Jeff Bezos has broken records with the purchase of the Warner Estate in Beverly Hills from media mogul David Geffen for $165 million.
The deal is a record for the Los Angeles property market, and the Estate now stands as the most expensive house in the city.
Bezos is the richest man in the world with an estimated fortune of about $131 billion, meaning the Estate set him back about an eighth of a percent of his net worth.
Previous owners of the Warner Estate
He bought the property from David Geffen, a man of quite considerable wealth himself; he’s estimated to have about $9 billion. Geffen stumped up $47.5 million for the property in 1990.
The Warner Estate was designed in the 1920s and 1930s for Hollywood studio mogul Jack Warner. Warner was also a man of extreme wealth, having co-founded Warner Bros. with his brothers Harry, Sam, and Albert in the 1920s.
Construction started in 1926 and finally finished in 1937; the property features terraces, guest houses, tennis courts, and a golf course.
The mansion was a favorite spot for parties attended by Hollywood A-listers in the 1930s and 1940s. And why not? It sounds like there was plenty of room.
It is described as a neoclassical mansion and was designed by architect Roland E. Coate. The interiors were done by William Haines and the grounds by Florence Yoch.
So, what’s in the Warner Estate?
According to the Architectural Digest, the property sits on a nine-acre lot and features a 13,600-square-foot mansion. There are three hothouses, two guesthouses, tennis court, swimming pool, nine-hole golf course, and it even has a motor court complete with a service garage and gas pumps.
Lucky Jeff won’t be wasting time and money with pesky trips to the gas station then, though who knows what he’ll do now for late-night potato chips.
In 2004 the Architectural Digest said the property contained Jack Warner’s private screening room, which featured several concealed devices, including a hidden projector operated by moving a buddha’s head. It’s unclear if Jeff will be keeping this cool Batman-like feature.
Bezos got a divorce last year, which seemed to free up more time for buying properties as he recently purchased three adjacent apartments in New York City worth around $80 million combined.
He also owns two other homes in Los Angeles, a ranch in Texas, an estate in Seattle, and a mansion in Washington, D.C.
It’s unclear which property he calls home.
Being the richest man in the world means Bezos is often linked with what some might consider as massive purchases; the end of last year saw rumors that he was about to buy the Detroit Lions.
The previous record-breaking property sale for Los Angeles was held by media executive Lachlan Murdoch, who coughed up approximately $150 million for Chartwell, a Bel-Air estate used as the Clampett residence in the television show The Beverly Hillbillies.