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      The Creator of ‘CSI’ Just Dropped $14 Million on a Hilltop Santa Barbara Estate

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      All signs indicate that Anthony Zuiker, the $200 million man who created and produced the television juggernaut known as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, was indeed the mystery buyer who recently dropped just over $14 million for a hilltop estate in Santa Barbara County. Zuiker scored a discount on the 5-acre property, which had originally been offered for $16.2 million when it hit the market last spring.

      Although the home has been said to be located in the perennially posh neighborhood of Montecito—and indeed, its address is frequently written as “Montecito, CA”—our research indicates it lies just a short walk outside that community’s borders. Instead, the property is technically sited in neighboring Summerland, a much lesser-known but still charming and unincorporated beach town about five miles south of Santa Barbara.

      Built in the late 1990s but completely renovated in 2022, the single-story compound sits atop a high knoll on a private street shared with 15 other homes, all of them luxe, multi-acre estates. Comprised of a sprawling main house, a detached guesthouse and a poolside cabana, the contemporary ranch-style spread features a total of four bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms in nearly 10,000 square feet of sun-drenched living space.

      Sited on a Summerland hilltop, the 5-acre estate has a long driveway with room for upwards of a dozen cars.

      The roughly 8,000-square-foot main house is clearly designed for entertaining. Vast, open public rooms are nearly monumental in scale, while big windows and pocketing glass doors drink in the ocean views. Described as “epicurean” in the listing, the slickly modern kitchen has a huge island and custom cabinetry. There’s a formal dining room, a breakfast nook and a spacious covered loggia for al fresco dining and entertaining, all of them with stunning views of the blue sea.

      The primary bedroom suite conveniently adjoins a bespoke study and offers a private terrace with ocean views, a spa-style bathroom and a decidedly bespoke closet with long rows of glass-fronted cabinets. There are also two smaller bedrooms in the main house, one of them facing the mountains and the other tucked away behind the three-car garage. The estate’s fourth bedroom lies in the detached guesthouse, which also sports a full bathroom, living room and kitchenette.

      Out back, the sparkling pool hosts an inset spa; the poolside cabana, meanwhile, is tricked out with a media room and a home gym. The tropically-landscaped grounds pay more than a passing tribute to Hawaii, with all manner of palms, hibiscus, creeping vines and long grasses.

      Zuiker, 54, has been much in the headlines for his real estate doings in recent years. In early 2023, he paid $6 million for a strikingly contemporary mansion just outside Las Vegas, shortly before selling a smaller but still multimillion-house he owned in the same area.

      The procedural forensics crime drama expert also still maintains a $6.2 million waterfront home on California‘s Lake Arrowhead and has owned several homes in Malibu, too. Some months before he sold a Bali-inspired estate in 2019 to NBA star Chandler Parsons, he paid another NBA star, Kevin Durant, $12.3 million for an oceanfront home near Broad Beach. That place was sold, earlier this year, for just over $15 million to Roc Nation co-founder Jay Brown. More

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      Actress Nancy Kulp’s Former Los Angeles Home Hits the Market for $2 Million

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      Fresh on the market and overlooking the San Fernando Valley is the former Los Angeles home of the late actress and comedian Nancy Kulp, best remembered for her role as Jane Hathaway in the CBS sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies. 

      Listed for just shy of $2 million, the Studio City residence was originally built back in 1946 and has been given an extensive overhaul in the years since. According to the listing, which is held by broker Yana Barenek of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties, the single-story abode features three bedrooms and two bathrooms in a modest 1,436 square feet of living space. It also comes with permits for a casita, or a flexible space that can be used as an office or even a yoga studio.

      The living room is adorned with wood-beamed vaulted ceiling and a whitewashed brick fireplace.

      Mark Salazar/Modern View Media

      Nestled on Laurelwood Drive, Kulp’s former pad is positioned behind gates on a roughly 13,895-square-foot lot at the end of a long, semi-private driveway. In fact, it’s right next door to the former home of Kurt Russell (The Thing, Escape From New York) and down the block from where Henry Winkler (Happy Days, Barry) once lived. The exterior of the property is dotted with mature trees for extra privacy. Plus, there’s a pathway flanked by waterfalls on both sides leading up to the entry.

      “The residence feels like a secluded, peaceful sanctuary in the heart of the city,” notes the listing. Inside, the revamped spread comprises vaulted beam ceilings, hardwood floors, whitewashed walls, tons of natural stone, and glass windows and doors galore to amplify the mountain views. The kitchen is decked out with designer fixtures, custom white cabinets, and top-of-the-line appliances. There’s also an adjacent family room with a large fireplace, a six-person dining room, and a lavish primary suite with access to an outdoor deck.  

      A sprawling deck has sweeping views of the mountains over the San Fernando Valley.

      Mark Salazar/Modern View Media

      The grounds have also been transformed and now include a huge, sun-splashed deck with a pergola for shade, a garden with automated irrigation, an EV charging port, and off-street parking for up to five cars.

      Kulp, who died in 1991 at the age of 69 after battling cancer, got her start on My Three Sons in 1962. In 1967, she nabbed an Emmy nomination for her role as Mr. Drysdale’s secretary, Miss Jane Hathaway, and appeared on The Beverly Hillbillies for nine seasons until the show was canceled in 1971.  

      Click here to see all the photos of Nancy Kulp’s former L.A. home. 

      Mark Salazar/Modern View Media

      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…

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      The Once High-Flying Founder of Bird Scooters Sold His L.A. Mansion at an $11 Million Loss

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      Travis VanderZanden has finally flown the very fancy coop—but he may also have flown a bit too close to the sun. Records show that after three years on and off the market, the controversial and once high-flying tech entrepreneur’s residential albatross in Bel Air has finally sold to a non-famous buyer for just $10.8 million—nearly $11 million less than the $21.7 million he paid comedian Trevor Noah for the contemporary house about 3.5 years ago.

      It’s probably not surprising that VanderZanden would be very motivated to unload his snazzy mansion. A former Lyft COO and Uber vice president, VanderZanden is the founder and former CEO of Bird, the once-popular and nationwide electric scooter-rental service that was valued at $2.5 billion during its 2019 heyday. By 2020, Bird had been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic; in December 2023, the company declared bankruptcy.

      But despite the huge amount of money it cost him, it remains unclear if VanderZanden ever actually lived in the Bel Air house. He bought the hilltop mansion in August 2020, paying $21.7 million. For much of the next six months, the place was undergoing renovations. But in April 2021, VanderZanden somewhat abruptly moved to Miami and his L.A. house was back up for grabs, listed at an optimistic $25 million. By early 2023, the property’s asking price had sunk to $18.9 million.

      Previously owned by Trevor Noah, the glassy house was vacant for much of VanderZanden’s 3.5 years of ownership.

      Sited atop a 1-acre promontory overlooking the Bel-Air Country Club golf greens, the spec-built house was completed in 2019 and first sold for $20.5 million to Noah that same year. Inside, the two levels of sun-drenched interiors span a total of about 10,000 square feet, with six bedrooms and 7.5 bathrooms. Highlights include a stone wet bar showcasing a 500-gallon saltwater aquarium, a cigar room, a den with a marble fireplace, a movie theater and separate quarters for a live-in housekeeper or other staff member.

      A stylish catering kitchen is outfitted with a pair of marble islands, plus high-end Miele appliances, custom cabinetry and climate-controlled wine storage for up to 250 bottles. Upstairs, a 2,200-square-foot master retreat flaunts a bar, sitting room, dual showroom closets and marble baths, and an 800-square-foot balcony with dazzling views of the ocean and city lights.

      The family room sports walls of pocketing Fleetwood glass doors that disappear, allowing for easy access to an al fresco dining patio. Beyond, the mostly flat backyard hosts a sprawling lawn and 62-foot infinity pool with a transparent edge that seemingly hovers over the city far below. Topping it all off are a state-of-the-art Control4 home automation system, and fully automated Lutron shades for playing it cool. More

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      Ellen DeGeneres Just Sold Her $32 Million Montecito Estate to a Billionaire Mining Magnate

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      Robert Friedland seems determined to single-handedly keep Santa Barbara‘s ultra-high-end real estate market afloat. Five months ago, the multibillionaire mining tycoon—he’s the chairman of Ivanhoe Mines, and was also a business mentor of the late Steve Jobs—paid about $47 million for an oceanfront estate on Carpinteria’s prestigious Padaro Lane.

      Now Friedland has done it again—records show the charismatic 73-year-old was the buyer who just paid a lofty $32 million for a spectacular Montecito compound sold by Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi. is located only about four miles northwest of Friedland’s new Carpenteria pad, but is not oceanfront.

      Today, the century-old estate is undoubtedly among the grandest compounds in Montecito, with 8-acres of manicured grounds.

      Jason Rick / Blake Bronstad

      While that $32 million sales price is still among the highest prices paid for a Santa Barbara-area home over the past year, it’s significantly less than the $46.5 million DeGeneres wanted. But it’s also nearly $10 million more than the former talk show host paid for the place less than one year ago, back in June 2023. As is her modus operandi, DeGeneres and her team of skilled contractors and designers gave the place a quick yet complete makeover, transforming it into a trendily minimalist and soothingly neutral retreat that embodies quiet luxury.

      Completed in 1919 and known as Pompeiian Court, the house and its 8-acres of manicured grounds are cloaked from public view behind an enormous iron gate and a quarter-mile-long driveway that culminates in a motorcourt surrounded by mature olive trees. Described as a “classic Roman courtyard residence” in the listing, the compound includes a rare single-story main house, plus four additional structures: two guesthouses, a poolside cabana and a petite building that currently functions as an art studio.

      Once overwrought, Pompeiian Court’s interiors are now chicly minimalist, albeit still sumptuous.

      Jason Rick / Blake Bronstad

      Other highlights include formal gardens, ancient oaks, towering eucalyptus trees and rows of Italian cypresses. Both the swimming pool and full-size tennis court are romantically hidden out of sight from the main house, and meandering pathways lace their way around the premises as they bypass fountains, secluded sitting areas and a chardonnay vineyard.

      In addition to his two new Santa Barbara-area mansions, Friedland also owns two side-by-side Beverly Hills estates, plus Zsa Zsa Gabor’s former Bel Air property, a luxury flat in Singapore and an oceanfront home in Thailand.

      As for DeGeneres and de Rossi, they’ve still got multiple other Santa Barbara-area properties, including a vast estate atop a Carpinteria blufftop and several smaller homes scattered around Montecito.

      Click here for more photos of Montecito’s Pompeiian Court. More

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      Judd Apatow Drops $32 Million on a Sleek Beverly Hills Mansion

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      After recently selling their posh and longtime Los Angeles home for $27 million to heavyweight lawyer Brian Panish, records reveal Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann have now bought a smaller home, albeit an even more expensive one in an arguably even posher part of town. The empty nesters doled out nearly $32 million for their new place, a single-story stunner in the western reaches of Beverly Hills.

      Unfortunately for the seller—apparel mogul Maurice Marciano, cofounder of the Guess clothing brand—that sale price is roughly $3.6 million less than he paid for the house barely a year ago, when he bought it for a lofty $35.5 million.

      The single-level home features automated steel and glass walls and doors throughout.

      Mark Singer

      Originally built in the 1950s as a humble midcentury ranch-style structure, the house underwent a dramatic rebuild and expansion a few years ago. Today, invisible from the street behind locked gates and towering hedges, the glossy and decidedly bespoke showpiece is described as the “embodiment of architecture as art,” and features five bedrooms and seven bathrooms in a mansion-sized 9,300 square feet of living space. Set on nearly an acre of land near historic Greystone Manor, the trophy estate also features a dark-bottom swimming pool, grassy lawns and manicured gardens.

      Property highlights include a “floating” entryway seemingly cantilevered over moat-like water features, hand-combed limestone throughout, imported white oak floors, exotic marble slabs and a media room almost totally swaddled in cashmere. A recurring theme throughout the house is the dichotomy of its floorplan, which can be either cozy or totally open depending on the homeowner’s whims, with numerous walls of steel and glass that disappear and reappear at the touch of a button.

      The skylit kitchen offers two marble-topped island with plenty of storage space.

      Mark Singer

      All five of the property’s bedrooms feature ensuite bathrooms and their own “private gardens,” per the listing, and the primary suite additionally offers a sitting area and boutique-style dressing room. The kitchen is primed for grand-scale entertaining, with its dual marble islands and commercial-grade stainless appliances, and also on tap are a library, a gym and a formal dining room with silk ceilings and walls, plus its own temperature-controlled glass wine closet.

      In addition to garaging for up to five cars, the residence is fronted by a sizable cobblestone motorcourt. Out back, the park-like grounds encircle an outdoor fireplace flanked by its own lounge area, and there are multiple spaces dedicated to al fresco dining or sunbathing.

      Surrounded by mature trees, the park-like estate offers ample space for al fresco entertaining.

      Mark Singer

      Apatow, a super-prolific Hollywood director/producer (Bridesmaids, Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin) and Mann continue to maintain a $9 million condo in New York City’s leafy West Village neighborhood. More

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      A Tech Entrepreneur Spent $13 Million on Late Architect Harry Gesner’s Unique Malibu Home

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      Famed Malibu architect Harry Gesner died in summer 2022, just weeks after his 97th birthday. To say Gesner led a colorful life would be putting it mildly; the word “epic” is probably be more apt. Born in Southern California to an engineer father and an artist mother, he was flying planes by age 14. At 19, he stormed the beach at Normandy; after the war, he first worked as a waterski instructor in Lake Arrowhead before turning down an invitation from Frank Lloyd Wright to study at Wright’s Taliesin architecture school in favor of being a tomb raider in Ecuador. Along the way, he famously dated numerous models and actresses, fraternized with Errol Flynn and Marlon Brando, collected fancy sports cars and surfed every day into his late eighties.

      Gesner designed many homes all over California, but his best-known works are found on the shores of his beloved and adopted hometown of Malibu. Among them are the iconic Wave House, designed for one of the architect’s surfing buddies with a copper-scale-topped roofline that resembles a series of cresting waves.

      Next door to Wave House is Gesner’s own longtime family abode, which he called Sandcastle. Completed in 1974, it is a testament to Gesner’s commitment to sustainable building practices. Among the salvaged materials used for its construction are old telephone poles, wall panels made from aqueduct pipes, birdseye maple from a high school gym, marble from public baths that were about to be demolished, old-growth redwood harvested in the 1800s, and windows and doors saved from one of Hollywood’s silent film theaters.

      First listed last year at $27.5 million, the oceanfront house has just sold for a heavily slashed $13.5 million. The discount-minded buyer is tech entrepreneur Jason Fried—co-founder and CEO of Basecamp, a multibillion-dollar project management firm, and a noted architecture enthusiast. Last year, Fried dropped $26 million on an especially glorious old estate in the California’s Carmel Highlands neighborhood.

      At the Sandcastle home’s entry is a library/lounge with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and ocean views. From here, one proceeds to the heart of the house, a commodious, window-wrapped living/dining room featuring massive spoke-like beams, wood-plank ceilings, and a vast brick fireplace at its hub. Modeled after the Hollywood Bowl, the fireplace and its large polished concrete hearth served as a stage for Gesner’s wife, actress Nan Martin.

      Echoing the cylindrical shape of the house itself, the kitchen wraps around a circular island and has tile countertops, stained glass lunettes fitted into the beams overhead, a fireplace, updated appliances, a breakfast bar, and a walk-in pantry. Adjacent to the dining area is a solarium with stained glass panels, beyond which lies the wraparound deck.

      The home’s main level also contains two en-suite bedrooms, one with built-ins making it suitable for use as an office. Upstairs is the primary suite tower, featuring lofty ceilings, a brick fireplace, eyebrow windows, a sitting area with ocean view, and a spiral staircase with handmade driftwood treads corkscrewing up to a studio/loft/meditation space.

      Additional structures on the .73-acre property include a “tree house” apartment with kitchenette, living room/dining area, bedroom, bath, and wraparound deck; a “boat house” with a full kitchen, ocean-view living/dining room with a built-in table and porthole windows; and another one-bedroom apartment “nest” with ocean view and stained glass above an indoor/outdoor cabana. There’s also a three-car garage with additional parking pad.

      Along with 122 feet of beachfront, exterior amenities include a covered deck, a brick patio, a lawn, an outdoor shower, surfboard and other storage areas, a staircase to the beach, and multiple vantage points from which to enjoy glorious sunset views. More

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

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      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…

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

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      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