Muhammad Ali’s Michigan Farm Sold to Turkish Organization

A Michigan farm owned by the now deceased legendary boxer Muhammad Ali has sold to a Turkish educational foundation. The 328-acre estate on the Joseph river in Berrien Springs was sold by Ali’s wife of many years, Lonni Ali.

The property, which bought by the legendary athlete way back in the 1970s as a retreat for the man they called “The Greatest” for $400,000 dollars, has a four bedroom house, a gym and boxing ring, a pool, and other amenities. The sale of the property estimated to be worth $2.5 million, was handled by local real estate company Cressy & Everett. Spokespersons for the companies involved said there were actually many parties interested in the property including clients from Indonesia to Dubai.

Ali, who was three-times World Heavyweight Champion of the world, died in June 2016 at the age of 74 in Phoenix, Arizona after suffering from a respiratory illness complicated by his Parkinson’s disease. Beloved by some say a billion people around the world, Ali was once known as Cassius Clay before joining the Nation of Islam back in the 1960s. Ali is widely regarded as one of the most significant and celebrated sports figures of the 20th century, and the greatest boxer who ever lived by many experts. Ali was also rated the Greatest Athlete of All-Time by Sports Illustrated Magazine.

Ali was initially affiliated with Elijah Muhammad’s Nation of Islam (NOI) and advocated their black separatist ideology.  He was also one of the most important activists against the Vietnam War owing to his religion and the charges of draft evasion which ended in the loss of his original heavyweight title. His conscientious objection to the war was considered by many to be one of the most important moments of the anti-war movement.

The group that bought his farm, the Turken Foundation established in 2014 in the U.S. by Turkey’s two prominent educational foundations, Ensar and Türgev, to assist eligible students by means of housing, scholarship and other cultural programs to improve their educational experience in the U.S.