Eric Schmidt’s Daughter Pays $22 Million for Hilltop Beverly Hills Estate

When it comes to multibillionaire ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt, apparently the real estate apple doesn’t fall far from the proverbial tree. Schmidt, 66, has spent much of the past year gobbling up epic trophy estates from New York City to Los Angeles and Montecito, shelling out upwards of $120 million on his property spending spree. Now the tech guru has been joined in his quest by his only living child — daughter Sophie Schmidt, 34, who’s just paid $22 million for a palatial home in the mountains above Beverly Hills.

The younger Schmidt bought her new estate from New York-based financier Rob Rosner and his wife Cecile, who acquired the place less than two years ago for under $17 million. The property was previously owned by music mogul Steve Barnett, the now-retired former chairman and CEO of Capitol Records.

Built in 2001 but extensively renovated in the two decades since, the Mediterranean-style villa sits on “one of the few promontories in Beverly Hills,” per the listing, though the property is technically located within the city of Los Angeles, in a Beverly Hills-adjacent neighborhood known as Beverly Hills Post Office. Views are spectacular and span a full 360 degrees, taking in the Downtown L.A. and Century City skyscrapers, the Pacific Ocean and the surrounding mountains.

Behind walls and gates, the 0.41-acre lot includes a motorcourt and attached two-car garage. The nearly 7,000-square-foot mansion itself is loaded with bespoke amenities — bleached walnut floors, French limestone floors, an exceptionally grand kitchen with designer appliances, and an upstairs master suite with dual onyx vanities, heated floors and dual dressing rooms. Outside, vast loggias and westward-facing covered balconies drink in Southern California’s epic sunsets. Sumptuous formal gardens include carefully manicured boxwood hedges, sprays of white roses and emerald green lawns; a pool/spa combo and substantial outdoor fireplace complete the residential package.

Schmidt, who recently founded tech journalism startup Rest of the World, has unsurprisingly opted to sell her “starter” Los Angeles home. Once owned by Nick Jonas and tucked away on a quiet cul-de-sac just above L.A.’s Sunset Strip, that property is currently asking just under $6 million. Records also indicate Schmidt previously owned a multimillion-dollar income property in Pasadena, Calif., that she bought in 2017 and sold off in April 2021.

In an interesting twist of fate, the future Google heiress’ new 90210 estate lies directly across the street from the longtime home of late Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen. That funicular-equipped compound is on the market, seeking $55 million.

Aaron Kirman and Weston Littlefield of Compass held the listing; Tomer Fridman of Compass repped the buyer.