BUYERS: Beyoncé and Jay Z
LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA
PRICE: rumored to be $93 million
SIZE: 30,000 square feet, 10 bedrooms, 20 bathrooms
YOUR MAMA’S NOTES: Buckle your real estate safety belts, butter beans, because this property gossip hears from Our Fairy Godmother in Bel Air that celebrity real estate rumor on the Platinum Triangle real estate street is that Jay Z and Beyoncé are fixin’ to plunk down a staggering $93 million for a brand-new, spec-built mega-mansion on 2.17 prime, celeb-pedigreed acres in the heart of Los Angeles’s ultra-fancy Holmby Hills ‘hood. Listen, kids, rumors about these two come down the pike about every 12 seconds so some amount of side-eyed skepticism is probably not such a bad thing here. Remember back in 2008 when they were rumored to be the buyers of a 15,000-square-foot mansion in Scarsdale? How about in 2013 they were said to be interested in Cher’s big ol’ Italian Renaissance pile in Malibu then being covertly shopped off-market at $41 million? Neither was true, as it turns out, but just in case the whispers about this mega-buy are, in fact, on the money…
| CLICK TO SEE PHOTOS OF THEIR RUMORED L.A. MANSION |
The newly completed compound, built on the site of Barbra Streisand’s former estate Mon Reve, weighs in with 30,000-square-feet of air-conditioned interior space and a total of 38,000-square-feet under roof. Publicly accessible listings don’t include many interior photos of the grandiosely proportioned contemporary villa but from the looks of things this place has more in common with a boutique five-star hotel as is does with what mere financial mortals think of as a homey family home. Listing details and reports from earlier this year when the property popped up for sale with an elephantine and, hence, publicity assuring $150 million price tag show there are 10 bedrooms and 20 full bathrooms in the main residence plus several separate structures for guests and/or staff. The master suite alone sprawls across 5,300-square-feet, according to marketing materials, and opens to a heated and covered private veranda. Unsurprisingly, the estate incorporates a sprawling entertainment complex with lounge, wine room, and professional-grade movie theater with what listing descriptions describe as “a separate valet entrance.” And, because no spec-built mansion of this magnitude would be complete without an extensive private spa, there’s an indoor waterfall that drops into a lap pool, beauty salon, mani-pedi station, massage room, and steam facilities. Listing details also indicate there’s off-street parking for 50 cars plus a 10-car subterranean garage and the decadently landscaped grounds offer a resort-scaled swimming pool, vast terraces, numerous fire features, both tennis and basketball courts, and a private “hiking” trail.
The property, then sold as vacant land, was acquired in early 2014 for $13.25 million by real estate developer and investor Gal Asher from tech tycoon and generous philanthropist David C. Bohnett and is surrounded by some of Los Angeles’s priciest and most illustrious estates. Across the street sits the epically opulent Fleur de Lys estate that socialite Suzanne Saperstein sold in 2014 in an $88.3 million all-cash deal to a mysterious corporate entity that most people we know say is controlled by financier Michael Milkin; the property to the south houses the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, a by appointment only museum that houses a stunning trove of modern and contemporary artworks; and next door to the north is the so-called “Carolwood Estate,” an approximately 35,000-square-foot extravaganza built on the site of Walt Disney’s former home that was acquired in early 2013 for $74 million — also in cash — via an iron clad blind trust that benefits, so swears all but unimpeachable real estate yenta Yolanda Yakketyyak, Zhang Jiale, the lavish-living 20-something-year-old semi-androgynous daughter of low-profile Chinese life insurance billionaire Zhang Jun.
Jay Z and Beyoncé, who have bounced around to several super-luxe and outrageously expensive Platinum Triangle rentals over the last couple of years, have been on a long and well-documented hunt for a world-class trophy residence in Los Angeles. So the stories go they were outbid on a sybaritic Trousdale Estates mansion bought in late 2014 by Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson for $70,000,000 and, although a source told the L.A. Times the couple had no serious interest in the property, it was more recently reported the couple were edged out for the former Albert “Cubby” Broccoli estate in Beverly Hills that hotelier Brad Korzen and maximalist designer Kelly Wearstler reportedly agreed to sell last month for $53 million to clearly exceedingly rich fashion designer Tom Ford and his magazine editor husband Richard Buckley.
For a couple with their immense resources — Forbes recently estimated their combined net worth at nearly $900 million — the uni-named music industry heavyweights have traditionally maintained a relatively small property portfolio. In New York City, the couple reside in an 8,309-square-foot penthouse acquired by Mister Z, née Sean Carter, in September 2004 for $6.85 million — it’s where they were married in April 2008 — and last year they were widely reported to have shelled out $2.6 million for a 13,292-square foot, down-on-her-heels Spanish Baroque style mansion in New Orleans’ Garden District that was built in the 1920s as a Presbyterian church but later deconsecrated and converted to an idiosyncratic private residence.
UPDATE (06-17-16): We received a friendly missive from listing agent Ginger Glass at Coldwell Banker Previews International who says, “Contrary to speculation about Jay-Z and Beyonce, 301 Carolwood Drive is not in escrow and is still available for purchase.” So, there you have it. According to someone who would be in the position to know, they’re not buying the house in question.
Listing photos: Coldwell Banker
