Luxembourgish Businessman Spends $17 Million on Bonkers Encino Spec Mansion

Gérard Lopez is far from a household name, but maybe he deserves to be one. After all, the 51-year-old arguably exemplifies the modern-day Renaissance man: born in Luxembourg, he holds dual Luxembourgish and Spanish citizenship, was educated in the United States and reportedly speaks seven languages fluently. Lopez made his first fortune in tech, but has since branched out to private equity and ownership of professional sports teams. He has business interests in Africa, Latin America, Russia and Europe. He jet-sets around the globe and has charmed world leaders.

Not all of Lopez’s hustle has been without controversy. He’s well known for his alleged friendship with Vladimir Putin — a book by author Catherine Belton details how Lopez once spent time with Putin at his summer vacation home, “feeding apples to [Putin’s] pets and listening to piano music.” In 2016, the entrepreneur extraordinaire’s company Rise Capital scored a Russian infrastructure deal worth billions.

In any case, Lopez is now expanding his business empire to California. The prolific car collector HAS dropped an impressive $17.5 million to buy one of the fanciest houses in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley. The all-new compound has garage parking for 17 cars, eight bedrooms, nine full bathrooms, five half-baths and more than 21,000 square feet of living space.

Built on speculation by local investment firm JNY Investments and completed a year ago, the monster mansion first hit the market with a $25 million thud. Eventually the ask was trimmed to $22 million, and Lopez negotiated an even bigger discount. But it’s still one of the biggest sums ever paid for an Encino home, behind the $20 million paid by Nick Jonas some years ago and an $18 million mansion that sold in 2022.

As one might expect, the estate has every conceivable amenity and then some. Described as a “modern marvel” in the listing, the home’s bespoke features include a huge gym and spa facilities with a mediation patio adorned by a waterfall and reflecting pool. There’s also a half-court basketball court, a two-story detached guesthouse, two gourmet kitchens in the main house, two wet bars, an elevator, temperature-controlled wine storage and a hair salon. The main home’s 14-car garage doubles as an event space, and the guesthouse sports its own three-car garage. (All that space will be used — Lopez reportedly owns 100 cars.)

Naturally, the backyard also includes a full outdoor kitchen, fire-pit, al fresco dining patios, AstroTurf lawns and a negative-edge swimming pool with inset spa and Baja shelf.

The decor is contemporary and on-trend throughout the various structures, with warm beige tones melding with deeper blacks and charcoal grays. And the upstairs master suite is a designer home unto itself, with some of the most stylish showroom closets and bathrooms seen in this part of town. Also within the suite are a lounge area and two separate balconies: one with a hot tub, and both overlooking the nearly 1-acre grounds.