Over the past couple weeks, Yolanda has been flooded with curious enquiries about a big ol’ house located in prime Beverly Hills, smugly set on one of the best streets in the western Flats neighborhood.
It seems folks are curious about who owns the Nile Niami-designed place and why it was recently listed with a pass-the-Advil-please $26,500,000 pricetag, especially given it last sold in 2017 for way less.
Well, if y’all woulda paid attention in class, you’d already have the answer to the “who”! Just kidding — well, not really. Yolanda discussed this place back in 2017. The house is owned by a billionaire Indonesian heiress named Judith Soeryadjaya.
Ms. Soeryadjaya is the youngest child of the late William Soeryadjaya, an Indonesian industrialist and ex-con. Upon his release from prison at age 35, the deeply religious Mr. Soeryadjaya founded Astra International from scratch and built it into what is currently Indonesia’s largest conglomerate.
Astra has clearly been very generous to the Soeryadjaya family, pouring billions into their bank accounts and providing Mr. Soeryadjaya’s daughter with this Beverly Hills mansion.
But we digress. The “French styled” (per the listing) Beverly Hills manor was originally built in 1986. Our Mr. Niami picked up the half-acre estate in 2014 for $11.9 million, gave it a slick contemporary overhaul and flipped it to Ms. Soeryadjaya for $15,600,000.
Why Ms. Soeryadjaya believes this place has appreciated by nearly $11 million in less than two years is a complete mystery to Yolanda, especially considering that the home ain’t been remodeled since her purchase. $26.5 million seems a mite crazy, in our endlessly humble opinions.
Then again, Flats real estate is still currently on fire — at least three $25+ million sales there in the past six months. Buyers are seemingly oblivious to the stagnation of the overall market. For now.
By the way, Yolanda happens to know that Ms. Soeryadjaya does not reside in the Beverly Hills mansion. Rather, the property was purchased for the use of her two children, who are in their late 30s and/or early 40s. Currently, the home is occupied by two women: an Angelica Nathania Tan and a Fanny Maeloa.
Our Ms. Tan (above) is Ms. Soeryadjaya’s daughter. Since graduating with a college degree from London Met, she has served as Vice Chairman at Credo Group, an investment holding company founded by her mother to manage the family assets.
As for Ms. Maeloa, she is Ms. Soeryadjaya’s daughter-in-law through her marriage to William Shane Tan, Ms. Soeryadjaya’s son. Our Ms. Maeloa has lived in LA for many years and graduated from USC. She now toils as Chief Marketing Officer at Credo Group.
For the record, we believe Ms. Maeloa is also a granddaughter of Eka Tjipta Widjaja, the multi-billionaire entrepreneur who for many years was ranked as Indonesia’s richest man. But let’s move on, way on into the real estate discussion.
Curious lookie-loos will be disappointed — the entire property is completely invisible from the streetfront, cloaked behind an enormous hedge and a towering driveway gate. There are cameras and a full security system, of course. So don’t bother knockin’ on the front gate to sell Girl Scout cookies (or whatever).
In the driveway are a couple pimped-out rides, just in case y’all forgot how rich the Soeryadjaya family is. There’s a $100,000+ Range Rover with custom wheels. And right next to it is a Kylie Jenner-approved Mercedes-Benz G550 4×4 Squared, a massive monster truck that has gotta be one of the most ridiculous vehicles available for sale — and it retails for $250,000+! The grey example y’all see above — partially obscured by a tacky car cover — is owned by Ms. Maeloa, so Yolanda has been told.
Peasants, be sure to move your Civics and Corollas safely to the side of the road, should you see Ms. Maeloa barreling down Sunset in that tank.
Guests to the 9,200-square-foot abode will be impressed by the two-story foyer, a sweeping staircase, and what appears to be a large Alec Monopoly sculpture on the French Limestone floor.
Elsewhere there’s a formal dining room with French door access to the yard and a living room with marble fireplace. The family room opens to a mammoth eat-in kitchen, which sports every high-end appliance known to mankind. Somewhere there’s a glass-enclosed wine room with tasting area.
The main floor has a single bedroom for a live-in maid or nanny. Upstairs there are five “family” bedroom suites, one of which is done up with double beds, lots of pink and Hello Kitty pillows (the en-suite bathroom also has a Hello Kitty floormat). Another bedrooms is accented with three small Jeff Koons balloon sculptures. At least we think that’s what they are.
The decadent master suite flaunts ebonized hardwood floors in the bedroom, which comes outfitted with a fireplace (and marble surround) plus a sitting area.
Also in the master are a dry sauna and his-and-hers bathrooms and walk-in closets. An expansive deck boasts views of the pancake-flat backyard, with its lush lawn and broad concrete terrace. For some reason, the pool/spa combo is tucked away on the property’s south side, beneath a towering hedge.
Behind the property is a narrow (and camera-watched) alleyway — which is where the trash barrels are kept and the hired help parks, we’d guess.
Naturally Yolanda has no idea where Ms. Tan and Ms. Maeloa plan to move. But should Ms. Soeryadjaya succeed in getting her sky-high asking price, they have other options. Our Ms. Maeloa previously resided in another 90210 residence — this one located in the illustrious (and infamous) Beverly Park guard-gated community, high in the mountains above Beverly Hills.
The nearly 30,000-square-foot mega-mansion was custom-built in 1999 for Hano Maeloa, who we believe to be Fanny Maeloa’s elder brother. Years ago, Yolanda heard that the home was modeled after the White House — though a slightly smaller version, of course. See the resemblance?
Anywho, the multi-acre property is located in the same guard-gated enclave where Denzel Washington, Sylvester Stallone, Magic Johnson, Samuel L. Jackson, Rod Stewart and Eddie Murphy all reside — the latter of whom happens to be right next door. Point is, Ms. Maeloa won’t be homeless, whatever happens to the Flats manse.
Life is good when you’re a member of two of your country’s wealthiest clans.
Listing agents: Mark & Juli Udem, Regent Brokerage
