Irving Azoff Drops $21.5 Million on the Estate Next Door

Music mega-mogul Irving Azoff and his longtime wife Shelli are apparently feeling a bit crowded in their neck of the Beverly Hills woods, or maybe they’re just looking to preserve some historic architecture. Records indicate the pair have plunked down an impressive $21.5 million on the house immediately next door to their two-acre 90210 estate, which they’ve owned since 1985.

Back in 2013, the Azoffs moved out of their Beverly Hills house and subsequently demolished the existing structure. They’re now midway through the construction of an all-new residence, a project that has reportedly been plagued by delays and cost overruns. (Back in 2015, the Azoffs headed to arbitration to resolve a financial dispute with Malibu-based architect Scott Mitchell, whom they had hired to oversee the new home’s creation. A court judgment subsequently awarded them more than $2.1 million.)

As for the Azoffs’ new real estate acquisition, the 1.2-acre estate was the longtime home of prolific Hollywood producer Chuck Fries, who acquired the place in 1989 for about $5.6 million. Fries died last year at age 92; the house was subsequently put up for grabs with a $25 million asking price.

Secured behind big iron gates, the vaguely Mediterranean-style mansion was built in the 1930s and spans more than 13,000 square feet of living space. Per the listing, the property was once owned by Paramount Pictures, and it includes a Regency-style pool house designed by legendary architect Paul R. Williams, complete with fluted columns, changing rooms and a central lounge area.

With the addition of this new property to the Azoffs’ already grand estate, their as-yet-unfinished new compound will span more than three acres of land in one of the best pockets of Beverly Hills. Directly across the street is Ari Emanuel’s $27.5 million estate, and only one block away is the $165 million main residence of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez.

Azoff, who is frequently described as the most powerful man in the music industry, maintains an impressive stable of other homes, including a Malibu property and a 17,000-square-foot contemporary vacation mansion in La Quinta’s guard-gated Madison Club. But the former Live Nation head honcho’s main residence, for the moment, is a lavish spread in L.A.’s Holmby Hills neighborhood, almost immediately next door to the former Playboy Mansion.

Acquired back in 2013 for $16 million, the Azoffs are using the Holmby Hills house as a decade-long “crash pad” while waiting for their Beverly Hills estate to be completed.