Today marks the third time in two years that Yolanda has written about this particular Malibu house. Yikes! We’re not running out of material, we swear. Blame the repeats on some itchy-footed owners.
Back in early 2017, Duty Free heiress Alexandra von Furstenburg paid $16 million for the quaint fixer. It’s an itty-bitty little place, quite petite indeed — less than 2,300-square-feet of living space — but spectacularly sited atop the Point Dume cliffs.
Ms. von Furstenberg’s hubby Dax Miller — an architectural designer by trade — fixed up the place himself. His wife subsequently flipped it the following May (2018) to entrepreneur Charles Dunlop and his real estate agent wife Leddy Renwick for $20 million in cash.
Anyway, it seems the new owners grew bored with their li’l vacation home rather quickly. This February (2019), after just nine months of ownership, they flipped the unchanged property back onto the market, asking nearly $22 million. ($21,750,000, to be exact.)
An outrageous ask? Think again! Within just one month, the house transferred for the full asking price. And the buyer is Brian Kariger, a Venice-based tech entrepreneur who founded Lexico Publishing Group LLC in 1995.
Lexico Publishing is the holding company that owns Dictionary.com, the website best-known as the “world’s biggest online dictionary, duh”. And for its occasionally snarky Twitter feed, which has trolled newly-minted billionaire Kylie Jenner on more than one occasion. Sometimes Dictionary.com also posts about serious subjects, like the culture of nepotism and privilege that permeates our society.
In 2008, Mr. Kariger and his biz partner sold Lexico Publishing to Ask.com in a $100 million deal.
Now in his late 40s, Mr. Kariger has more than enough cash to retire on some remote island, but he’s chosen to remain in LA and continue entrepreneur-ing, as it were. A longtime fan of alternatively-powered automobiles — he was among the first Tesla owners and also drives a biodiesel-propelled Volkswagen — Mr. Kariger founded Recargo, a “sustainable energy data company” famous for its Plugshare app. Plugshare provides EV vehicle owners with a map showing nearby charging stations and is currently used by over 350,000 drivers (per the firm).
Last October (2018), Mr. Kariger sold Recargo to Innogy for an undisclosed amount. Hence the nearly $22 million house purchase (below). Since the photos here are the same as last year, Yolanda is just gonna copy-paste our previous comments on the property. Send us hate-mail if you must.
Originally built in 1966, the traditional ranch-ish style structure sits far back behind a gated entryway and the aforementioned front yard with its native fauna and such. Also out front is perhaps the property’s most unusual feature: the detached “air conditioned casita”. It looks just big enough to accommodate a couple chairs, and Yolanda can’t fathom why someone would sit here with a view of the driveway rather than out back with the ocean vistas. Maybe to survey a quick game of bocce?
The interiors are light and bright and low-maintenance. A small kitchen contains an uber-expensive SubZero fridge, wine cooler, Caesarstone countertops, stainless appliances, and opens to the fireplace-equipped living room. There are just two bedrooms and three bathrooms in the petite house, though the separate great room/lounge could potentially be a third bedroom, we suppose.
All rooms on the property sport divine ocean views.
Back in the living room, the sliding glass doors open to a polycarbonate awning-shaded (that awning blocks 90% of UV rays, per the listing!) outdoor deck with comfy-lookin’ couches. The backyard is a mix of drought-friendly grasses and two expansive strips of lawn.
Though the yard is pool-less, there is a wooden jacuzzi. But if that is not sufficient for swimmin’ purposes, we suppose very adventurous (or very drunk) folks could always try diving off the cliffside into the Pacific Ocean below.
Just kidding. Don’t do it, y’all — no need. Included with the house purchase are coveted keys to nearly-private Little Dume Beach.
Mr. Kariger’s nearest new Point Dume neighbors include Malibu mega-realtor Chris Cortazzo, tech entrepreneur Erik Swan, hedge funder David Visher, and Beachbody CEO Carl Daikeler.
And as it turns out, homeboy is not new to Malibu. Or Point Dume, for that matter. From 2012 until 2017, he owned another blufftop estate in the neighborhood, albeit one with westward views. (His new place faces south.)
Records show that Mr. Kariger paid exactly $6 million for the acre-plus spread, which features a very small house and a very large pool. After five years of ownership and few (if any) updates, he sold the place for a whopping $10,750,000 to his next-door neighbor — Olympic gold medalist Shaun White.
Listing & Selling Agents: Chris Cortazzo & Kevin Augunas, Coldwell Banker
