Fashion Nova CEO Drops $14.7 Million on Ted Sarandos’ Malibu Retreat

When Ted Sarandos and Nicole Avant put their Malibu home up for sale in April, the hefty $15 million price tag seemed like it might preclude a quick sale. Not so — the oceanfront La Costa Beach property went like proverbial hotcakes, selling in only two weeks for $14.7 million, all-cash. That’s $4.5 million more than the couple paid for the place in 2013. But it took some time for the spendy buyer’s identity emerge — he’s Richard Saghian, the enigmatic owner and founder of Instagram-famous apparel juggernaut Fashion Nova.

For those not versed in the highly lucrative depths of Instagram marketing, Fashion Nova is arguably the social media network’s biggest success story and a pioneer of the controversial “fast fashion” movement. The cut-price apparel brand — known primarily for its daringly risqué outfits and vast array of styles and cuts — became an overnight phenomenon thanks to early endorsements from megastars like Cardi B, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner and other top influencers. Cardi B is such a huge fan of the brand, having mentioned it in multiple songs, that she and Saghian collaborated to launch the Cardi B x Fashion Nova apparel collection, which reportedly raked in $1 million in sales on a single day.

Fashion Nova’s success has also spawned a slew of copycat competitors in the “fast-fashion” realm it created, much to the consternation of some environmentalists. Fans of the company, however, point to the brand’s affordable price points, noting that the L.A.-based company offers couture-style outfits at a mere fraction of the price other designers would charge.

Saghian’s new Malibu digs have a bit of a celebrity pedigree. Sarandos and Avant bought the house from actor David Spade, who had renovated the Mediterranean villa-style home during his ownership. Built in 1996 and secured from bustling Pacific Coast Highway behind a windowless wall, the mini-estate includes a brick courtyard accented by a stone Buddha and flowering bougainvillea plants, plus a dark-bottomed plunge pool and wee cabana with its own bar.

The main house spans about 3,800 square feet with multiple sets of glassy French doors spilling out to oceanside balconies. There are al fresco dining loggias, high-ceilinged public rooms, and a kitchen with top-of-the-line Viking appliances. A skylit staircase ferries residents to the upper level, where the master retreat sports a vaulted ceiling, private balcony and stunning whitewater views.

Sarandos, the co-CEO of Netflix and Avant, the Motown heiress and former U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas, still own a $34.2 million estate up north in Montecito, which they purchased from Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi in 2018. But their main residence remains a rather stunning Gothic-meets-Italian Revival-style mansion in L.A.’s Hancock Park neighborhood, purchased for $16 million in 2015 from Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas.

As for Saghian, his main residence remains a $17.5 million mansion in L.A.’s Bird Streets area, high in the hills above West Hollywood. Designed by Paul McClean, that house was previously owned by the late DJ Avicii and features jetliner views of the entire L.A. basin. It was at the Bird Streets property where earlier this year a robbery suspect was killed in a shootout with Saghian’s bodyguards.

Jonah Wilson of Hilton & Hyland and Chris Cortazzo of Compass jointly held the listing; Stuart Vetterick of Hilton & Hyland and Branden and Rayni Williams of The Beverly Hills Estates repped the buyer.