Top Google exec and spouse sell 2 Palo Alto houses for more than $30 million

PALO ALTO — A top executive with Google owner Alphabet has sold two Palo Alto houses for well over $30 million in separate deals that point to rising values for both residences.

Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer with Google owner Alphabet, and her husband sold houses on Cowper Street in Palo Alto, according to documents filed on March 5 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office.

Porat and her husband, Anthony Paduano, acting through affiliates, sold two residences on adjacent lots on Cowper Street, in a neighborhood known as Old Palo Alto, according to Santa Clara County real estate records.

Here are some of the details regarding the property transactions, as disclosed in the county property documents:

— 1950 Cowper Street was sold for $30.75 million.

— 1928 Cowper Street was sold for $4.53 million.

The values of both residences rose during the time Porat and Paduano owned the properties, a review of the county documents shows.

Porat and Paduano paid $30 million for the 1950 Cowper residence when they bought it in 2019. Porat and her husband paid $4.4 million for the 1928 residence at the time of that purchase in 2021.

The late John Arrillaga, the legendary real estate developer and investor, sold the 1950 Cowper home to Porat and Paduano, the county documents show.

Christine Wade, acting as trustee of Redtail Trust, was disclosed as the buyer of the 1950 Cowper home. Christine Wade, acting as trustee of Evergreen Trust, bought the 1928 Cowper residence. The records didn’t make it clear whether Wade was the ultimate buyer of the houses.

The 1950 Cowper residence was built in 1932 and is on a Palo Alto historic buildings inventory. The 1928 Cowper residence was built in 1935. The late architect, Birge Clark, who designed numerous high-profile buildings in Palo Alto and at Stanford University, designed both houses.