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Music Titan Irving Azoff Just Dropped $11 Million on the Beverly Hills Estate Next Door
Music mega-mogul Irving Azoff and his longtime wife Shelli are apparently feeling very crowded in their neck of the Beverly Hills woods. Two years ago, the pair plunked down an impressive $21.5 million on the house immediately next door to their longtime 90210 estate, which they’ve owned since 1985. The couple are in the process of demolishing that recently acquired house and combining the property with their main residence.
But a 3.2-acre slice of Beverly Hills just isn’t quite enough breathing room. Records show the Azoffs have now paid an additional $11.6 million to buy yet another house, this one a half-acre estate immediately adjacent to the other two properties they own.
Back in 2013, the Azoffs moved out of their longtime Beverly Hills home and subsequently demolished the existing structure. They’re recently completed the construction of an all-new, ultra-contemporary residence, a decade-long project reportedly plagued by delays and cost overruns. (Back in 2015, the Azoffs headed to arbitration to resolve a financial dispute with Malibu-based architect Scott Mitchell, whom they had hired to oversee their new home’s creation. A court judgment subsequently awarded them more than $2.1 million.)
As for the Azoffs’ new real estate acquisition, the half-acre estate includes a 7,200-square-foot mansion built circa 1926, per tax records. The red tile-roofed, Spanish Colonial-style structure was recently renovated and includes a mixture of hardwood floors and carpeting, numerous sets of French doors and an updated kitchen with a bulky center island and commercial-grade stainless appliances.
Although it seems likely that the Azoffs may opt to demolish the house, the current structure also would make a sumptuous guesthouse or lavish staff quarters, with five bedrooms and seven bathrooms on tap. The lushly landscaped property also offers an outdoor fireplace, large swaths of grassy lawn, a rectangular swimming pool and even a full-size tennis court.
The giant Azoff estate now spans nearly four acres and includes three large houses, at least one of which is slated for demolition.
Google Earth
With the addition of this new property to the Azoffs’ already grand estate, their as-yet-unfinished new compound has swollen to nearly 4-acres of land in one of the best pockets of Beverly Hills. Directly across the street is Ari Emanuel’s $28 million estate, and only one block away is the $165 million main residence of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez.
Azoff, who is frequently described as the most powerful man in the music industry, maintains an impressive stable of other homes, including a Malibu property and a 17,000-square-foot contemporary vacation mansion in La Quinta’s guard-gated Madison Club. More
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A Late Real Estate Titan’s 50-Acre Wyoming Ranch Sells to Prominent Virginia Family
When Thomas E. “Teddy” Gottwald heard that a sprawling Wyoming guest ranch long owned by the late real estate mogul Gerald (Jerry) T. Halpin and his wife Helen had just hit the market for the first time in over five decades, it tugged at his heartstrings. After all, he and three generations of his close-knit family began vacationing at Lost Creek Ranch in the mid-1990s, and it has since become one of their favorite spots.
The president, CEO and chairman of Virginia-based NewMarket Corp.—a global developer and manufacturer of fuel and oil additives—went on to acquire the spread, which was originally listed for $39.95 million last summer. His plans? To honor the property’s legacy by using it as a family retreat for blocks of time each year, while also continuing to welcome visitors.
“We have enormous respect for the Halpins, their stewardship of the land and commitment to the Greater Jackson Hole area, and their creation of the premier western guest ranch that is Lost Creek,” states a letter introducing the family on the ranch website. “We plan to build on this and look forward to continuing this nearly 100-year-old tradition at Lost Creek, introducing others to the West, and giving more guests the same experience that helped shape who we are.”
Lost Creek Ranch is bordered by the Grand Teton National Park and Bridger-Teton National Forest.
Latham Jenkins/Live Water Properties
Gottwald’s purchase gains him a 50-acre expanse of land resting amid the foothills of the Gros Ventre Mountains, about 30 minutes from downtown Jackson, that contains more than 25 structures paired with a large roster of recreational pursuits—all if it surrounded by protected federal land offering sweeping views of the Teton Range in Grand Teton National Park to the west and Bridger-Teton National Forest to the east.
Originally purchased from San Francisco financier Albert Schwabacher by the Halpins and their partners Karl and Tina Weber back in the late 1960s, the Halpins became sole owners of the tract in the late ’80s. Through the years, the couple donated 50 of the site’s original 120 acres to the aforementioned park and placed another 20 acres under a conservation easement that prevents development, with the remaining 50 acres holding a main lodge and multiple rustic log cabins.
Other highlights include a spa with fitness facilities, as well as a swimming pool, boat and well houses, a barn, large corral and access to outdoor activities ranging from horseback riding to scenic rafting trips down the Snake River.
Recreational activities at the 50-acre ranch include horseback riding and scenic rafting trips down the Snake River.
Latham Jenkins/Live Water Properties
Best known as the first real estate developer to build in Virginia’s Tysons Corner community, just outside of Washington, D.C., Jerry Halpin died in August 2017 at age 94. Helen, his wife of 67 years, passed away almost a year later in 2018. They are both buried on the ranch. As for Gottwald—whose family ranks as one of the richest in the nation, with a $3.1 billion net worth—he and his wife Ann Parker Gottwald maintain a boutique inn called The Georges in the Virginia city of Lexington. They’ve also owned a ranch in Montana for almost 20 years.
The listing was held by Latham Jenkins of Live Water Properties; Carlos Ordoñez of Hall and Hall repped the buyer
Click here for more photos of Teddy Gottwald’s Wyoming ranch.
Latham Jenkins/Live Water Properties More
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A Private Equity Billionaire Paid a Record-Breaking $44 Million for This San Diego Home
Back in October, an oceanfront Del Mar house sold for a whopping $44.1 million, sending shockwaves through the quietly posh Southern California beach town and setting a new record for the most expensive San Diego County home ever sold. The out-of-left-field, off-market transaction came even as the San Diego real estate market has effectively stalled over the past year, with the deal pipeline choked by high interest rates, recession fears and low inventory. And the transfer also eclipsed Bill Gates’ recent $43 million purchase of an arguably more impressive house on the same strip of sand.
Property records indicate the $44 million house was purchased by a mysterious Delaware-based LLC, a common business tool used by the wealthy to cover their real estate tracks. But it’s certainly worth noting that the mysterious entity is managed by a longtime associate of Egon Durban—the high-flying, billionaire Silicon Valley dealmaker who has a known affinity for both record-breaking transactions and high-end real estate. Durban, the co-CEO of private equity giant Silver Lake, sports a personal net worth that tops $1.5 billion, according to Forbes.
Built circa 1940s, the ranch-style compound includes three separate buildings and parking for 20+ cars.
Google Earth
Since the house was never on the market, photos are virtually nonexistent and details are few. But certainly the vast majority of its value lies in its oceanfront location—the property spans just over an acre of flat land, right on the sand—rather than the structures themselves. The main residence is unremarkable, large and well-maintained but visually dated. The property was built decades ago by prominent Hollywood real estate developer C.E. Toberman, founder of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and the Hollywood Bowl, and remained in the extended Toberman family until Durban’s purchase.
In addition to the U-shaped main house, which is single-story and painted a deep navy blue, there are two ancillary buildings on the property. Each of those includes a two-car garage and additional living space, likely for guests or live-in staff. The oceanfront compound also boasts a full-size tennis court—a very rare thing on the shores of Del Mar—and a gated, blacktopped driveway with off-street parking for dozens of cars. There’s also an outdoor swimming pool, plus a sizable backyard with a grassy lawn and a wooden deck with stairs descending to the sandy beach. Altogether, the estate sports eight bedrooms and 7.5 bathrooms.
The estate spans more than one flat acre and is one of only a handful of oceanfront Del Mar homes that includes a tennis court.
Google Earth
Durban has yet to confirm his ownership of the Del Mar compound, but he’s certainly no stranger to ultra-high-end real estate. Back in 2019, records reveal he and longtime wife Abby dropped $24 million to buy a brand-new mansion in prime Atherton, the small Silicon Valley town famously home to scores of the nation’s wealthiest tech executives. The couple also own a vacation home in California’s scenic Pebble Beach neighborhood worth approximately $10 million.
The Durbans have also long maintained a seriously impressive blufftop mansion at the exclusive Kukio Golf and Beach Club on Hawaii’s Big Island, where one of their nearest neighbors is fellow billionaire Michael Dell—a longtime Durban business associate and the brash dealmaker’s ownership partner in the professional bull riding team Austin Gamblers. And astute soccer fans will know that Durban was also behind the $500 million purchase of a minority share in Manchester City, a landmark transfer inked in 2019. More
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The Owners of Skechers Just Created a $31 Million SoCal Beach Compound
The founding family of Skechers has officially added another piece to their ever-growing SoCal real estate portfolio. Records indicate an entity tied to the Manhattan Beach-based footwear brand has forked over $15.4 million in an off-market deal for the house immediately right next door to a Los Angeles-area parcel they already bought for $16 million back in spring 2019. Together, both properties span about three-quarters of an acre and cost a combined $31 million.
The Greenbergs’ latest Hermosa Beach addition is a traditional three-bedroom, four-bath home with almost 2,800 square feet of single-level living space perched atop an attached two-car garage. Built back in the late 1940s but updated in the years since, and resting on a cul-de-sac parcel spanning a third of an acre, the tan wood-sided structure was most recently offered for rent at $14,750 per month.
Though it was never officially on the market, a recent listing shows a glass-lined living room sporting a fireplace enhanced with a brick surround, as well as built-in shelving and doors spilling out to the backyard. Other highlights include a couple of dining areas, a kitchen outfitted with blue-and-white cabinetry and newer stainless appliances, and an adjacent den warmed by a Franklin stove and equipped with an integrated entertainment center.
Elsewhere is a spacious primary bedroom suite with a fireplace, sitting area, walk-in closet, newly remodeled bath and access to a private patio; and outdoors, the tiered grounds overlook picturesque ocean vistas, and host an expansive terrace ideal for al fresco lounging and entertaining.
Google Images
As for the family’s other beach house, they acquired that place from former ballroom dancer/vitamin company founder Esmeralda Gallemore and her husband Ron almost five years ago. Built in 2015, the property rests on a third-acre hillside parcel of land spotlighted by a pool, sport court, fire-pit, seven-car subterranean garage and coastal vistas stretching from Palos Verdes to Malibu. Inside, five bedrooms and seven baths are spread across almost 7,300 square feet of multi-level living space featuring a living room anchored by a massive limestone fireplace and walls of glass, screening room and gym.
Per Forbes, the Greenbergs are one of the nation’s richest families, with an estimated net worth of around $1.5 billion. More
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A Historic French Villa That Once Hosted Grace Kelly Just Listed for $8.6 Million
A French villa near Nice where Grace Kelly, the late Princess of Monaco, used to vacation is up grabs. However, this isn’t the first time that the palatial property has been on the market.
Dubbed Les Moulins du Villars, the Provence-Alpes Cote d’Azur residence was listed for a whopping $12.5 million back in August 2023. After failing to find a buyer, the estate is now back up for sale six months later at a discounted €7.95 million (or roughly $8.5 million) with Jack Harris of Knight Frank. The home itself, which was originally built way back in the 14th century as an olive oil and flour mill, has been completely transformed in the years since. The swanky spread was renovated in the ‘70s by Count Jean Fernand Joseph Gouin de Roumilly and entirely rebuilt over a decade ago in 2012. In 1980, Princess Grace was reported to have frequented the property with her daughter, Princess Caroline. The Hollywood starlet later died in a car accident in 1982.
A 14th-century olive oil mill in France that was converted into a lavish estate is back on the market.
Knight Frank
Located on the French Riveria in the village of Gilette, the digs measure 6,000 square feet and there are seven bedrooms split between the main dwelling and guest house. The roughly five-acre property also holds a slew of modern comforts too—though, you wouldn’t assume it based on its medieval surroundings. There’s an elevator, a tennis court that doubles as a helipad or soccer pitch, a wine cellar, and a fitness studio. At the same time, dotting the grounds are tons of citrus and olive trees, two vegetable gardens, a Koi pond, and a natural spring that, according to the listing, “is believed by locals to possess healing properties, historically making the mill a pilgrimage site and sanctuary for treating chronic ailments.”
The residence was a frequent hideaway for Grace Kelly, the late Princess of Monaco.
Knight Frank
Spanning four stories, the manse is made from local, indigenous stone and is decked out with original period furnishings and bespoke artwork. Another design detail is a glass-encased wrought iron wheel that was replaced in 2012. Inside, there’s essentially double of everything—two living rooms, two kitchens. However, there’s only one media room. Outside, the lot features several outbuildings, including a ruin that has been recently restored and a heated infinity pool that overlooks the picturesque Latti Valley.
Click here to see all the photos of Grace Kelly’s vacation villa.
Knight Frank
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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Scoot McNairy Drops Millions on a 1920s Gothic Chateau
Though he already owns a 25-acre ranch in his home state of Texas, John Marcus “Scoot” McNairy has now settled into another residence in the South Pasadena city of Los Angeles. Records reveal the ever-busy TV and film actor—probably best known for his roles in Argo, 12 Years a Slave, Gone Girl, True Detective, Godless and Narcos—acquired the whimsical French chateau-inspired home back in June 2023 from husband-and-wife real estate team George Sokolow and Matty Hurtado-Sokolow, paying just over $3.2 million.
Reportedly built way back in the mid-1920s for Dr. Elwood Webb at a cost of around $20,000—and previously occupied by L.A.-based fashion designer Cesar De La Parra, who sold the place to the Sokolows for $1.9 million in 2006—the updated home features five bedrooms and six baths filtered across nearly 5,800 square feet of multi-level living space adorned with white oak hardwood floors, coved ceilings, built-ins, ornate millwork and eight fireplaces.
Resting on a gated and ivy-covered parcel of land spanning almost a half-acre, the stately red brick and mansard-roof structure is fronted by a two-car garage topped by a slate-floored guesthouse with its own bedroom, bath, kitchen and pot belly gas stove. There’s also an artist’s studio equipped with a bath.
An arched entryway leads into a soaring atrium-like foyer topped by a glass ceiling and displaying a wrought iron-railed staircase and statued water fountain. From there, a fireside living room has picture windows and a private balcony overlooking sweeping views of the Colorado Street Bridge and San Gabriel Mountains. Other highlights include a study embellished with vintage built-ins, formal dining room boasting parquet floors and French doors spilling out to a Juliette balcony, and remodeled yet old-world kitchen outfitted with custom cabinetry, marble countertops, a center island, high-end appliances and access to a wood deck ideal for al fresco dining alongside a waterfall.
Upstairs is an office/sitting room, along with two en-suite bedrooms separated by a sky-lit mezzanine balcony; and all the way down on the lower level is an entertainment space that comes complete with a restored ballroom sporting eight sets of original French doors leading out to a large balcony, plus a family room, wet bar and cedar-lined wine cellar. Rounding it all out: lushly landscaped grounds hosting meandering pathways and an additional waterfall that empties into into a spa.
In addition to his newly acquired South Pasadena getaway, McNairy—who has appeared in ads for TX Whiskey and also works as a producer—has long maintained a primary residence in Brenham, Texas, about 100 miles east of Austin, which he picked up back in 2010 after he relocated from Los Angeles. More
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Seann William Scott Is Selling His Custom-Built L.A. Compound for $5 Million
Bye, bye, Mr. American Pie. Seann William Scott, best known for playing Steven Stifler in the 1999 coming-of-age film starring Jason Biggs, is parting ways with his California home.
The actor’s Venice compound recently hit the market for just shy of $5 million and includes a historic, 1.300-square-foot bungalow and a glass-and-steel house behind it. Altogether, the two abodes offer five bedrooms, six bathrooms, and 4,600 square feet of living space. According to Bloomberg, who first reported on the listing, Scott bought the 5,148-square-foot lot back in 2017 after relocating from New York. At the time, he paid $2.2 million for the spread but admitted he planned on flipping the property for a profit.
“I don’t think people who know my work would imagine I’m an architectural design nerd,” Scott told the media site. “But I am.” The lengthy renovation took about six years to complete. The Dude, Where’s My Car? star had the idea to combine the two buildings and collabed with his wife and interior designer, Olivia Scott, on the project. The remodel included taking the bungalow downs to the studs while the other glassy structure was already “bare bones,” Scott told Bloomberg.
Glass doors help with the indoor-outdoor feel of the home.
Peter Baker for Sotheby’s International Realty
The smaller of the two dwellings had some catching up to do in the aesthetics department. The overall vibe here is chic and minimalist with lots of natural, organic materials. The one-story bungalow has earthy tile floors throughout and the kitchen is clad in Caesarstone and warm wood. Elsewhere, you’ll find two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a dining room that leads to a covered deck. “We kept the footprint of the place, but it was basically a new building,” Scott told Bloomberg.
On the other hand, the glass-and-concrete loft has three bedrooms and four bathrooms spread across three levels. Designed by architect Kevin Mulcahy, highlights of the home are its accordion glass doors on the ground floor, a double-height entertainment area, and a second kitchen that’s kitted out with floating marble shelves, wood paneling, and original steel beams.
There are original steel beams in the kitchen.
Peter Baker for Sotheby’s International Realty
Scott, who will play a disgraced cop in the upcoming movie Bad Man, is proud of all the work that’s gone into revamping the property. However, he admittedly has his doubts about handing the home to its next owner. “This place is so cool, and I love Venice so much. Am I making a mistake selling it?”
Graham Larson of Sotheby’s International Realty – Pacific Palisades Brokerage and Sam Plouchart of Sotheby’s International Realty – Beverly Hills Brokerage hold the listing together.
Click here to see all the photos of Seann William Scott’s Venice home.
Peter Baker for Sotheby’s International Realty
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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