Squishmallows Toymaker Spends $26 Million on Futuristic Bel Air Estate

In the days leading up to the implementation of L.A.’s controversial new mansion tax, savvy homebuyers scored some pretty incredible deals. Witness this brand-new mansion overlooking the Bel-Air Country Club, which sold for $26 million just hours before the tax went into effect — still a hefty sum by any standard, but a 45% discount off the original $47.5 million asking price. Should the house have closed in April instead of March, the sellers would have owed an additional $1.4 million in taxes.

Featured in Robb Report and crafted by modern specialist Zoltan Pali, the palatial home spans nearly 17,000 square feet of living space. It was developed on speculation by Viewpoint Collection as one of the final projects in their portfolio, and sold as part of the years-long Woodbridge bankruptcy liquidation process.

Records indicate the discount-minded buyer was Jonathan Kelly, the successful toymaker whose Kellytoy firm produces the popular Squishmallows toys. Introduced to the world in 2017, Squishmallows were popular at their debut, but people started really going bananas for the plush toys during 2020’s quarantine season. That year, Squishmallows took over TikTok and subsequently became the #1 bestselling toy in 21 out of 50 U.S. states. Also in 2020, Alleghany Capital — now a subsidiary of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway — bought a majority stake in Kellytoys.

Kelly, ever the hardworking businessman, hasn’t wasted any time putting his new Bel Air asset to work. The slick mansion is already on the rental market, so if you like what you see, feel free to move right into this place — provided you can cough up $150,000 per month and $300,000 for the security deposit, of course.

Set on just under an acre of hillside land, the three-story home flaunts abstracted geometric exterior lines, curved and supple on some sides but rigidly straight and hard-edged on others. Clad in Indiana limestone, the blindingly white palace offers all the luxury goodies buyers at this premium price point have come to expect — a huge movie theater, wellness center, gym and wine room — plus some notable additions, like thousands of square feet of exterior decking, and an infinity pool with views of golf greens and city lights.

Inside, the various rooms are vast and bathed in natural light, with seemingly unending walls of glass running throughout the structure. The palatial scale of the place is further enhanced by all of the home’s doors, which are fully bespoke and ceiling-height for maximum visual drama. Most of the rooms, including the penthouse-level master suite, open onto vast patios and balconies.

The heavily sloped lot doesn’t have enough flat space for grassy lawns or a tennis court, but there are two separate courtyards and a graciously terraced backyard with Japanese-inspired plantings. Naturally, the property is equipped with state-of-the-art security, sound, lighting and all-around smart home systems.

Tomer Fridman, Sally Forster Jones and Tyrone McKillen of Compass, along with Drew Fenton of Carolwood Estates were the listing agents; Marc Noah of Sotheby’s International Realty repped the buyer.