A week or two ago, the ladies and gents at the LA Times’ always fun Hot Property column posted a short but sweet wrap-up of 2015’s most-expensive LA County home sales. Naturally, Yolanda thoroughly enjoyed reading that column so much that she just couldn’t resist posting her own version of the list. Instead of just 10 homes, however, Yolanda’s got 21 up in this beotch.
You see Yolanda, bless her little real estate heart, has been tracking LA’s big sales for several years now. One thing that she noticed particularly about this year – as was also pointed out by the LA times – was the amount of secrecy involved in 2015’s deals. No fewer than 7 of the top 10 biggest sales in 2015 were conducted completely off-market. That means not only did those final sales occur outside the MLS, they were never listed publicly for sale at all.
Beyond that, however, the veil of secrecy extends even further. Of the record 21 sales that topped $25 million, only two of the buyers chose NOT to cloak their identities behind anonymous trusts and LLCs.
Thankfully for y’all, Yolanda has a knack for unmasking the real owners and has a wonderful network of silly little snitches who love tattling to her. So she knows who bought all of these 21 homes. Who knows why y’all wanna read that ish, but go ‘head and tear it up if you do.
1. Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu
PRICE: $60,000,000
SELLER: Marcy Carsey
BUYER: Jimmy Iovine via the PCH Trust
As was first reported by the legendary Your Mama over at Variety, music and headphones mogul extraordinaire Jimmy Iovine forked out an astonishing $60 million for TV producer Marcy Carsey’s multi-parcel spread above Malibu’s Paradise Cove.
For the record, this is the second-highest sale price ever recorded in the city (only behind Jim Jannard’s $74.5 million splurge for Howard Marks’ mega-villa a few years ago).
Yolanda would call this one of the more surprising and unexpected sales of the year. No, the price Iovine paid isn’t surprising – Mister Iovine is a very, very rich man and can certainly afford a $60 million dollar house and many others, too. No, what really surprised ol’ Yolanda is the property he selected for his splurge. While the location and views are undeniably gorgeous, Miz Carsey’s recently renovated bluff-top compound is not nearly as large or as glamorous as one might expect given the astronomical pricetag.
Indeed, were Yolanda to have speculated about the sale price prior to the records clearing, she would have guessed about $30 or maybe $40 million, tops. But since the transaction was completed completely off-market and Iovine and Carsey share the same business manager, Yolanda suspects that Mr. Iovine was particularly interested in this property for multiple reasons and won’t miss the $20-30 million premium he paid to get it.
2. Delfern Drive, Holmby Hills
PRICE: $59,335,550
SELLER: The Singleton Heirs via Singleton Real Estate LLC
BUYER: Adrien Labi via Holmby Hills Premier Estates LLC
Ah yes, the legendary Singleton estate in Holmby Hills. Missed out on the trophy this year by a very narrow margin. Unlike the previously-mentioned Iovine PCH compound, however, Yolanda feels this property may very well be worth every penny of the nearly-$60 million sale price. Where else can you find so many acres and such a cool house in the middle of one of the poshest neighborhoods in the world?
The buyer, as Your Mama again sussed out and was confirmed to Yolanda through several sources, is a guy from London named Adrien Labi. A brief trawl throughout the interwebs reveals little about where exactly Mr. Labi’s obviously enormous wealth derives from, but he appears to be a prolific property developer in Europe who now lives in LA part-time and prowls around town with the notorious Mohamed Hadid and his merry crew of ragtag gentlemen. Lawd have mercy.
What’s also not clear yet is what Mr. Labi’s plans are for the legendary property. A teardown? A comprehensive restoration and overhaul? Just a place to park some cash? We shall see.
3. Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu
PRICE: $50,500,000
SELLER: Lynda de Logi via Monticello Properties S.A.
BUYER: Cindy Crawford & Rande Gerber via the Triunfo Trust
This might be the most low-key home sale of 2015 that involves a major A-list celebrity. Yes, it’s true, Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber threw down an astonishing $50.5 million on the much-larger property immediately next door to their longtime compound – through the very same trust they used to buy and sell an Agoura Hills property recently.
The sale does not appear to have been all cash – there are recent mortgage documents attached to the property – but still, holy mackerel!
The house had previously been owned by the late biotech guru Walter de Logi. He, his wife Lynda, and daughter Chloe occupied the property together until his unexpected death in August 2014. This is another property that was never listed on the market before being sold, so unfortunately there are no voyeuristic interior pics to publish. However, aerial photos show that there are several structures on the property that I presume the Crawford/Gerbers will combine with their already-multi-structure property immediately next door.
In case anyone was wondering, yes, this is the third-biggest sale on record in Malibu and is only two doors away from the current record-holder, the afore-mentioned baller-tastic spread now owned by Jim Jannard. In between these two properties is another massive compound owned, somewhat ironically, by none of than Miz Malibu herself, Marcy Carsey.
4. Benedict Canyon, Beverly Hills
PRICE: $47,851,500
SELLER: Maurice Marciano
BUYER: Steve Wynn via Douglas Crescent LLC
Has Steve Wynn finally made up his mind? Please? Seems like the man has either bought or started to buy (and then backed out of) half the largest spreads in town. Last year, if y’all recall, Mister Wynn initiated the purchase of Armand Marciano’s mega-compound high above Benedict Canyon (more on that house soon). Unfortunately, he changed his mind and cancelled the escrow, next reportedly setting his (legally blind) sights on the ballyhooed “Liongate” estate in Bel Air (more on that house soon too). For whatever reason Yolanda can’t fathom, Mister Wynn again cancelled his escrow and instead plunked down a little over $16 million in late 2014 for a large but far less significant and secure mansion bordering the Bel Air Country Club.
Naturally, the cantankerous Mister Wynn never moved into his new home and instead hoisted it back onto the market last summer, where it continues to linger at the same price. But the wildly-rich Mister Wynn doesn’t let a little thing like an unsellable mcmansion in Bel Air impede his grand plans for a trophy LA residence, however, and as such he threw down more than $47 million for Maurice Marciano’s 20,000 square foot “international-style” mansion in a very good area of Benedict Canyon above Beverly Hills.
Unfortunately, as is the case with a substantial number of mega-sales this year, the transaction took place completely off-market so the mansion’s interiors will remain a secret… at least until ol’ Steve gets a hankering to move again.
5. Nimes Road, Bel Air
PRICE: $46,250,000
SELLER: Raoul Walther via Basilisk LLC
BUYER: Jim & Eleanor Randall
Shortly after Steve Wynn backed out of the Liongate purchase, along came a mysterious “American couple” who plunked down over $46 million in cash on the place. Naturally, given that the initial Wall Street Journal article about the sale did not identify the buyers further, rampant speculation began that Jay-Z and Beyonce had finally sealed the deal on an LA residence.
But nay, it was actually low-key but mega-rich couple Jim & Eleanor Randall who finalized the deal for more than $46 million – all of it in cash. Mister Randall made most of his vast fortune by manufacturing airplane rivets. The reportedly “very nice and quiet” twosome were previously nearly 30-year residents, with their family, of the extremely wealthy and extremely discreet community of Bradbury Estates. Incidentally, they sold off their former two-house ranch-style compound near the end of 2015 for $9.8 million to a Chinese investor.
6. Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu
PRICE: $44,000,000
SELLER: Jack Ryan via Ryan Family LLC
BUYER: Laurene Powell Jobs via Rosalita LLC
WTF? Laurene Powell Jobs dumped $44 million (in cash) on an unfinished Traditional pile in Malibu? Why yes, as was first reported (again) by Your Mama (and confirmed by several of my own sources), she most certainly did. What we heard is that Miz Powell Jobs was house-shopping only in Malibu and only in one very specific area – Paradise Cove. Well, if that’s what she wanted, she certainly got it. This property is super-prime and has one of the best views in that neighborhood. For Pete’s sake, the damn compound practically hangs over often-insanely-crowded the parking lot at Paradise Cove. For better or worse.
The seller of the property was uber-wealthy investment banker turned aspiring politician turned Malibu local and newspaper owner Jack Ryan. Perhaps his most impressive credentials: he’s also the ex-Mr. Geri Ryan. Although we can’t say for certain, it’s about 99% assured that he made an absolute killing on this property thanks to Miz Jobs. He bought it a few years ago for $11.5 million, tore down the existing house, secured permits and began building this rather ho-hum mansion. Even after taxes, he must’ve walked away with a huge grin on his face and a much fatter wallet. And he didn’t have far to walk – just up the beach to his other oceanfront Malibu compound. That’s how the real big real estate ballers do it.
7. Bellagio Road, Bel Air
PRICE: $38,000,000
SELLER: David P. Margulies
BUYER: Christopher H. Cole via California Hillside Pueblo LLC
Back in 2005, the formidable and philanthropic NFL franchise-owning Georgia Frontiere sold this Bellagio Road mansion for $8,375,000 to a guy named Greg Kozak who essentially rebuilt the place and flipped it in early 2008 for a whopping $27,500,000 to Christopher Nassetta, the CEO of Hilton Hotels. Alas, Mister Nassetta quickly abandoned Los Angeles when Hilton headquarters were relocated to Washington, DC. He quickly sold the house at a brain-frying $9.5 million loss to hedge fund honcho Steven Mayer, who flipped it just one year later for a small profit (sale price: $19,150,000) to a real estate investor named David Margulies. Incidentally, Mister Mayer now lives just down the road in another huge mansion that happens to be the very same house Michael Jackson formerly rented and where he very publicly died. Yikes.
Anyway, Mister Margulies lived in the house for a few years but eventually he grew tired of LA – or something – because he bought a Thousand Oaks estate and quietly dumped the big Bel Air spread for a stroke-inducing $38 million in cold, hard cash.
The buyer, Yolanda happens to know, was a very low-profile man from Arizona named Christopher H. Cole, a real estate magnate of the highest order. In 2013, you see, the publicly-traded real estate firm he founded, Cole Real Estate Investments, was merged into American Realty Capital Properties in a deal worth about $11.2 billion (with a “b”!).
Anywho, for whatever reason Mister Cole soon changed his mind and decided not to move into the property. He quickly flipped the house back on the market for $45 million, but the price soon plummeted all the way down to $34 million, an amount that means he’s facing a $4M+ loss even in the unlikely scenario that a full-price bidder comes forward. This poor house!
8. Roxbury Drive, Beverly Hills
PRICE: $36,000,000
SELLER: Tong Zhang via Day Moreno Valley LLC
BUYER: Lyndon Lea via Zacara LLC
Chinese power tools entrepreneur Tong Zhang unloaded his humongous-ass house in a very posh pocket of Beverly Hills to Lyndon Lea. The 14,000+ square foot behemoth has 8 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms. Apart from a few minor cosmetic differences, little seems to have changed since Mr. Zhang purchased the home a couple years ago for $29.6 million, yet that didn’t stop him from realizing a very nice profit.
Depending on one’s view, this may also be the most-expensive home ever sold in the Beverly Hills flats. Yolanda generally considers the flats to be the homes north of Santa Monica Blvd but south of Sunset. Though this mansion has a Roxbury address, it’s actually located on the far-northern portion, a whole block above the Beverly Hills Freeway (aka Sunset). Still, the neighborhood is undeniably “flat” so make of that what you will.
9. Hillcrest Road, Beverly Hills
PRICE: $35,300,000
SELLER: Henry Burroughs
BUYER: David Kabiller via Simba Hillcrest LLC
Trousdale Estates, that once-quiet and not-terribly-fashionable tract of Beverly Hills, has recently become ferociously trendy and desirable with the global one-percenters. That’s good news for the people who invested decades ago, but not great for anyone thinking about buying now who’s not a member of the billionaire elite.
Case in point: this $35.3 million mansion in what is probably the most-desirable cranny of Trousdale – that uppermost portion of Hillcrest Drive. The sale was off-market, but the house was, according to realtor Jeff Hyland, sold as a teardown.
The buyer, according to a couple ultra-trustworthy snitches, was a hedge-funder named David Kabiller. And get this – he already lives only a half-mile or so away as the crow flies. He bought his current home in the Bird Streets back in November 2012 for $18.9 million in another off-market deal from spec-mansion-building extraordinaire Nile Niami.
10. Bel Air Road, Bel Air
PRICE: $34,500,000
SELLER: Francesco Aquilini via the Robin Trust
BUYER: Daryl Katz
From one Canadian billionaire to another. Francisco Aquilini bought up (fellow Canadian) Art Linkletter’s Bel Air home a few years ago and razed it to build an uber-contemporary glassy mega-mansion with show-stopping views. He sold the property in yet another off-market deal to his fellow billionaire Daryl Katz, who apparently has a hankering to get into the movie business.
11. Kip Drive, Beverly Hills
PRICE: $32,670,000
SELLER: Armand Marciano via 9904 Properties Inc.
BUYER: Robbie Williams via King Henry One LLC
Which Brit singer coughed up more than $32 million for this pad? Was it Robbie Williams or was it Elton John? In fact, as confirmed by multiple sources, it was indeed Mister Williams and he has already moved out of his longtime Mulholland Estates home and into this much-larger mansion.
The unrepentantly garish palace is no stranger to celebrity – both Kimora Lee Simmons and Steve Wynn were reportedly in escrow (at different times) to purchase the place, but both potential sales imploded before they got far off the ground. Yolanda heard that fickle Mister Wynn simply got cold feet while Kimora really wanted the house but was unable to come up with the money. But don’t nobody here go around repeating that like it’s the damn gospel because it’s not. Just a lot of rumor and gossip, kids.
Mr. Williams scored himself a nearly 25,000 square foot behemoth of a house on three level acres with 10 bedrooms and a downright shocking 22 toilets. Holy mother above – incontinence alert or what?
12. Oriole Drive, Hollywood Hills
PRICE: $32,000,000
SELLER: Dr Dre & Nicole Threatt via the French Trust
BUYER: Alex Soltani via ARS Capital LLC
Dr. Dre has proven yet again that he’s really, really good at making money. After purchasing this property for $15.4 million in 2011, he’s unloaded it just four years later for $32 million. Yes, that’s a 100+% appreciation in just four years without making any significant changes to the home. Although reports at the time stated that the home was purchased by private equity guru Alex Soltani as a teardown, it would seem that Mr. Soltani may have changed his mind or at least put the project on hold, as he and his family have moved into the house.
Incidentally, the Soltani’s former home on Nightingale is currently in escrow – the buyer is suspected to be a celeb – and Dr Dre has, of course, moved on to the much grander Brentwood home of Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen, which he and his wife Nicole Threatt purchased for a neighborhood-record-breaking $40 million in 2014.
13. Oxford Way, Beverly Hills
PRICE: $31,000,000
SELLER: Gala Asher via Oxford Way Properties LLC
BUYER: Steven Cohen via Crown West LLC
Spectacularly successful, infamously bratty, and globally-recognized real estate baller Steven A. Cohen has finally slammed down the big bucks on his first West Coast residence (that Yolanda knows of). The big, brand-new, and arguably garish spread a quick skip from the Beverly Hills Hotel seems a perfect choice for the brash billionaire, no?
The house was built by a local real estate developer named Gala Asher and sits on a corner property where a mid-century mansion known as the longtime residence of Old Hollywood actor Glenn Ford once stood. The new structure, which weighs in at more than 12,000 square feet with 9 bedrooms and 12 baths, also includes two guesthouses, a eight car underground garage, and the expected screening room/movie theater.
Mister Cohen, perhaps the best exemplification of the lavish-living hedge funder stereotype, maintains an East Cost property portfolio that would easily make lesser billionaires weep. There are two massive apartments in NYC’s West Village – purchased for a combined $61.8 million, two spreads in the Hamptons – scooped up for a total of at least $65 million, and a massive apartment in Manhattan’s Midtown that he just can’t seem to sell and (allegedly) threw a hilarious hissy fit over. And lest we forget, his infamous 35,000 square foot shark-tank-equipped mega-mansion main residence in Greenwich, Connecticut.
14. Angelo Drive, Beverly Hills
PRICE: $30,000,000
SELLER: Rupert Murdoch
BUYER: James Murdoch via 1330 AD LLC
Agree or disagree with the highly-controversial media magnate’s stance on various issues, but Yolanda has gotta admit ol’ Rupert’s showed some damn good taste when he originally selected his curvaceous Wallace Neff residence, privately situated up a long driveway on a ridge high above Beverly Hills. The spectacular estate has entertained celebrities, politicians, and foreign dignitaries and it’s really no surprise that the house was reportedly coveted by A-list actor Leo DiCaprio, who supposedly made an offer on the place in 2014 but did not consummate the purchase for unknown reasons.
In the end, of course, the house was sold for $30 million to Murdoch’s youngest son, James. It’s not such a surprise that James might want a big house in LA, given that he was appointed CEO of 21st Century Fox in 2015 (replacing his dad) and has three children. It was also reported that James planned to give the house a “slight” renovation, which makes Yolanda a bit nervous for the future of the wonderfully dramatic property. Fingers crossed, y’all. Fingers crossed.
15. Faring Road, Holmby Hills
PRICE: $30,000,000
SELLER: Estate4 via 444 Faring Road LLC
BUYER: Naty Saidoff via Harpatkah Associates LLC
If this house looks familiar, it’s likely because you’ve seen it featured on every damn real estate blog and entertainment news website at some point or another. Yes, this is the house American royalty Jay-Z and Beyonce reportedly leased on two separate occasions. For the record, Yolanda has been skeptical of the reports detailing the couple’s Los Angeles real estate journey since they began a couple years ago. She’s quite sure, in fact, that Mister and Missus Carter never even made an offer on that Trousdale Estates gadget-infested spec-mansion that eventually sold to a Swedish video game mogul for a record-breaking $70 million. But all that is another (long) story for another day.
The property was acquired in 2011 by a Europe-based development firm called Estate4. Upon procuring the property, they immediately proceeded to level the stately yet tired existing mansion and replace it with their ultra-modern yet somewhat cliche megabucks-mansion. The house sort of embodies everything we’ve seen in LA’s recent spec-mega-mansion boom, no?
Though the $30 million pricetag may seem huge (and it is), that number represents a figure far, far less that what the developer originally wanted. In fact, the house was originally asking a obviously-far-too-optimistic $55 million way back in May 2014. After several big price-chops, at least one realtor team change, more than 1.5 years on the market, and much gnashing of teeth, the house finally sold in December for $30 million. Yolanda has heard that despite the still-huge amount, the developer may have barely broken even. Documents sent by spies indicate Estate4 may have taken out as much as $20 million in construction loans. Then there’s the $7 million cost of the land, property taxes, realtor fees, and so much more. Suddenly things don’t look so rosy for Estate4. No wonder why Yolanda has heard they are abandoning LA altogether.
The discount-minded buyer, we heard from a couple different snitches, is a Downtown LA property mogul named Naty Saidoff. Mister Saidoff is a virtual unknown in the property gossip columns but records do show he also owns a $7 million oceanfront place out on Malibu Road. No word yet on what his plans are for this property, but Yolanda will certainly keep y’all informed on all the latest whispers and wails.
16. Greenway Drive, Beverly Hills
PRICE: $28,000,000
SELLER: Nile Niami via Greenway Estate LLC
BUYER: Gyorgy Gattyan via Greenway Residence LLC
This is currently the record-holder for biggest sale ever in the flats of Beverly Hills. Or, if you consider the flats to extend north of Sunset, it’s the biggest sale ever in the flats of Beverly Hills south of Sunset. Hopefully Yolanda won’t get no angry mails from you Beverly Hills geography snobs about this one. Anyways…
This house is not a ground-up new build but rather and enlargement and refurbishment of an existing traditional mansion by mega-mansion specialist Nile Niami (yes, the guy who is currently constructing a 75,000 monster mansion in Bel Air).
The house sits on a generous 1-acre lot and is only one of a handful of Beverly Hills homes that directly border the rich-ass Los Angeles Country Club.
The buyer, Mr. Gyorgy Gattyan, is Hungary’s richest man and made most of his boatload of dough through porn. That’s right, porn. Online streaming porn, no less. He’s the founder and creator of “Livejasmin”, a site Yolanda ain’t never heard of but is evidently successful enough to afford Mr. Gattyan a $28 million house in Beverly Hills flats and another $24 million house up in that fancy-schmancy guard-gated community called Beverly Park.
We presume Mr. Gattyan will eventually sell his Beverly Park mansion (which he bought in 2013 from Bruce Makowsky, who had bought it from Martin Lawrence only a year earlier), but as of now we have no details about a sale and that house remains off the market.
17. Ridgedale Drive, Beverly Hills
PRICE: $27,000,000*
SELLER: Danny DeVito & Rhea Pearlman
BUYER: Stuart & Stephanie Liner via 1028 Ridgedale Investments LLC
There’s a * next to the pricetag on this one because Yolanda is not quite positive what the final sale price was for the longtime mansion of Hollywood royalty Danny DeVito and Rhea Pearlman. We’ve been quoted figures everywhere from $24 to $28 million, but based on tax records, it appears that $27M is a safe bet.
Though this was an off-market and very hush-hush deal, both the Real Estalker and the Wall Street Journal reported that the buyers were powerhouse attorney Stuart Liner and his home-building wife Stephanie Hershey Liner.
Miz Liner, in case y’all didn’t know, has constructed homes from from Malibu to Pacific Palisades to Beverly Hills. She has a current project in the flats of BH that Yolanda has heard will ask somewhere around $30 million once complete. Indeed, the Liners confirmed they have plans to flip the four-parcel former DeVito/Pearlman spread after a quick facelift.
The house was originally designed by legendary architect Wallace Neff in the 1930s and sits in an extremely hoity-toity pocket of Beverly Hills that borders the even hoity-toity-er Holmby Hills. Some of the other residents on Ridgedale include Indonesian politician/business tycoon Aburizal Bakrie and mega-mogul Simon Fuller (who has been trying to sell his house since the dawn of time). Directly next door to the Pearlman/DeVito spread is a house that Jen Aniston and Brad Pitt owned and renovated before they went splitsville ages ago before they split and sold the house for $22.5 million to hedge fund guru Jon Brooks, who still owns the joint. Whew.
18. Broad Beach Road, Malibu
PRICE: $26,000,000
SELLER: Steven Spielberg via BB Road LLC
BUYER: Steve Gozini via BH Broad Beach LLC
Another off-market deal (they seemed to be all the rage particularly in Malibu this year). Another sprawling residence. Another oceanfront lot. But unlike many oceanfront Malibu mansions, Spielberg’s longtime casa is an odd architectural blend of Craftsman elements and what appears to be a bit of Cape Cod shingle-style effects. The double-parcel spread is otherwise comprised of tall grasses and a courtyard pool.
Once again, Your Mama over at the Real Estalker first reported rumors of the sale, but the final price of $26 million is much lower than the $35 million that was anticipated. Still, this is the biggest Broad Beach sale that I can recall in recent years.
The new owner, real estate magnate Arsalan “Steve” Gozini, seems to have a fondness for large oceanfront Malibu mansions. In addition to his new $26 million spread on Broad Beach, he also owns another lavish spread further south and much closer to downtown Malibu (on Malibu Road) that he picked up for just over $17.6 million in 2012 in yet another off-market deal. That house has a rather interesting history of its own, one that involves an unsolved murder, but that’s really a story for another day.
19. Copa de Oro Road, Bel Air
PRICE: $25,000,000
SELLER: Brad & Cassandra Grey via the Passing Lane Trust
BUYER: Sam Nazarian via 385 Copa de Oro LLC
Just days before wedding his model girlfriend Emmina Cummulaj, controversial hotel/nightlife mogul Sam Nazarian plunked down $25 million big ones on a very uncharacteristically-traditional mansion in the super-prime Lower Bel Air neighborhood. Directly across the street from Rick & Kathy Hilton’s mini-estate spread and sugar-borrowing distance from much-larger estates of billionaires like Michael Eisner, Dan Loeb, and Beny Alagem (just to name a few), the comfortable spread nonetheless seems a perfect choice for a youngish couple looking to start a family. Oddly enough, Mister Nazarian immediately flipped the house on the market once sealing the deal, but it’s since been taken off and we assume he is planning to stay there for the time being.
The modern-ish traditional spread, all very formal yet sleek with its palette of greys and whites, was sold by Hollywood heavyweight Brad Grey (Chairman of Paramount) and his stylish second wife, Cassandra. The home includes five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a gym/pilates studio, a library, and a massive kitchen in about 10,600 square feet of living space.
20. Thrasher Avenue, Hollywood Hills
PRICE: $25,000,000
SELLER: Dean McKillen via Thrasher Estate LLC
BUYER: Calvin Klein
As just about everyone anticipated he would, iconic fashion designer and famous real estate baller Calvin Klein dumped $25 million on a brand-new ultra-modern house in the “Bird Streets” area of the Hollywood Hills. Conveniently for Calvin, his new showplace directly overlooks the Sunset Strip and WeHo, where he’ll likely be spending a good chunk of his time.
The house was built by an Irish fellow named Dean McKillen, son of Irish property tycoon Patrick “Paddy” McKillen. He’s been involved with several other home projects around the LA area, including the monstrous former Montalban Residence on Oriole Way, right around the corner from Klein’s new house, which McKillen sold to (allegedly) shady Malaysian businessman and film producer Jho Low back in 2012 for a mind-boggling $38,980,000. That place still holds the record for most-expensive house ever sold in the Hollywood Hills, and most every real estate person I’ve spoken with thinks it will continue to hold the record for quite some time.
Anyway, and as y’all should expect, Mister Klein’s new pad has every conceivable feature you would expect and several you wouldn’t. There’s a catwalk entryway over a reflecting pool, an eight-car garage, and smoked glass walls everywhere. There’s also five bedrooms hidden tucked away somewhere and a screening room as big as a master suite.
21. Laurel Lane, Beverly Hills
PRICE: $25,000,000
SELLER: Samuel Goldwyn Heirs
BUYER: Taylor Swift via Leo Realty Ventures LLC
Oh Taylor, you should know better than to tease us all by leaving coy Tweets insinuating that the press was making things up about you buying houses for $25 million in cash.
Yes, much as you might think it cute to deflect and/or deny, you really did shell out $25 million in ice-cold cash for the legendary but renovation-ready Goldwyn estate, hidden away on a tiny lane in a plum pocket of Beverly Hills. Miz Swift, we hear, has already commenced gussying up the premises and remains ensconced in either her Beverly Hills starter home (practically just around the corner) or in her guy-friend Calvin Harris’s four-structure Beverly Hills (Post Office) compound, farther up in the hills, which he picked up a year or two ago for $15 million.
So remember Tay-Tay, as your nemesis Katy Perry might opine, ain’t nothing wrong with being a boss. Own it, beotch.
