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A Tech Billionaire’s Epic ‘Sand Castle House’ in San Diego Is Up for Grabs at $108 Million
An epic oceanfront estate long owned by billionaire tech entrepreneur and political donor Darwin Deason has hit the market in San Diego. The asking price? A jaw-dropping $108 million, though that amount might seem a tad less outrageous when you consider the property’s lavish features—a private beach donning the same pristine white sand found at Georgia’s Augusta National Golf Club where the Masters Tournament is held and a yacht-style bar room, just for starters.
Should the place go for anywhere near that amount, it would set a record for the most expensive residential real estate transaction ever recorded in the area—eclipsing the $44 million sale of an oceanfront Del Mar home to private-equity billionaire Egon Durban earlier this year.
A courtyard fronts the two-story main residence, which is laden with opulent old-world European interiors.
Austin Ashline/Future Home Photos
“In the history of La Jolla, there has never been and will never be another property built on the waterfront like The Sand Castle due to the present oceanfront construction standards established by the state of California,” said listing agents Brett Dickinson and Ross Clark of Compass. “The opportunity to adjoin two parcels in this location is so rare, and this fact, coupled with the seller’s no-expense-spared vision to bring the French Riviera to La Jolla’s oceanfront, construction of the sea walls, on-property private beach, as well as the magnificent interiors and exteriors of the main home and guest residence, cannot be reproduced.”
The Texas-based founder of Affiliated Computer Services—which was acquired in 2009 by Xerox as part of a cash and stock deal valued at $6.4 billion—purchased two separate parcels of land on Spindrift Drive shortly after for about $26 million. He then spent millions more to renovate an existing house built in 2005 by real estate developer Doug Manchester, working in collaboration with architects Drex Patterson and Lisa Krideman to create a vacation retreat inspired by his travels to the French Riviera. He also added a substantial guesthouse.
An attractive wood-paneled bar room is located in the main house.
Austin Ashline/Future Home Photos
Resting amid the picturesque seaside community of La Jolla, the hedged and gated 0.8-acre compound features a combined total of 10 bedrooms and 17 bathrooms in almost 13,000 square feet replete with sweeping ocean and coastline views from three vantage points.
Seven bedrooms can be found in the primary dwelling, which offers a little more than 9,500 square feet of Timothy Corrigan-designed living space boasting furnishings crafted by global artisans and manufacturers, marble floors, rooms accented with solid gold, and an elevator. In addition to the yacht-inspired bar room, other highlights include a fireside living room with picture windows and access to a wraparound terrace, an elegant oval dining room, and an opulent primary suite that has a balcony, a study, and dual baths. There’s also a fitness center and spa.
An elevated private beach has the same sand found at Georgia’s Augusta National Golf Club.
Austin Ashline/Future Home Photos
An adjoining three-bedroom guest residence spans roughly 3,400 square feet and is showcased by a bar-equipped great room flaunting a pair of 18th-century mermaid statues and sliding glass doors opening out onto a poolside terrace. Also holding court on the premises is the aforementioned private beach that sits directly atop the ocean and sports about $40,000 worth of sand, along with two cabanas, a beachfront “boat bar,” several on-property caves, and gated access to La Jolla Shores Beach.
Per The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the listing, Deason is selling because he doesn’t spend as much time at the La Jolla vacation home as he does at some of his other residences. In addition to a primary home in Dallas, he owns recreation properties on Cedar Creek Lake near Dallas and in the Mexican city of Cabo San Lucas. He also makes frequent treks to the Mediterranean and Caribbean via his superyacht Apogee.
Click here for more photos of Darwin Deason’s La Jolla vacation home.
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Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne’s Eldest Daughter Lists Her Hilltop L.A. Home for $4.4 Million
For more than six years, Aimée Osbourne has lived in a Los Angeles residence she purchased for nearly $3.6 million from Oscar-nominated actress Rooney Mara. Now the musician and eldest daughter of Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne has decided to sell the midcentury home perched atop the prime Oaks neighborhood of Los Feliz. The asking price is a smidge under $4.4 million, with the listing held by Jonah Wilson and Rudy Serrato of Carolwood Estates.
Originally designed by modernist architect Phil Brown and completed in the early 1960s, the premises were occupied for almost three years before Mara’s tenure by Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgård. Restored and updated over the decades, the striking abode features three bedrooms and an equal number of baths in roughly 2,500 square feet of single-level living space boasting gleaming terrazzo floors throughout.
The light-filled great room holds a fireside living room, a dining area, and a mint-green kitchen.
Jeremy Spann
RELATED: Olivia Wilde’s Onetime Spanish Villa in L.A. Could Be Yours for $4.8 Million
Nestled at the end of a secluded cul-de-sac parcel spanning almost a quarter of an acre, the steel and glass structure greets with a lengthy foliage-lined driveway and a gated entrance. Once inside, the open-concept interiors are showcased by a wide foyer that flows to a living room displaying a double-sided, wood-burning fireplace and sliding glass doors spilling out onto a wraparound balcony offering up sweeping vistas of the entire L.A. Basin.
An adjacent dining area connects to the kitchen, which is outfitted with mint-green cabinetry, a stainless-topped island, a breakfast nook, and access to a covered alfresco dining spot with built-in banquette seating. Other highlights include a den/office, plus a primary suite flaunting a spa-inspired bath equipped with dual vanities, a dressing area, and a shower. Just outside the bath is a soaking tub resting amid a wood-clad deck built around towering trees, and elsewhere on the picturesque grounds is a lovely tiered backyard garden and a bonus view of the Hollywood sign. There’s also an attached three-car garage.
A tree-encased deck off the primary suite contains a private soaking tub.
Jeremy Spann
RELATED: Adam Goldberg’s Traditional 1950s Home in L.A. Could Be Yours for $3.5 Million
Though she’s probably lesser known than her younger siblings Kelly and Jack Osbourne—who appeared with their parents on the popular reality show The Osbournes from 2002 to 2005—41-year-old Aimée achieved mainstream acting success when she was cast in MTV’s 2003 adaptation of Wuthering Heights. She went on to provide voiceover work for the 2014 animated film Postman Pat: The Movie, and in 2010, she began recording and releasing music as lead singer of the synth-pop band ARO.
Click here for more photos of Aimée Osbourne’s Los Feliz home.
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Princess Diana’s Former Family Home in London Just Sold for $14.2 Million
In one of the fastest celebrity real-estate deals since Emma Stone’s Spanish-style Los Angeles bungalow nabbed a buyer in less than two weeks, the former London home of Princess Diana’s stepmother, Countess Raine Spencer, has sold in just three days.
The residence at 24 Farm Street in Mayfair, which Diana frequently visited after her divorce from King Charles, originally went up for sale in late June for £10.95 million (or $14.2 million). It’s believed to be the quickest residential transactions in the neighborhood to go down this year, according to Wetherell, one of the firms that brokered the deal.
The library was John Spencer’s favorite room in the house.
WETHERELL
“This is the first time that the Farm Street house has been on the market in 22 years, and it effectively sold in its first week on the market,” says Wetherell agent Robert Dawson in a statement. The Georgian-style mansion was built sometime in the early ‘80s and later purchased in 1990 by Diana’s father, John Spencer, as a gift for his second wife. After he died of a heart attack in 1992, the countess inherited the trophy property, plus a vacation home in the seaside town of Bognor Regis on the south coast of England.
The four-story estate sports a cream-colored stucco facade and features nearly 5,000 square feet of living space. Altogether, you’ll find five bedrooms, an elevator that accesses every floor, and a roof terrace at the tippy top. Most notably, the palatial pad bears similarities to Althorp, Princess Diana’s childhood home. For example, the dining room is decorated with the same red walls and glittering chandeliers as the royal residence.
The dining room where Countess Raine Spences used to entertain is modeled after Althorp House.
WETHERELL
The first floor of the home is decked out with a grand reception hall, a drawing room, and a stately library which is believed to have been her husband’s favorite room. There’s also a sleek-looking eat-in kitchen that opens onto a private outdoor patio. Upstairs, you’ll find two ensuite bedrooms, each with walk-in wardrobes. On the third floor, a self-contained guest suite offers up a bedroom, a dressing room, a bathroom, and access to the previously mentioned south-facing rooftop terrace.
The countess ended up selling the place in the early 2000s to art collectors Alan and Mary Hobart and moving back into the Grosvenor Square apartment where she lived with Earl Spencer. In addition to being a British socialite and local politician, Raine was well-known as the daughter of late romance novelist Dame Barbara Cartland. Interestingly, Cartland’s former Mayfair home was listed last year for $44 million. But that historic property has yet to find a buyer.
Click here to see more photos of Countess Raine Spencer’s London home.
WETHERELL
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Abby Montanez
Abigail Montanez is a staff writer at Robb Report. She has worked in both print and digital publishing for over half a decade, covering everything from real estate, entertainment, dining, travel to…
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Movin’ Out: Billy Joel’s Waterfront Long Island Estate Is Back on the Market for $50 Million
Almost a year-and-a-half after it first hit the market with a $49 million price tag and then topped off a lengthy multimillion-dollar renovation, Billy Joel’s longtime New York residence in the Long Island enclave of Centre Island has popped up for sale again, this time with a slightly boosted ask. The musical superstar is now seeking a smidge under $50 million for the 26-acre spread, which is listed by Nancy Cuite and Lisa Lavelle of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Laffey International Realty.
Nestled amid a peninsula tucked between Oyster Bay and Cold Spring Harbor, the waterfront property was acquired by the Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and pianist in 2002 and subsequently named MiddleSea, a nod to its locale in the middle of the sea and a play on the note of middle C, the first key typically learned by beginning piano players. Assembled over time on adjoining parcels, the compound features a 20,000-square-foot main home plus several additional structures—all with access to 2,000 feet of private shoreline boasting a dock and a boat ramp.
The 26-acre compound rests alongside 2,000 feet of shoreline.
Frank Urso
Completed in the early 1990s but evoking the opulence of the Gilded Age, the red-brick main residence has five en-suite bedrooms and a whopping 11 baths. It is adorned throughout with a mix of hardwood and marble floors, 30-foot ceilings, an elevator, and nautical-inspired decor. Among the highlights are a soaring entry foyer displaying a black-and-white checkerboard marble floor and a grand wrought iron-railed staircase, as well as fireside living and dining rooms, two kitchens, and a primary suite equipped with dual closets and baths. Elsewhere is a mahogany-clad library with a stone fireplace, a bay-view parlor, a ballroom, a spa, and a wine cellar.
Outdoors, the grounds are laced with rolling lawns, expansive gardens and meandering pathways. They host a waterfall, not one but two swimming pools, a gazebo, and a pergola-topped dining area. Secondary buildings include a five-bedroom gatehouse, a three-bedroom Malibu-style beach house and a three-bedroom guesthouse sporting a two-lane bowling alley and a four-car garage. There’s also a new maintenance building, while an on-site helipad makes for quick trips into Manhattan or out to the Hamptons.
Amenities filtered throughout the property include a two-lane bowling alley.
Frank Urso
Per The New York Times, a major reason the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is selling the mansion he first saw while dredging oysters as a teen is the property’s hefty $567,686 annual taxes. “It’s not cheap, let’s put it that way,” he said. “As successful, I’ve been financially, yeah, that’s, you know, that’s a lot.” In addition to his for-sale Centre Island home, records show the 75-year-old New York native also owns homes in Sag Harbor and Florida.
Click here for more photos of Billy Joel’s home.
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‘Avengers: Endgame’ Director Joe Russo’s Revamped L.A. Mansion Just Listed for $25 Million
Almost two-and-a-half years after he paid $21 million in a bidding war for an all-new home on the Westside of Los Angeles, veteran film director Joe Russo has decided to put his recently revamped spread nestled along the posh Pacific Palisades Riviera back on the market at a speck under $25 million. The listing is held by Ginger Glass and Alexandra Glass of Compass.
Originally offered in spring 2022 for $19.8 million, the home went to the 53-year-old Ohio native—half of the prolific Russo Brothers director, producer, and screenwriter duo most known for Avengers: Endgame, one of the highest-grossing films of all time—and his longtime wife Alicia for $1.2 million over the original asking price, selling just days after multiple offers were received.
The lower-level recreation room hosts a wet bar and a climate-controlled wine room.
Paul Barnaby
Completed in 2021 and fully customized during the Russo’s tenure in collaboration with the interior design firm Pierce & Ward, the fashionably appointed estate features a total of six bedrooms and 10 baths in a little more than 9,300 square feet of colorfully hued living space boasting high ceilings, herringbone-patterned wood floors, and designer lighting, plus an elevator to all three levels. Walls of glass windows and doors offer seamless indoor-outdoor environs paired with sweeping canyon views.
Tucked away behind walls and a gated driveway, amid a manicured parcel spanning over a third of an acre, the formerly all-white stucco, wood, and brick structure is fronted by a three-car garage and protected by a high-tech security system. A portico-topped glass door opens into a soaring entry foyer that flows to formal living and dining rooms. Other main-level highlights include a bookshelf-lined office, along with a fireside family room that connects to a gourmet kitchen outfitted with an eat-in island, top-tier appliances, a breakfast nook, and a walk-in pantry.
The landscaped lower yard has a Bocce court and a fireside seating area perfect for entertaining.
Paul Barnaby
In addition to a secondary family room set between a trio of en-suite bedrooms, the top floor also has a secluded primary suite that comes with a fireplace, French doors spilling out onto a private balcony, two walk-in closets, and a luxe bath flaunting dual vanities, a dressing area, a soaking tub, and an oversized shower. Elsewhere is a lower level showcased by a spacious recreation room hosting a wet bar, a climate-controlled wine room, a mirrored gym, a plush screening room, and guest quarters.
The glitzy amenities continue outdoors, where the tricked-out backyard holds an alfresco dining area bolstered by a barbecue station, as well as a trellis lounging spot warmed by a fireplace and an infinity-edge pool with a spa and a Baja shelf. There’s also a set of steps leading down to a sprawling grassy lawn that’s ideal for Bocce ball and other leisurely pursuits.
Click here for more photos of the Pacific Palisades home.
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A Dutch Media Mogul’s Chateau-Style Home in Beverly Hills Is Up for Grabs at $32 Million
Back in fall 2021, media and entertainment industry veteran Reinout Oerlemans sold his extravagant Bel Air mansion for a whopping $69 million to Abel Tesfaye, the Canadian superstar better known as the Weeknd, in one of California’s priciest home sales that year. The 3 Ball Media Group chairman and chief creative officer and his onetime professional road cyclist wife Danielle then paid Lynda Brasali, widow of Indonesian real estate mogul Aldo Brasali, $19.1 million in an off-market deal for another smaller yet still glitzy house in Beverly Hills.
Now, after picking up another L.A. residence once owned by the late filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock and a New York City pied-à-terre, the Dutch media celebrities have decided they no longer need their 90210 spread. So, they’ve decided to hoist the neoclassical French chateau-style home resting alongside the Los Angeles Country Club on the market, asking a cool $32 million.
A flamboyant living room flows across two rooms.
Marc Angeles
RELATED: Charlie Puth Is Selling His $11 Million Midcentury House in Beverly Hills to Josh Flagg
Built in the late 1980s but extensively remodeled during the Oerlemans’s tenure, the two-story abode features a total of six bedrooms and eight baths spread across roughly 9,100 square feet. Decked out with warm tones and graceful curves, the elegant interiors “seamlessly blend old-world glamour with modern elegance” per listing agents Branden and Rayni Williams of The Beverly Hills Estates.
Tucked securely away behind wrought-iron gates and towering hedges, amid a lushly landscaped parcel of land spanning over an acre, the ivy-clad home greets with a motor court. Once inside, a double-height foyer bathed in light steps down to an expansive fireside living room with a separate lounging spot, as well as a formal dining room and a handsome wood-paneled office equipped with a seated bar.
A formal dining room overlooks the grounds.
Marc Angeles
Other main-level highlights include a gourmet kitchen outfitted with two islands, top-tier appliances, and a breakfast room sporting a built-in hutch, plus a family room that opens out onto an alfresco dining space shaded by mature grapevines. All the bedrooms can be found upstairs, including a spacious primary suite that comes complete with a seating area sidled up next to a fireplace, two sets of French doors spilling out onto a private balcony, and dual walk-in closets and baths.
In addition to numerous balconies and verandas offering up Southern California’s quintessential indoor-outdoor lifestyle, the picturesque grounds also hold a lighted tennis court and a resort-like pool and spa flanked by a sundeck and a pool house. There’s also a deck peering across the golf course.
The home borders a fairway of the Los Angeles Country Club golf course.
Marc Angeles
RELATED: Floyd Mayweather Just Put His Knockout Beverly Hills Mansion on the Market for $48 Million
A former Dutch soap opera star, Oerlemans is probably best known as the founder of Eyeworks, which sold to Warner Bros. in 2014 as part of a deal valued at more than $273 million. He currently heads up 3BMG, a content and production enterprise that’s responsible for hit shows such as Bling Empire, My Unorthodox Life, Coming Out Colton, Come Dance with Me, and Bar Rescue. Together with his wife Danielle, the duo has been called “the Netherland’s most famous media couple.”
Click here for more photos of Reinout Oerlemans’s Beverly Hills home.
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