Raphael Stevens

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    A Daughter of Uzbekistan’s Longtime President Just Sold Her $36 Million Beverly Hills Mansion

    After more than a decade of ownership, former Uzbek diplomat Lola Karimova Tillyaeva has sold her Beverly Hills house for about $36 million, making it the 90210’s biggest transaction of the year—so far. The Wall Street Journal first reported the big deal, which was inked off-market earlier this week. The buyer’s name has not yet been revealed, and records do not yet reveal exactly how much they paid.

    Tillyaeva, 45, is the glamorous and jet-setting daughter of the late politician Islam Karimov, the autocratic president who ruled Uzbekistan for some 30 years, until his 2016 death. She bought the 90210 mega-mansion—it reportedly boasts some 48,000 square feet of living space, making it one of the largest homes in the city—in 2013 from controversial real estate developer Mohamed Hadid, paying just under $33 million.

    Known as Le Palais, the enormous house is uncommonly lavish by even Beverly Hills standards, with indoor and outdoor swimming pools and 48,000 square feet of living space.

    Google Earth

    Since the house was never officially listed for sale this time around, we don’t know what decor changes Tillyaeva made to the place in her nearly 11 years of ownership. But the 1.09-acre property, known as Le Palais, appears to have been immaculately maintained—at least judging by its exterior and the grounds, which boast some of the tallest hedges and most intricately beautiful landscaping in all of Beverly Hills.

    The property is also something of a local landmark, as it sits directly across the street from the Beverly Hills Hotel at the uber-busy, six-way intersection of Sunset Boulevard, North Crescent Drive and North Beverly Drive. A shiny chrome donut art piece—installed by Tillyaeva a few years ago—greets the thousands of cars that race past the house on any given day.

    A shiny donut sculpture on the property faces one of Sunset Boulevard’s busiest intersections.

    Google Earth

    Tax records indicate the giant mansion contains a total of 7 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms, plus three additional bathrooms that serve the outdoor areas. There’s also two more bedrooms and one additional bathroom sequestered in a staff apartment atop the outdoor garage.

    Off the gated motorcourt, Lalique-style glass front doors swing open into a soaring entrance hall that stretches 90 feet long and some 30 feet high. Elaborate wood paneling surrounds the door frames, while formal entertaining spaces include a very large but well-scaled formal living room with 14-foot ceilings and a fireplace hewn from Italian marble. There’s another marble fireplace in the formal dining room that can comfortably seat 20-plus guests at a burled olive wood table.

    Also on tap are a library with paneled walls and built-in bookcases, plus a ballroom-sized bar/lounge also equipped with 14-foot ceilings, a third marble fireplace and direct access to multiple outdoor terraces. The colossal kitchen/family room combination, which spans some 5,000 square feet on its own, has a coffered ceiling and is complete with a sumptuous lounge area.

    The sprawling lower level, accessed by stair or elevator, is a 15,000-square-foot treasure trove of resort-style recreational amenities. A grand ballroom that seats up to 200 is serviced by a commercial-grade catering kitchen and flanks a movie theater for 40 guests and a state-of-the-art-gym. Also downstairs is a Turkish-style hammam with elaborately tiled 30-foot long indoor swimming pool, steam and sauna facilities, and a private massage room. Rounding out the lower level are a laundry room, several storage room, and a secured underground garage for 10-12 cars.

    On the second floor, the main master suite includes a private sitting room/study with a curving wall of glass, an adjoining bedroom with a fireplace, two behemoth bathrooms—plus a powder room, and dual dressing rooms. One bathroom has a fireplace and the other has a hidden staircase that ascends to a 3,800-square-foot rooftop terrace with impressive sunset-facing views. It’s worth noting that Hadid, who began building the house in the late 2000s, reportedly ran afoul of the Beverly Hills city government by making the house some 10 feet taller than legally allowed.

    The home’s landscaping is some of the most intricate in Beverly Hills, with giant hedges, hundreds of poinsettias and dozens of mature magnolia trees.

    Google Earth

    The grounds aren’t particularly expansive—this is a massive home on a 1-acre property in the heart of Beverly Hills, after all—but there are expansive stone terraces, an al fresco dining area warmed by a fireplace, a full outdoor kitchen with a barbecue, and a row of curtained cabana lounges just like you might find at a Ritz-Carlton. Also on tap are the aforementioned rose gardens, multiple fountains and mature magnolia trees lining the long sides of a 60-foot swimming pool and a 20-person spa.

    No word yet regarding whether Tillyaeva plans to buy another L.A. residence. But the perfume entrepreneur and her businessman husband Timur Tillyaev also maintain homes in Paris and in Switzerland, where they own a $41 million estate sited on one of the most expensive streets in Geneva. More

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    Rick and Kathy Hilton’s Longtime Hamptons Retreat Can Be Yours for $15 Million

    If you’ve always wanted to live like a hotel heir and his socialite wife, this coastal New York estate could be just the ticket! As first reported by The Wall Street Journal, the picturesque 2.7-acre spread long owned by Rick and Kathy Hilton has just popped up for sale in the affluent Southhampton enclave, asking nearly $15 million.

    Records show the couple—he the grandson of Hilton Hotels founder Conrad Hilton, and also co-founder of the Hilton & Hyland real estate brokerage, and she the mother of Paris Hilton and a former cast member of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills—paid around $2.4 million back in 1999 for the property, which is showcased by a traditional two-story house boasting six bedrooms and eight baths in roughly 10,500 square feet of recently renovated living space. There’s also a finished basement with guest and staff accommodations resting beneath a porte-cochère and three-car garage.

    Built in the early ’90s, and tucked away in a gated community that once housed car-maker Henry Ford’s Fordune estate, the shingle-clad structure features a trio of wood-burning fireplaces, blonde hardwood floors, high ceilings and a library. Other highlights include a double-height entry foyer displaying a curving staircase, as well as formal living and dining rooms, and a gourmet kitchen outfitted with an eat-in island and high-end stainless appliances.

    Secluded upstairs is a posh master retreat, which has a walk-in closet, plus a luxe bath sporting dual vanities, a soaking tub and glass-encased shower; and outdoors, the landscaped grounds host a lagoon-style pool with a spa and waterfall, an al fresco dining pavilion and several terraces. The premises also come with plenty of room for tennis facilities upon approval, per the listing, as well as deeded access to nearby Fowlers Beach.

    According to WSJ, the Hiltons are selling because they have used the vacation home less and less since they moved to Los Angeles in the 2000s. It’s there that the pair recently sold a Bel Air trophy mansion to a Chinese billionaire for $25 million, but continue to own and reside in a 1920s stone manor house in the same neighborhood.

    The listing is held by The Corcoran Group’s Jared Seligman, who declined to comment on the sale.

    Click here for more photos of Rick and Kathy Hilton’s Hamptons house.

    Geir Magnusson More

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    A Snazzy Modern L.A. Farmhouse Sells to a 30-Year-Old Entrepreneur for $23 Million

    Over in the ritzy guard-gated community of Hidden Hills—a celeb-studded enclave inundated with the likes of Kris and Khloe Kardashian, Matt Stafford, Lori Loughlin, Jessica Simpson, French Montana and Tristan Thompson, just to name a few—an up-and-coming payments processing executive has just joined the residential fray, having doled out a cool $23.7 million for the keys to a newly built modern farmhouse-style mansion.

    Originally listed for a smidge under $25 million this past October, records show the sprawling San Fernando Valley spread went to Maverick Payments COO Benjamin Griefer, who was recognized as one of the Electronic Transactions Association’s 40 under 40 extraordinary payments executives by fellow members last year at only 29 years old. He and his wife Chantal snagged the place at a $1.2 million discount.

    Custom-built in 2023, the six-bedroom, eight-bath home features a little more than 13,100 square feet of two-level living space providing seamless indoor-outdoor environs throughout. Also on tap: a wealth of posh amenities, including a bookshelf-lined office space, soundproof movie theater, steam shower-equipped gym, an entertainment lounge with a seated bar and an attached garage that can accommodate up to four vehicles.

    Especially standing out on the main level is an open great room, which is highlighted by a spacious fireside living area sporting automated walls of glass spilling out to a covered terrace. An adjacent dining area connects to the gourmet kitchen, which is decked out with two islands and top-tier appliances. There also are formal living and dining rooms, the former holding a fireplace and latter boasting a temperature-controlled wine wall encased in glass.

    Upstairs, the sumptuous master retreat comes complete with a stone fireplace, separate sitting area that flows out to a private balcony and duo of “room-sized” custom closets, as well as a luxe bath brandishing a soaking tub, plus dual vanities and showers; and outdoors, the 1.4-acre grounds are laced with mature oak trees, and host an infinity-edge pool with an oversized Baja shelf and a spa nestled alongside an open-air cabana that’s ideal for al fresco dining with its very own barbecue station.

    The listing was held by Marc Shevin of Douglas Elliman; Nicole Tekiela and Dennis Chernov of The Agency repped the buyers. More

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    Legendary Queen Drummer Roger Taylor Lists His Longtime L.A. Estate for $6.2 Million

    Don’t stop him now! After owning a Los Angeles residence for more than four decades, Roger Taylor wants to break free from his Spanish-style villa. The 74-year-old Queen drummer and backup vocalist has put the alluring Hollywood Hills home he picked up for a mere $352,000 way back in the early 1980s up for sale, asking just shy of $6.2 million.

    Tucked away behind a gated driveway and high hedges, amid one-third acres of land, the white stucco and brick-accented structure is topped by a terra-cotta roof, and has a motorcourt flanked by an attached two-car garage out front. Once inside, four bedrooms and five baths are filtered across a little more than 4,300 square feet of two-level living space that’s been “remarkably restored and lovingly maintained,” per the listing held by Greg Holcomb and Tim Durkovic of Douglas Elliman.

    A hand-carved wood door leads into an impressive entry foyer displaying a curving mosaic-lined staircase, which flows to a formal living room boasting a vaulted ceiling, black marble fireplace, and two sets of French doors spilling out to a brick terrace holding an al fresco dining area and a fire-pit. From there, a “lodge-like” den comes complete with a particularly eye-catching stone fireplace and wine closet, while a dining room sporting built-in shelving adjoins an all-white kitchen outfitted with an eat-in island and high-end appliances.

    A stone fireplace in the den is flanked by a door to a clandestine wine closet.

    Christopher Amitrano

    Elsewhere in the house is an upstairs master retreat warmed by a fireplace, and hosting a private balcony, walk-in closet, and spa-inspired bath equipped with dual vanities, a freestanding soaking tub and large steam shower. There’s also a bedroom that’s currently being used as an office, as well as a guest suite with its own entrance, kitchenette and family room; and rounding it all out are the garden-laced grounds, which are spotlighted by a lagoon-style pool and pathway leading to a hillside spa.

    Born in the United Kingdom, where he maintains his primary residence, Taylor is probably best known for co-founding Queen with the late Freddie Mercury and Brian May in the early ’70s. He’s been voted the eighth-greatest drummer in classic rock music history in a 2005 listener poll conducted by Planet Rock, and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the band in 2001. Most recently, he and collaborating Queen frontman Adam Lambert launched the LGBTQ+ club Wild New Bar in West Hollywood. 

    Click here for more photos of Roger Taylor’s Los Angeles house.

    Christopher Amitrano More

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    ‘Vanderpump Rules’ Star Scheana Shay Just Snapped Up an All-New L.A. Home

    Despite the wide-eyed dreams of Hollywood fame that initially drew them to Tinseltown, it’s no secret that the drama-fueled stars of Vanderpump Rules—likely one of reality television’s guiltiest of guilty pleasures—love the prototypically suburban San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. Over the years, numerous cast members have bought widely publicized valley houses, all of them virtually identical in look and size.

    The latest cast member to join the valley fray is OG star Scheana Shay, who records reveal has pumped out $2.5 million for a nearly 4,000-square-foot home in the increasingly upscale Sherman Oaks neighborhood.

    Trimmed with a mix of wood and stone, the spacious but relatively unassuming house was built in 2016 and last sold that same year for $1.7 million. Dapperly dressed, the place is styled in the ubiquitous “modern farmhouse” architectural bent that mixes familiar and comfortable architectural design motifs with modern amenities. Like so many other structures built in this style over the last decade all across Los Angeles and beyond, the home’s airy, open living spaces are ideal for large-scale entertaining and a relaxed indoor-outdoor lifestyle.

    Built in 2016, the house sits on a relatively tight lot shaded by tall hedgerows.

    Google Earth

    The front door opens into a combination foyer, living room and dining room with wide-plank oak hardwood floors, a fireplace and traditional moldings. A central staircase ferries folks upstairs, where four of the home’s five bedrooms are located. Sure to star on a future season of Vanderpump Rules, an photogenic gourmet kitchen is arranged around a large island with a spacious butler’s pantry and commercial-grade stainless appliances. In the adjoining family room area, French doors open to patio with ample room for al fresco dining.

    Each of the four guest bedrooms sports an ensuite full bathroom, as does the master retreat, which additionally offers a fireplace, balcony and a sumptuous walk-in closet. While it’s not particularly big, the backyard is nicely hedged for privacy and manages to squeeze in a pool/spa combo and a couple patches of grassy lawn.

    Other home highlights include state-of-the art technology, including a full-house sound system, an alarm system and multiple surveillance cameras.

    Shay, 39, is a Southern California native. In addition to her now decade-long and doubtlessly lucrative role on Vanderpump Rules, the Azusa Pacific University grad also hosts a weekly podcast, Scheananigans, and owns an eyelashes brand. Now married to second husband Brock Davies, Shay continues to maintain a second home in Palm Springs. More

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    A Hot Dog Mogul Is Serving Up This Oceanfront Florida Penthouse for $32.5 Million

    Totally bummed you can’t swoop in and grab America’s most expensive home that just hit the market in Southwest Florida with an eye-popping $295 million price tag? Now’s your chance to snap up the next best Naples thing, and it’s currently up for sale. But you’ll still need almost $33 million to pick up the keys to the freshly remodeled penthouse, which would set a record for the priciest resale unit in the affluent area if the place goes for anywhere near that amount.

    Property deeds show the residence was last sold in fall 2022 for $11 million. Dick Portillo—the Chicago-born founder of the Portillo’s restaurant chain, best known for its Chicago-style hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches—subsequently embarked upon an extensive renovation of the 2002-built premises in collaboration with an investment team consisting of C&E Builders and Theory Design’s Ruta Menaghlazi. The listing is held by The Earls | Lappin Team of John R. Wood Christie’s International Real Estate.

    The spacious living room is flanked by a fireside lounge area.

    Naples Kenny Photography

    Resting on the 20th floor of The Seasons at Naples Cay—a gated beachfront high-rise building bordering Park Shore to the south and Pelican Bay to the north—the revamped abode offers five bedrooms and seven baths in almost 12,000 square feet of living space boasting herringbone oak floors, high ceilings and designer lighting throughout. Floor-to-ceiling walls of glass and 4,800-plus square feet of outdoor terraces also offer up panoramic vistas stretching from the Gulf of Mexico and Outer Clam Bay to the city lights of Naples.

    Highlights include an elevator-accessible foyer leading to an open-plan great room holding a fireside living room and dining area, along with a gourmet kitchen sporting champagne eucalyptus cabinetry, white Macaubas quartzite countertops, an expansive eat-in island, top-tier Miele appliances and an accompanying breakfast nook flanked by a family room. A secluded master wing features a water vapor fireplace, wraparound balcony with a spa, separate morning lounge, sauna-equipped fitness studio, and dual dressing rooms and baths.

    The ocean-view terraces come complete with an outdoor kitchen and spa surrounded by a “living” wall.

    Naples Kenny Photography

    Elsewhere are four additional en-suite bedrooms, including one with its own kitchen and living area, along with glitzy amenities ranging from a backlit onyx entertainment bar and glass-encased wine vault to a handsome study warmed by a fireplace; and topping it all off are plenty of community amenities—courtesy of a hefty $11,563 monthly HOA charge—which include a guard-gated entry, 24-hour doorman, swimming pool, fitness center and billiards room.

    A self-made billionaire and longtime real estate investor, Portillo also maintains an additional Naples condo and has renovated several properties in the Chicago area.

    Click here for more photos of Dick Portillo’s Florida penthouse.

    Naples Kenny Photography More

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    Historic Chateau On 173 Acres In France (PHOTOS)

    Listed with Belles demeures de France Chateaux LOCATION: France SQUARE FOOTAGE: 26,910 BEDROOMS & BATHROOMS: 20 bedrooms PRICE: $11,397,849 This historic Neo-renaissance style chateau is located in France and is situated on 173 acres of land. It was built between 1853 and 1873 and features over 26,000 square feet of living space with 20 bedrooms and grand […] More