Low-profile business magnate Don Hankey has added to his already healthy stable of Malibu homes by expanding to Carbon Beach, the deluxe strip of sand sometimes referred to locally as “Billionaire’s Beach” because nearly all the residents there are members of the three comma club. A company linked to Hankey’s longtime wife has plunked down about $20.8 million for a large but decidedly oddball estate set immediately next door to a property owned by Larry Ellison, the Oracle kingpin and Carbon Beach’s de facto ruler.
While he’s not exactly a household name, Hankey is indeed a three comma card carrier. Forbes says he packs a $3.2 billion pocketbook punch, a vast fortune primarily made in an unglamorous manner, by providing scores of subprime auto loans to credit-challenged clients. In recent years, however, Hankey and his slew of companies have expanded into the lucrative worlds of insurance, software, and real estate. That’s how the 77-year-old L.A. native wound up as the biggest creditor on “The One,” a Bel Air mega-mansion built by Nile Niami. Once marketed at $500 million, “The One” has since faced deep price cuts and foreclosure proceedings, the latter initiated by Hankey’s entities.
As for the Carbon Beach estate, it’s not quite what you might expect of a $20 million Malibu mansion. Actually, it doesn’t look like a house at all. From Pacific Coast Highway, the place appears to be a rather unattractive commercial building, perhaps even a mini strip mall, with its three vacant side-by-side storefronts. But behind that façade lurk multiple other structures — three guest apartments, plus a midcentury main house and a separate pool house. There are also two swimming pools, each with their own in-ground spa.
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Image Credit: Google Maps What Hankey plans to do with this property is anyone’s guess, but the for-sale listing included conceptual renderings of a contemporary mansion that could replace the existing structures, though it doesn’t appear any permits have yet been pulled. But whether Hankey develops the place or not, it’s definitely a smart strategic investment — after all, this is a half-acre property on one of California’s most expensive beaches, so there will always be plenty of value in that, provided a tsunami or global warming doesn’t have its way.
Well-appointed but decoratively outdated, the current midcentury home’s interiors practically shout for a refresh. Still, there are bright spots — high ceilings, parquet hardwood floors, and two kitchens. An elevator ferries guests upstairs, where there’s a sumptuous master retreat with a fireplace and sitting area. Floor-to-ceiling walls of glass overlook the sea; out back, a vast patio offers a sunken firepit and seating area.
Hankey and his corporations own dozens of investment properties in the greater L.A. area. But with wife Debbie Bowles, he also maintains a small but lavish array of personal residences, include a titanic mansion in the mountains above Beverly Hills, bought from John Fogerty for $18.6 million, that has been undergoing renovations for years. The couple also own a multi-acre vineyard estate in Malibu, directly across PCH from Zuma Beach. Their main residence, however, appears to be a sprawling mansion atop Malibu’s Paradise Cove, acquired from Olivia Newton-John way back in 2005.
Mark S. Gruskin of Westside Estate Agency held the listing with Chris Cortazzo of Compass; Sandro Dazzan of The Agency repped the buyer.
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