Unless you’ve been invited to a private party at Billy Joel’s house, chances are you haven’t been to Centre Island. An irregularly shaped crescent jutting into Long Island Sound, this wealthy enclave, and second smallest village in Nassau County, is seclusion personified for its few hundred residents. Britain’s Charles I gave the Earl of Stirling the title to most of Long Island, though his hold over CI didn’t last—he sold it to a sailor for 10 shillings before Oyster Bay purchased it from him in 1666. From then until now there has only been one way in or out: A two-lane road across a narrow spit of land with the local police station as the gatekeeper. Bayville functions as the downtown, as the only major structures on Centre Island are an assortment of mostly beachfront homes. Really the only business to speak of is the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, which still fosters a competitive yachting culture. The Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge, at the peninsula’s southern end is thousands of acres of marine sanctuary with birds numbering in the tens of thousands. The refuge is also host to the state’s only commercial oyster farm (90% of our oysters are harvested here). You can visit for yourself, but only if you boat up. No vehicular access is available.

For the king who favors privacy at his castle, this home is as secluded as you’ll find on any shore. Balanced on the tip of Centre Island’s northernmost point, the property is bound by water on three sides and a wall of trees on the fourth. The property’s ponds provide water for geothermal heating and cooling, convenient because there’s a lot of house to keep climate-controlled. After passing through the massive entry doors, the open floor plan is a vision of expansive ceilings and large skylights. The sky, sun and sea are practically interior design elements. If you plan to lord over the Gold Coast’s social scene like an old-school industrialist, the views from the decks outside any of the nine bedrooms render guests speechless. No beach access, so what’s a mogul to do to keep cool? Host a summer bash around the in-ground pool, hot tub and lavish patio large enough to host an international hedge fund directors’ meeting.

List Price: $11,950,000
Taxes: $90,013
Style: Post Modern
Year Built: 1990
Rooms: 17
Bedrooms: 9
Baths: 8 full, 1 half
Lot Size: 4.19 acres
Listing Agency: Douglas Elliman Real Estate