially described his hideout as a mansion valued at $1 million, but two property experts in Abbottabad tell the Guardian it's worth $250,000, max. "This is not a posh area," says one local property dealer. "We call it a middling area." A local bank manager agrees: "If it was worth that much, we would all be multi-millionaires round here." The White House has also walked back earlier reports that bin Laden engaged in a firefight and used his wife as a human shield. (More Osama bin Laden stories.)

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