Y’all may have already heard that entertainment industry titan Ron Meyer has quietly made his longtime Malibu home available for a truly sanity-defying $125 million. It has been plastered all over the web for the past couple days. But for those who dwell under the proverbial rock — and those who can’t get enough of the story — well, Yolanda is here to serve.
Mr. Meyer, now in his 70s,is a co-founder of talent agency juggernaut CAA (Creative Artists Agency). And for a full 18 years — from 1995 to 2013 — he served as President and CEO of Universal Studios. According to our pal Wiki Pedia, Mr. Meyer is the longest-serving chief of a major motion picture company in the history of Hollywood. Finally, in September 2013, Mr. Meyer was promoted — or more like kicked upstairs — to become Vice Chairman of Universal Studio’s parent company, NBCUniversal.
Astute readers may recall that we dissected the $5.3 million “starter home” of Mr. Meyer’s youngest daughter Carson just a couple weeks ago. In that story, we briefly mentioned her daddy’s A-list style blufftop mansion, which is situated on a 3-acre parcel of land that hovers over Malibu’s incredibly scenic Paradise Cove, arguably the most gorgeous spot in Malibu.
At the time we wrote about Ms. Meyer’s new Malibu spot, Yolanda had no idea that her parents were anglin’ to split up, or that Mr. Meyer was interested in dumping the family home. But so it is. After 25 years of marriage, Mr. Meyer and his (second) wife Kelly Chapman are going their separate ways. And as often happens when folks get the big D — divorce, that is — be they rich or not-so-rich, the family home has popped up for sale.
Sad, that. The divorce part, we mean. But to Mr. Meyer and Ms. Chapman’s credit, they still seem on very amicable terms. In fact — so the stories go — the couple are still living together in this house. Still eating from the same kitchen, though likely not sleeping in the same bed. That would be awkward!
The Hollywood Reporter, which broke the news of the sale, revealed that Mr. Meyer hosted a large event at his home last weekend attended by the likes of Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston, Ari Emanuel, and Cindy Crawford. A spy at the gala snitched to the Reporter that Mr. Meyer was “giving private tours” of his house “throughout the night“. Ooh la la! Nothing like mixing pleasure with a wee bit of (potential) business.
So does Yolanda think this house is worth anywhere near $125 million? No, she most assuredly does not.
That said, we can understand the logic behind the pricing scheme. Malibu has seen some crazy big sales lately. And bizarre as it may seem to some of y’all, wildly overpricing a trophy property can occasionally be a great marketing tool. At the least, it is a guaranteed way to engender a boatload of free publicity. Said publicity draws eyes, and some of those eyes belong to rich folks. And all it takes is one pair of eyes — and one overstuffed billion-dollar bank account — to sell a house like this. That’s the hope, at least.
It doesn’t always work. In fact, the scheme is often unsuccessful. Billionaires don’t like to overpay for stuff any more than the plebes do. But on occasion, the hype sucks someone into the abyss. Back in 2011, when the economy was still limping along on life support, Jennifer Aniston hoisted her rehabbed Beverly Hills home on the market for a truly ridiculous $42 million. Everyone talked about it. After just a couple months, the house sold for $35 million amid multiple offers. And then there is the gigantic 90210 spec-mansion that went on the market amid a massive wave of publicity. Minecraft creator Markus Persson bought that for a record-breaking $70 million a few years ago. Today, we sorta doubt that place would go for more than $50 million if he attempted to resell it.
Anyway, we digress. This Malibu pad was built for Mr. Meyer by renowned architect Charles Gwathmey and his architectural firm Gwathmey Siegel & Associates. The ultra-contemporary structure was completed circa 1999.
The Meyer Residence weighs in with a portly 13,693-square-feet of monolithic interior space. Not quite mega-mansion status, but certainly big enough for an A-list-sized ego. The property features a formal gated entry with an epic long driveway, a tennis court, an enormous rectangular pool, and football field-sized lawns. One of the most coveted features of all, however, is that staircase — the one that zigs and zags all the way down the cliff. The ocean is right there in Mr. Meyer’s backyard!
And for loads more photos of the property, visit Gwathmey Siegel’s website.
The Meyer residence is sandwiched between two equally large estates: one owned by billionaire Public Storage heiress Tamara Gustavson, the other by Bosnian philanthropist Diana Jenkins. And just a couple more doors away — in fact y’all can see it in the above pic — is a vacant lot currently owned by Leo DiCaprio. He bought it less than two years ago, for a paltry $23 million.
Time will tell if Mr. Meyer’s aggressive pricing strategy pays off with a mega sale. But either way, it has already succeeded in getting his home an ample load of free publicity. And in the grand scheme of things — especially here in image-conscious Hollywood — ain’t that the most valuable thing of all?
Listing agents: Joyce Rey & Chris Cortazzo, Coldwell Banker
