The tech invasion of Malibu continues! Now joining other multibillionaire heavy hitters like Laurene Powell Jobs, Marc Andreessen and WhatsApp cofounder Jan Koum in the beachy 90265 zip code is one of the world’s richest men.
In recent months, the occasional presence of a parked security detail on a posh Point Dume street has made locals curious about which celebrity was in town. Turns out it was Google co-founder Sergey Brin and his now-estranged second wife Nicole Shanahan, who were busy settling into their deluxe new Malibu compound.
Sited on a notably deep lot that spans a healthy 1.2 acres, the house in question was built circa 2005 by a local attorney and his wife. That couple famously sold the estate in 2010 to pop songstress Pink, who paid $11.9 million and made the house her primary residence for a few years. In 2016, the “Please Don’t Leave Me” singer resold the house for $12.5 million to French investment banker Matthieu Pigasse.
Pigasse himself flipped the property way back in September 2020 for $13.5 million, though the buyer was never publicly identified. But for the record, the house is now owned by a mysteriously-named LLC that happens to be managed by a San Francisco attorney well known for her very selective client list, which seems almost entirely comprised of tech billionaires and founders of some of the world’s largest companies.
Behind big gates and a towering thicket of tropical plantings, a long driveway leads past a grassy lawn and pool area to the house, which lies privately near the far rear of the lot, invisible from the street. The roughly 6,300-square-foot structure is architecturally vague, though it definitely has elements of Craftsman style and also gives a decorative nod to Balinese-esque luxury. There are five bedrooms, six full bathrooms and two powder rooms, plus a gym, several fireplaces and a kitchen with two islands and Viking appliances.
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Image Credit: via MLS -
Image Credit: via MLS There’s also a guesthouse with its own Viking stove-equipped kitchen and recording studio, plus a poolside cabana with a fire-pit. The swimming pool looks nearly long enough for Olympic laps, and beside it sits a raised spa.
Behind the house are a dense, forest-like canopy of trees and a vegetable garden, though perhaps the estate’s best feature is a discreet back gate that leads from the backyard to a private path overlooking the beach.
While the property is landlocked and not oceanfront, it transferred to Brin and Shanahan with a coveted beach key, allowing them direct access to Little Dume Beach, the small cove that is Malibu’s closest thing to a private beach and has long been a favored celebrity destination.
But as it stands, we’re not really sure what will become of this Malibu estate. Legal documents show Brin quietly filed for divorce from Shanahan back in January. Judging by the property division that happened during Brin’s split from his first wife, 23AndMe CEO Anne Wojcicki, it seems a logical guess that Shanahan will keep the Malibu home — she’s been photographed at several Los Angeles events in recent months — and Brin may buy a new place for himself.
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Image Credit: via MLS In any case, a thorough dive into records indicates Brin and Shanahan own a maze of properties through a complicated web of LLCs. Though we don’t know the full extent of their holdings, there’s a stylish penthouse in New York City’s West Village, plus at least two homes in the Silicon Valley town of Los Altos Hills, Calif., including one valued at north of $20 million. Don’t forget their $80 million floating mansion — a superyacht named Dragonfly.
There’s also plenty of evidence in records suggesting Brin was the mystery buyer who — way back in 2011 — paid a whopping $53 million for the historic Pine Brook estate in Atherton, Calif., a 12-acre property originally built in 1911 by a Levi’s heiress. Eleven years later, that record still stands as the most ever paid for an Atherton home.
A lot of money, but all in a day’s work for someone who both Forbes and Bloomberg say is the 7th-richest man in the world, with a net worth approaching $100 billion.
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Image Credit: via MLS -
Image Credit: via MLS -
Image Credit: via MLS -
Image Credit: via MLS -
Image Credit: via MLS -
Image Credit: via MLS -
Image Credit: via MLS -
Image Credit: via MLS -
Image Credit: via MLS -
Image Credit: via MLS -
Image Credit: via MLS