And, No, You Can’t Charge It

American Express is trying to peddle an Edina, Minn., dream house that CEO Harvey Golub built but never lived in.

What’s the rush? American Express wants to avoid embarrassing questions from shareholders at the annual meeting next week. The proxy statement for the meeting says the company extended a $500,000 loan to Golub in 1984, when he was in charge of American Express’s IDS unit, to buy a home in Minnesota. Golub repaid the loan.

An American Express employee says Dave Winfield, Minnesota Twins outfielder, looked at the house but wasn’t interested.

The 15,000-square-foot house features hand-etched glass panels, hand-carved stone and custom carpets.

One room has an automated pet-feeding center. There’s a master bath with oversize spa and a two-person shower in a glass-block cylinder. The house has an entertainment center with a large movie screen. The four-car garage has its own automatic car wash.

Golub was transferred to New York to be president of American Express in mid-1991 and never lived in the house.

The asking price when the house went up for sale in 1991 was $6.9 million. It has since been dropped to $3.9 million.