Billionaire Hollywood dealmaker Jerry Perenchio passed on to the other side this year (May 2017) at the ripe old age of 86. Soon enough, pieces of his epic real estate portfolio began surfacing on the open market. We’re sure most folks reading this have already heard about his historic Bel Air mega-compound, which is currently available with a record-shattering $350 million asking price.
In addition to his business activities, our Mr. Perenchio was also one of Malibu’s largest landowners. We certainly can’t forget his sea-view golf course, which he built without the proper permits. And Mr. Perenchio owned no fewer than six homes within the guard-gated Malibu Colony community, As Our Mama at Variety has already snitched, one of those popped up for sale in August. Thought the wee house is quite tiny and is not even oceanfront, the property itself is nearly a third of an acre — a good amount of land in the tightly-packed Colony.
Anyway, records show that the property sold on Halloween for $6,800,000 — more than $1.3 million over the asking price. Clearly, at least two bidders were engaged in a hard-fought battle over this quaint cottage.
The new owner’s name is cloaked behind a mysterious LLC, but Yolanda just happens to know that it is none other than 84-year-old casino tycoon/philanthropist/Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson, who happens to be one of the richest people in the whole wide world. At one point he was 8th on Forbes’ list of billionaires, thought he’s slipped a bit in recent years and now makes do as the 20th wealthiest person on the globe with a net worth that hovers around $36 billion.
If you’re surprised that one of the world’s richest men would want to buy this itsy-bitsy little Malibu cottage, don’t be. Our Mr. Adelson, you see, loves Malibu Colony and has been on a quiet real estate tear behind those gates for the past several years. In fact, he now owns no fewer than six properties in the ritzy enclave. Yolanda is not sure why he needs so many parcels of land — especially since none of them are contiguous — but there you have it. Maybe he’s trying to buy up the whole shebang for himself?
The Malibu properties include (but may not be limited to):
— A 5,018-square-foot oceanfront house, custom-built by Mr. Adelson and completed in 1998 (he later sued his contractor over a pesky mold problem)
— A 4,225-square-foot oceanfront house, bought for $9,980,000 in 2015 from the estate of Barbie doll inventor Ruth Handler
— A 3,755-square-foot oceanfront house, bought for $10,400,000 in 2015 from Mega Millions lottery winner Kevyn Ogawa
— A 3,295-square-foot oceanfront house w/ swimming pool, bought for $12,000,000 in 2013 from Lee Phillip Bell
— A landlocked lot featuring little more than a tennis court and a chain link fence, bought for $1,750,000 in 2013 from Lee Phillip Bell
— A landlocked lot with a 936-square-foot cottage and parking for six vehicles, bought for $6,800,000 in 2017 from the estate of Jerry Perenchio (the one we are discussin’ today)
Mr. Adelson has now spent $40,930,000 on his Malibu Colony collection, not counting the fat construction fees on his first residence there. So let’s take a very quick look at his latest acquisition.
The .32-acre property features a two-care garage with an attached 2-bed, 1-bath guest apartment. Beyond that lies a broad lawn — perfect for a game of croquet — and the petite 1-bedroom, 1-bathroom “main house”, if that’s even the right term here.
The main house/cottage dates to the 1940s and includes a cute and spacious front porch that spans the width of the residence. Inside there are polished hardwood floors and a combo living room/family room with a stone fireplace. The structure’s kitchen is puny by today’s $6.8 million house standards but it does include upgraded stainless steel appliances.
When he’s not living in Malibu (and not traveling), the still-spry Mr. Adelson resides in a colossal mega-mansion in a swanky guard-gated community on the outskirts of Las Vegas. The red brick Georgian-ish-style behemoth was custom-built by our boy, completed in 2013, has 20 bathrooms and its own private water park, and reportedly weighs in at nearly 44,000-square-feet of living space.
Well, hot damn. Yolanda would call that thing almost ludicrously enormous! It’s so big that the house takes up three parcels of land, each of which could easily contain a “normal-sized” mansion. And just think of how much money it must cost to heat and cool that beast out there in the desert, kiddies.
But Mr. Adelson can certainly afford his utility bills.
Listing agents: Marcus Beck & Tracy Lynn Testin, Sotheby’s International Realty
Sheldon Adelson’s agent: Chad Rogers, Hilton & Hyland
