Nixon purchased the first of his three waterfront homes in 1969 to be close to his close friend and confidant, Bebe Rebozo and industrialist Robert Abplanalp (inventor of the modern spray can valve).
Nixon purchased the first of his three waterfront homes in 1969 from his former Senate colleague George Smathers and visited at least 50 times while in office from 1969 to 1974. Nixon's compound placed him close to Bebe Rebozo and industrialist Robert Abplanalp (inventor of the modern spray can valve).