Despite some hiccups, the 2010s were mostly exceptionally fruitful years for BuzzFeed, the L.A.-based, fresh-faced digital juggernaut. The decade saw the wee startup transform into an influential news organization with over $300 million in annual revenue and north of 1,200 employees.
BuzzFeed co-founder and CEO Jonah Peretti has effectively run the company show since its humble 2006 origins, and he’s made no secret of his plans to diversify BuzzFeed’s sources of revenue to create a sustainable future for his brand. In 2018 alone, according to him, the company generated a whopping $100+ million in revenue “from business lines that didn’t even exist in 2017.”
With great power, of course, comes the need for commensurately great real estate circumstances. Peretti’s current home, a $2 million, 1920s Spanish Revival in Los Feliz, is nice but not quite suitable for a high-profile CEO, so he and longtime wife Andrea Harner have upped the ante by laying out nearly $5.2 million for some decidedly snazzy new digs only a half-mile away, as the crow flies.
The new Peretti estate is an unusual mish-mash of architectural styles — it’s perhaps best described as a Cape Cod with a bold contemporary twist but a very traditional four-dormer roofline — and was originally built in 1950 but given a drastic, down-to-the-studs overhaul in recent years. In early 2018, the property was sold for a hair under $5 million to Grammy-nominated rockstar Dave Keuning, the Killers’ songwriter/guitarist. It was Keuning who flipped the house to Peretti for a slim profit after less than two years of ownership.
Situated rather hard-up on the street, but mostly hidden behind a towering hedgerow, the house has five bedrooms in more than 5,000 square feet. Interior spaces are mostly light and bright, thanks to a soft neutral color palette, walls of glass and cool grey oak floorboards.
Flanking the foyer is a decidedly masculine study with ebony painted walls and a more cheerful, lighter living room. Beyond that lies an expansive dining room with a marble-surround fireplace and convenient wet bar, while the adjacent kitchen sports bold aquamarine-colored cabinetry and white marble countertops. All five of the home’s bedrooms are ensuite — there are two guest rooms on the main floor and two upstairs — and the upstairs master offers a private sitting area that opens to a private balcony, a walk-in closet with custom built-ins and resort-style bath with elegant cabinetry and soaking tub.
The backyard features landscaping akin to a tropical resort, with lush plantings interspersed in and around the exotic wood deck. An infinity pool has an inset spa and seemingly juts out over the below hillside, with majestic views of the Downtown L.A. skyline.
In an odd coincidence — or maybe it’s not — two of Peretti’s new Los Feliz neighbors are his sister, comedian Chelsea Peretti, and her former MadTV cast member-turned-Oscar-winning showbiz multi-hyphenate husband Jordan Peele.
Joe Reichling and Boni Bryant of Compass held the listing.