More stories

  • in

    You Can Rent Josh Duhamel’s L.A. Home for $15,000 a Month

    It was just over a month ago that actor Josh Duhamel and his wife, Audra Mari, welcomed their first child together, and now it appears the Transformers star is hoping to generate some additional income to support his growing family.  

    Duhamel, the star of the film Buddy Games and the host of its reality competition show spin-off, is looking for someone to rent his former home in Encino, California, for a cool $15,000 per month, according to Realtor.com. The actor shelled out just shy of $2.7 million for the ranch-style residence back in 2018, around the time he and his first wife, the pop star Fergie, split up. 

    The abode is positioned on a cul-de-sac and tucked behind a gate, kind of like a modern, monolithic fortress. Originally built in the 1960s, the residence is heavily inspired by the work of award-winning French architect Philippe Starck, notes the listing, which is held by Thomas Atamian of Compass.

    And what does fifteen grand get in one of L.A.’s most affluent San Fernando Valley neighborhoods? How about a light-filled great room with soaring high ceilings, hardwood floors, and wall-to-wall windows that offer up sweeping jetliner and mountain views. Nearby, the gourmet chef’s kitchen is decked out with a dramatic Caesarstone island, glossy white cabinetry, and top-of-the-line Thermador appliances. Altogether, the single-story spread comprises four bedrooms and four bathrooms in more than 3,280 square feet of living space.  

    The dwelling’s primary suite recently underwent a swanky renovation in 2023 at the hands of celebrity designer and former Bravo house flipper Jeff Lewis. In fact, fans might recognize the remodel from season two of Hollywood Houselift, Lewis’s reality series on Amazon Freevee. The bedroom, which has outdoor access, now features two spacious walk-in closets, and in the ensuite bath, you’ll find a stone-and-glass steam shower, a soaking tub, and a double vanity, which creates a serene, spa-like vibe. “The whole thing just turned out beautifully,” Duhamel said during the show. Outside, the grounds include a large swimming pool, a fire pit, and a wooden deck.  

    Back in September, Duhamel revealed to People that the couple had planned on relocating before the baby arrived. “We’re moving next month,” Duhamel told the magazine. “We’re moving out of the old bachelor pad into an actual home.” The couple’s new home, also in Encino and purchased last year for just over $5.9 million, has six bedrooms and seven baths in about 8,000 square feet.

    During a recent appearance on In Depth with Graham Bensinger, the 51-year-old actor and “doomsday prepper” shared additional details about his real estate portfolio, which includes a self-sustaining compound in Minnesota. The lakeside property, which spans 26 acres, includes two cabins and a sauna.

    Authors

    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, dining, travel and topics…

    Read More More

  • in

    Now’s Your Chance to Scoop Up a Kitty Litter Heiress’s California Estate for $88 Million

    Following her husband’s death in 1996, Betty Jo Stephens went on to make a name for herself in the Santa Barbara community that she had shared with her spouse of 61 years. As CEO of Excel Mineral—taking over for her businessman and scientist partner John Stephens, who was widely known for creating the Jonny Cat litter brand—she was a regular fixture in the local political and philanthropic circles, regularly hosting luminaries the likes of President Jimmy Carter and Texas Gov. Ann Richards at her hilltop home in the affluent Hope Ranch enclave. Now, almost six years after Betty passed away at age 86, her longtime dwelling has popped up on the market for the first time in over five decades, asking a substantial $88 million.

    Per The Wall Street Journal, the Stephenses originally purchased two contiguous parcels overlooking the ocean in 1957 and built a house on the site around four years later. They subsequently picked up a third lot right across the street In the 1970s, and then went on to assemble a family compound with access to a private beach.

    Currently owned by the couple’s daughter Joi Stephens—who was raised in the house and is affectionately referred to as a “kitty-litter heiress who lives in the crown jewel of Santa Barbara”—the property is being marketed by Sam Palmer and Blair Chang of The Agency as “a vast canvas for the creation of an unparalleled estate, allowing for a grand 20,000-square-foot main house and two 7,500-square-foot guesthouses.”

    Betty Jo Stephens visits with former President Jimmy Carter.

    Courtesy of Joi Stephens

    Tucked away behind a gated driveway, amid 11 acres of land offering up sweeping ocean, canyon and mountain views, the existing home on the site is fronted by a koi pond, spacious motorcourt and two-car garage, and features four bedrooms and five baths in 7,500 square feet of living space that was last updated in the early 2000s.

    In addition to a living room anchored by a two-way fireplace and French doors spilling out to a terrace, other highlights include a chandelier-topped dining room, an open-plan kitchen, office space and ocean-facing master suite resting beneath a vaulted wood-beam ceiling. Outdoors, the private and grassy grounds are spotlighted by amenities ranging from an observation deck, to a pool and spa nestled alongside an open-air cabana. The equestrian-zoned property also is an ideal spot for horses and a stable, per the listing.

    WSJ reported that although Stephens has received multiple offers to buy the estate, she and her auctioneer husband Frank Kominski have been splitting their time between Hope Ranch, Palm Beach, Fla., and Boston. The couple has now decided to move because Kaminski Auctions is expanding to South Florida and they have been spending most of their time on the East Coast.

    Click here for more photos of the Stephens house.

    Christopher Amitrano/CS8 Photo More

  • in

    The Groovy L.A. House That Wilt Built Finally Sells to a Crypto Celebrity

    After several years on and off the market, a custom-built Los Angeles spread once owned by the late Lakers basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain has finally traded hands for a bounce under $9.7 million. And though that’s far less than the nearly $19 million current owner Dmitri Novikov originally wanted, it’s still around $3 million more than the Russian-born investor paid TV writers George Meyer and Maria Semple for the place back in early 2008.

    Records indicate the discount-minded buyer who acquired the brutalist-style spread in an off-market deal is well-known crypto entrepreneur Erik Voorhees. The bitcoin pioneer founded BitInstant in 2011, and then went on to launch and serve as CEO of ShapeShift, a cryptocurrency exchange that allows its 1 million-plus users to swap between different cryptocurrencies without having to create an account. Per BitKan, his net worth as of August 2023 was estimated at $30 million.

    The gated property is perched atop a sprawling promontory laced with picturesque gardens. 

    Ryan Lahiff

    As for Voorhees’s new digs, they were built over five decades ago by Chamberlain—affectionately known to his fans as the “Big Dipper”—who purchased a $150,000 plot of land in the rugged mountains above Bel Air and then enlisted noted architect David Tenneson Rich to design an extravagant $1.5 million bachelor pad known as “Ursa Major.” The 1970s premises subsequently underwent an extensive remodel in 2008 at the hands of Novikov, which included sprucing up the kitchen, as well as modifying the lower level with a screening room and guest bedrooms.

    Resting amid a secluded cul-de-sac—on a gated, 2.5-acre hilltop parcel that served as a Nike anti-aircraft missile site during the Cold War—the redwood, glass and stone structure contains five bedrooms and eight bathrooms in almost 9,400 square feet of living space. In addition to the aforementioned screening room, other glitzy amenities include a billiard room, sauna-equipped gym, and walls of glass providing sweeping mountain, ocean and reservoir views.

    A five-story great room boasts a cathedral ceiling, walls of windows, tree-like columns and Bouquet Canyon flagstone.

    Ryan Lahiff

    Guests are greeted by a stone walkway that passes over a water feature before emptying out at the massive 2,000-pound front door. From there, a soaring great room holds court beneath a 40-foot-tall cathedral ceiling, and displays a sunken conversation pit warmed by a wood-burning fireplace sporting a stone chimney. There’s also a sleekly designed gourmet kitchen outfitted with high-end stainless appliances and an accompanying breakfast nook.

    A “floating” staircase heads upstairs, where the master retreat spans the entire second floor; and outdoors, the lushly landscaped grounds hold a large pool that “wraps the house creating an impression that it is floating in a lake,” per the listing. Rounding it all out: numerous spots ideal for al fresco lounging and entertaining, plus garages and a motorcourt that can accommodate more than 10 vehicles, and a detached, climate-controlled storage building. 

    There is plenty of outdoor space for entertaining amid the scenic vistas.

    Ryan Lahiff

    Chamberlain played for the L.A. Lakers for five seasons during the ’60s and ’70s, and was an essential part of their ’71-’72 team, which is considered one of the best in NBA history. He was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978, and was later named to the NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. Chamberlain died of heart failure at his Bel Air home in 1999 at age 63. As for Voorhees, he also owns a 1-acre plot of land in the Colorado town of Dillon that he paid $260,000 for way back in late 1985.

    The listing was held by Bobby Syed of Coldwell Banker Realty; Thomas Freedman of Sunset Lending and Realty repped the buyer.

    Click here for more photos of Wilt Chamberlain’s house.

    Ryan Lahiff More

  • in

    The ‘Saw’ Franchise Creator Is Cutting Out of His $4.7 Million Hollywood Hills Home

    James Wan is best known for directing the Saw and The Conjuring horror film mega-franchises, and more recently the non-spooky blockbuster hit Aquaman, but it appears the prolific Malaysian-born filmmaker is angling for a different role in his latest venture: real estate seller. Wan is currently seeking a buyer able to pony up $4.7 million for his revamped midcentury modern in the hills above West Hollywood, tucked away near the top of the Doheny Estates neighborhood and abutting the much better-known Bird Streets enclave.

    Records indicate Wan bought the house way back in 2007, paying $3.2 million; for much of the past 10 years, the property has been leased out. The relatively petite structure packs three bedrooms and four bathrooms into 2,951 square feet of living space. Constructed in 1960, the single-story house has since been thoroughly modernized and privatized, shielded from public view by gates and tall hedges. Covered in neutral tan stucco that’s been paired with brown accent trim and a gray shingled roof, the place boasts a long, wide driveway leading to a two-car garage for convenient off-street parking

    Built in 1960, the midcentury ranch-style house has been updated and now sports contemporary interiors and walls of glass.

    Google Earth

    Ash gray hardwood flooring, stark white walls, recessed lighting, and a distinct indoor/outdoor flow define the home’s interior theme. Like many open-plan houses, the living room, dining area, and kitchen all share a single, wall-free space. A sliding glass door provides stunning views of the surrounding hills and also has convenient access to the backyard’s patio lounge area. The dining area, separated from the living room and kitchen via a pair of funky pass-throughs, is demarcated by a radiant modern chandelier; the sleekly modern kitchen offers a breakfast bar, custom cabinetry and plenty of countertop space, plus up-to-date stainless appliances.

    Though not especially roomy, the master suite has enough space for a wee sitting area in the bedroom. Woven bamboo shades provide privacy from the front yard-facing windows, and there’s a walk-in closet and master bath with separate vanity area.

    Out back, there’s a swath of grassy lawn and an azure-colored swimming pool. Perhaps the most show-stopping element of Wan’s property is a patio dining area that adjoins a koi pond, making for a lovely place to host an intimate al fresco dinner party. There’s also a second, pergola-covered dining area conveniently sited just outside the kitchen.

    Wan’s current home is a nearly $20 million Bel Air estate formerly owned by both Meg Ryan and Diane Keaton.

    Google Earth

    Besides his no-longer-wanted house in the hills above WeHo, Wan also owns a much grander 1930s Mediterranean-style mansion in Bel Air he purchased from HauteLook founder Adam Bernhard for $18.5 million in 2016. That estate boasts an impressive pedigree: Bernhard originally acquired it from actress Meg Ryan, and the lavish property was once also owned by fellow actress and noted architecture aficionado Diane Keaton. More

  • in

    Nick Cannon Drops Millions on a Spacious Suburban L.A. Estate

    With his family growing at a blistering pace, it’s no surprise that Nick Cannon is likewise growing and expanding his real estate holdings. Records show the rapper, comedian, actor and all-around entertainment industry fixture has now forked over $3.1 million for a sizable Los Angeles home, a midcentury ranch-style structure recently given a contemporary refresh.

    Tucked away in the prototypically suburban L.A. enclave of Woodland Hills, deep within the San Fernando Valley, the all-white house sits behind gates on a corner lot in the desirable Walnut Acres neighborhood pocket. Secured behind gates and walls, the home is fronted by a pea gravel motorcourt with space for up to four cars. Around the side of the residence, discreetly hidden from the main entryway, there’s also a two-car garage and plenty of street parking.

    The modern farmhouse-meets-ranch-style house offers a two-car garage set around the corner from the main motorcourt and entryway.

    Google Earth

    Tax records and listing details note the house offers five bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms in about 4,400 square feet of living space. While that’s relatively spacious, it will no doubt still be a tight squeeze for Cannon and his family—the San Diego native famously has 11 young children with six different women.

    Described in the listing as a “contemporary entertainers’ estate,” the mostly single-story house offers a breezy, open floorplan that’s quintessentially SoCal in how it seamlessly blends the outdoor and indoor living spaces. Blonde and faux-distressed hardwood floors lend the place a modern farmhouse vibe and pair well with the long, gallery-like expanses of white walls.

    Highlights include a living room with a minimalist, mantle-free fireplace, a “music room,” a formal dining room and an open kitchen with high-end appliances and a notably large, 60-foot center island. Beyond the island, bi-folding glass doors spill out to a concrete patio that wraps around a rectangular swimming pool.

    There are three guest bedrooms that share two bathrooms, plus a bonus bedroom suite with its own private entrance. Supremely spacious, the master suite is kitted out with a fireplace, vaulted ceiling, spa-style bath, a large closet and a private office area. Views overlook the pancake-flat backyard, which offers grassy lawns for play, a full outdoor kitchen, native landscaping and a built-in banquette abutting a fire-pit.

    As far as we know, the just-acquired Woodland Hills property is Cannon’s only L.A.-area home. Property records indicate he also owns a suburban tract house in the city of Temecula, about two hours by car southeast of Los Angeles, which is known to be occupied by his grandparents. The former Wild ‘n Out host has also long owned a six-bedroom, multimillion-dollar mansion in the affluent New Jersey city of Saddle River.

    Cannon and Mariah Carey once owned this sprawling tennis court estate in the hills of Bel Air.

    Google Earth

    During his eight-year marriage to Mariah Carey, Cannon and the pop music crooner maintained a lavish home in the upper reaches of L.A.’s Bel Air neighborhood. That tennis court estate, which the erstwhile couple acquired in 2009 for $7 million, was sold amid their 2015 divorce for $9 million to its current owners—a local cardiologist and his dentist wife. More

  • in

    Roc Nation’s CEO Drops $15 Million for a ‘CSI’ Creator’s Malibu Home

    After roughly six months on the market amid declining asking prices that began at $18.5 million and ultimately and gradually fell to just under $17 million, CSI creator Anthony Zuiker has managed to sell his oceanfront home in Malibu, records indicate. The Broad Beach-adjacent estate went for about $15.3 million to Jay Brown, the brash Roc Nation co-founder and CEO who oversees the careers of some of music’s most notable talents, among them Jay-Z, Rihanna and Alicia Keys.

    Zuiker, 55, acquired the property about five years ago from NBA superstar Kevin Durant, paying about $12.2 million. But with extravagant homes in many other in many other cities—Las Vegas, Lake Arrowhead and Montecito, just to name a few—the Las Vegas native and his wife Michelle ultimately did not end up using their oceanfront vacation pad as much as they originally anticipated.

    Cleaved to a steep slope along a postcard-ready cove at the end of a private, gated cul-de-sac, the slightly more than 5,100-square-foot contemporary has four bedrooms, six bathrooms and four fireplaces over spread three floors serviced by an elevator. Spare, modern and relaxed with premium-quality finishes, light-filled interior spaces feature wide plank French oak floorboards, vast expanses of art-friendly white walls and vaulted ceilings. Floor-to-ceiling glass panels slide open to unite the house with three levels of decks with ocean, coastline and sunset views.

    Under a massive skylight, the main living room has a minimalist, raised hearth fireplace set into a hand-burnished plaster wall while the adjoining dining room is completely open to an all-white kitchen expensively fitted with designer-grade appliances and Calacatta marble counter tops that waterfall over one end of a center island. The residence’s wide variety of other living and entertaining spaces include a cozy den, a home theater, a library, a lofted massage and exercise studio and a media lounge complete with a full kitchen, showy, glass-fronted wine cellar and direct access to an outdoor dining terrace with a private staircase to the beach.

    In addition to their new Malibu getaway, Brown and his longtime wife Kawanna continue to maintain a spacious, Mediterranean-styled home in the upper reaches of L.A.’s Bel Air neighborhood. They also own a high-floor condo in one of the many high-rise buildings that dot L.A.’s always-bustling Wilshire Corridor area near Century City. More

  • in

    Model Miranda Kerr Is Selling Her Longtime Malibu Compound

    Ten years ago, fresh off her divorce from actor Orlando Bloom, a newly single Miranda Kerr paid $2.2 million for a 0.73-acre property in the far western reaches of Malibu, sequestered at the end of a little-known cul-de-sac above Pacific Coast Highway. Since then, much has changed. The former Victoria’s Secret model is now married to billionaire Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel, with whom she shares an international portfolio of lavish estates and several children.

    So while the Kerr-Spiegels have continued to use the Malibu home as a local getaway, it’s probably no surprise that the couple has now opted to unload the relatively petite spread, a hillside compound comprised of four separate buildings. The nearly $4.5 million asking price reflects the numerous custom upgrades Kerr has made to the place during her decade of ownership, plus the continued surge in Malibu property values. It’s worth noting that the property also has a rich Hollywood history—for decades, until his 2009 death in this house, the place was owned by acclaimed actor James Whitmore, perhaps best known to the current generations for his prime role in the 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption.

    The all-white main house features breezy, open-plan living space and windows that frame peek-a-boo views of the ocean.

    Marcelo Lagos

    In the single-story, nearly 2,200-square-foot main house, open plan and all-white living areas includes aliving room with wide-plank wood floors, a raised hearth stone and fireplace surrounded by built-in bookshelves, a vaulted and beamed ceiling, and a pentagonal wall of windows with a serene, through-the-trees ocean view. The adjoining and also ocean view dining area has glass sliders on two walls and is divided from the upgraded kitchen by a stool-height snack counter.

    Two family bedrooms share an unusually spacious hall bathroom with wood floors, dramatically vaulted and sky-lit ceiling and a huge tiled vanity. The master bedroom offers several Palladian-style windows with whitewater views, access to an ocean view deck and a renovated bathroom with an oversized and skylit shower space.

    There’s a brick terrace around the swimming pool and attached spa as well as a vast, partly covered and trellis-shaded deck that wraps around the dining room end of the house and makes a broad run the full length of the house. Tall trees and towering bamboo shoots that shade the deck both obscure and frame glimmering vistas over the ocean.

    Also on the lush property are a pond suitable for koi, large wooden decks and off-street parking for a dozen or more cars.

    Marcelo Lagos

    The three other structures on the property are comprised of a 684-square-foot pool house equipped with a gym and changing facilities, plus two hillside guesthouses—both of them weighing in at under 500 square feet but one slightly larger than the other. All told, the property offers six bedrooms, five full bathrooms and a single powder room. Brian Goldberg of Luxury Malibu Property holds the listing.

    For the moment, Kerr and Spiegel mainly reside in L.A.’s Brentwood neighborhood, in a $12 million mansion once owned by Harrison Ford. The couple also maintains a $30 million villa in Paris, France, a vineyard estate in Kerr’s native Australia and a $120 million mega-estate in Holmby Hills that’s finally nearing completion after years of construction. Spiegel, who was raised in L.A.’s posh Pacific Palisades neighborhood, also continues to own the very first house he ever bought — a charming $3 million “cottage” on a narrow street in Brentwood.

    Click here for more photos of Miranda Kerr’s Malibu house.

    Marcelo Lagos More

  • in

    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