Last October, a lavish compound set on what is frequently considered to be the best residential street in Santa Monica sold for $29.4 million. But the mystery buyers may not even need to hire a moving van — turns out they already live just down the block, quite literally. Jeremy Bronfman and Stephanie Beck Bronfman have been renting a large Tuscan-inspired Santa Monica mansion for the last four years, paying $30,000 per month for the privilege, but now the couple are finally ready for something more permanent.
Jeremy Bronfman, 34, was born into vast wealth as a grandson of the late billionaire Edgar Bronfman Sr., who long helmed Seagram — the now-defunct Canadian conglomerate that was once the world’s biggest owner of alcoholic beverage brands. Apart from that, Bronfman is also the third of nine children born to Matt Bronfman, the Manhattan-based billionaire investor.
Five years ago, Bronfman co-founded Lincoln Avenue Capital, a Santa Monica-based real estate company that he serves as CEO. Lincoln Ave bills itself as “one of the nation’s fastest-growing developers, investors, and operators of affordable housing” — as of 2019, the company’s portfolio included 47 apartment buildings and similar properties spread across 10 U.S. states, comprising upwards of 9,000 rental units.
Because the Bronfmans’ new $30 million estate was never publicly offered for sale, photos and exact details are scant at best. But a careful examination of tax records and aerial imagery reveals the walled and gated compound sits on 1.1 expansive hillside acres, looming directly over the exclusive Riviera Country Club, where the initiation fee tops $250,000 and members reportedly include Adam Sandler, Mark Wahlberg, and Larry David.
The property consists of a 1920s Spanish Colonial-style mansion with approximately 8,000 square feet of living space. A long driveway leads past formal lawns and a bocce court before spilling into a motorcourt with room for a dozen or more automobiles; there’s also a three-car garage for the homeowners. Per records, the two-story house has five bedrooms and seven bathrooms.
Out back, a croquet-ready flat lawn spills down to an elegantly rectangular swimming pool and separate spa. Beyond that, a notably long flight of stairs zig-zags down a steep hill to a tennis court lying hard up against the Riviera Country Club’s golf greens.
Views take in the surrounding mountains and stretch out toward Pacific Palisades. Other notable amenities include a BBQ/outdoor kitchen area, vegetable gardens, and several fountains. Mature trees dot the estate, which is completely invisible from the street behind tall walls and even taller hedges
Last sold in 2006 for $10.5 million, the house was previously owned by fashion designer Moise Emquies and his longtime wife Carol Ann Emquies, who recently divorced and jointly sold off the place to Bronfman as part of their settlement. Carol Ann has moved on to a $6.1 million home in L.A.’s Bird Streets neighborhood, while Moise shelled out $13.5 million for the striking John Woolf-designed Beverly Hills villa of actress Lily Collins.