Michael Milken’s Nephew Paid $16.3 Million for Chris Albrecht’s Palisades Mansion

Turns out the mystery buyer who last month dropped $16.3 million — in cash, no less — for Tina Trahan and Chris Albrecht’s lavish Los Angeles estate is a member of one of SoCal’s wealthiest families. Jeremy Milken, 45, is the eldest son of investor Lowell Milken, the younger brother of finance legend Michael Milken, who reigned for several years in the late ’80s as the highest-paid man on Wall Street.

But the younger Milken isn’t just the nephew of a multibillionaire. He’s a venture capitalist at L.A.-based Watertower Ventures, providing early-stage capital to startup founders; the firm closed a $50 million fund last year. Milken is also a formerly aspiring pro baseball player who eventually abandoned that dream in favor of “a boring career in private equity,” in his own words. He and wife Sarah Firestone Milken are also longtime Westside residents, and the couple still own their $6 million Santa Monica “starter” house.

The Milkens’ snazzy new home is a 10,000-square-foot white brick structure in the coveted Riviera neighborhood pocket of Pacific Palisades. Built in 2018 and fully secured behind hedges and gates, the elegant mansion’s interiors are defined by calming neutral tones throughout, and ample natural light filtering in through oversized windows and skylights.

An enormous crystal chandelier overlooking the double-height foyer will impress guests and staff, as will a stylish gourmet kitchen outfitted with book-matched marble countertops and designer stainless appliances. There are formal dining and living rooms, and the family room opens to the grassy backyard via disappearing walls of glass. Out back, there’s a wee guesthouse with its own kitchenette, plus an outdoor swimming pool and partially covered outdoor kitchen.

Back inside the main house, an elevator ferries its occupants to all three levels of living, including a subterranean level with a massive lounge area, a movie theater with captain’s chair seating for 15, a mirror-walled fitness center, and a temperature-controlled wine room with its own tasting bar. By contrast, the home’s upper level is dedicated to the private family bedrooms; the master retreat is ensconced in its own wing and offers a marble-slathered bathroom, showroom closet, and a private balcony. Five additional bedrooms scattered through the estate each offer their own ensuite baths.

As for Albrecht and Trahan, the former Starz network CEO and his longtime flame don’t appear to have yet purchased another L.A. home, though Trahan still owns a 40,000-square-foot mega-mansion known as Stone Manor on Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, not far from her native Chicago.

Andreas Elsenhans of Westside Estate Agency jointly held the listing with Zac Mostame of The Agency and Marcy Roth of Douglas Elliman; Sandi Jacoby of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties repped the Milkens.