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    Powerhouse Lobbyist Tony Podesta Just Sold His D.C. Home for $8.2 Million

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    Known for his brash attitude and flashy designer suits, super-lobbyist Tony Podesta’s Washington, D.C., mansion, which just sold for $8.2 million, exhibits the same sort of eye-catching brio. While the sale price is considerably below the not quite $10 million originally asked for, it’s still more than twice the $3.9 million the former super-lobbyist paid for the property just over 16 years ago.

    The 9,200-square-foot mansion was built in 1929 and was re-designed for Podesta by architect Olvia Demetriou of HapstakDemetriou+, who was tapped to inject the stately house with a contemporary flamboyance that could serve as a worthy container to entertain some of the world’s most powerful political figures—Nancy Pelosi, Henry Reid, and Queen Rania of Jorden have all been entertained here—and to showcase an extensive collection of contemporary artwork that includes pieces by Olafour Eliasson, Louise Bourgeois, and Petrina Hicks.

    The four-story home has a steel and glass helix staircase as well as a commercial-grade elevator.

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    Enveloped in greenery, the dour Georgian stone exterior hides committed, if unexpectedly minimalistic spaces that incorporate a steel helix staircase in the foyer, a commercial-grade elevator that services all floors (perfect for moving heavy sculpture), museum-quality lighting throughout, and a geothermal heating and cooling system. Given the dazzling value of the artwork that was showcased here, not to mention that the property is two doors down from Barak and Michelle Obama’s D.C. digs, the security system is unsurprisingly comprehensive.

    A vast reception room adorned with an elaborately carved 15th-century marble fireplace and a Palladian window is large enough to be converted to a dining room that will comfortably seat sixty. In the less formal, open-plan great room, the kitchen is clean-lined with sleek white lacquer cabinets. Gone, however, is the sinuous, 16-foot-long Ingo Maurer red ribbon chandelier that once hung over the island. A 20-foot-wide expanse of glass slides open to the limestone terraced backyard, where there’s a mysterious, black-shard water feature. The yard, conceived as a sculpture garden by landscape architect Richard Arentz, also includes a wood-fired pizza oven and a built-in gas grill.

    The great room has a 20-foot wall of glass that slides open to the terraced backyard.

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    The main bedroom is a suite of rooms with a wall of floor-to-ceiling glass that artfully frames a dense wall of trees and greenery. There’s also an open marble bathroom, a hidden morning/midnight bar, and a huge dressing room large enough to park a car or two in. French doors open the dressing room to a private deck set in the treetops overlooking the backyard.

    There are two more bedrooms, an exercise room, and a spacious TV lounge, along with ample storage on the third floor, while the basement level includes an in-law or staff suite, a fully equipped catering kitchen, and a humidity-controlled wine cellar. There’s also a two-car garage behind an electric driveway gate.

    The terraced backyard was designed by Richard Arentz as a sculpture garden.

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    Podesta has long been one of Washington’s most insidery insiders, with the ear of presidents and important members of Congress. Starting in 2012, he and the Podesta Group, which he founded with his brother John Podesta, came under federal investigation for compliance with the Foreign Agent Registration Act. The investigation was closed in 2019 without any charges being brought.

    Tax records indicate Podesta and his partner Trisja Malisoff aren’t leaving D.C., at least not entirely; last year they shelled out a total of about $3.1 million for a pair of loft-style condos (and several parking spots) in the bustling Logan Square neighborhood.

    Click here for more photos of Tony Podesta’s former home in D.C.

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      in Luxury

      Rex Tillerson Seeks $6.5 Million Deal for an Elegant Washington, D.C., Townhouse

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      When veteran oil and gas man Rex Tillerson went to Washington, D.C., to serve as the 69th U.S. secretary of state under former president Donald Trump, the cowboy boot-wearing Texan dropped $5.5 million on an 1920s-era townhouse in the prestigious Kalorama neighborhood.

      The former Exxon Mobile CEO’s tenure as secretary of state was tumultuous and short, barely more than a year, and in the years after his unceremonious dismissal in March of 2018 (he claims he found out he was fired by a tweet!), he and the former president traded insults in the media. But it’s only now, some six years later, that Tillerson and his wife Renda have put their stately four-floor D.C. home on the market. The $6.5 million price buys more than 5,700 square feet of traditional elegance with three (and potentially four) bedrooms and three bathrooms, plus three more powder rooms.

      The listing is held by Mark McFadden and Hunter McFadden at Compass.

      The 1920s residence stands four floors above the tree-lined street.

      Carlo Russo with HD Bros

      A few heads of state and untold numbers of West Wing movers and shakers no doubt passed under the front door’s carved stone pediment and made their way to the ground-floor library for a private tête a tête or perhaps took the whimsically muraled elevator to the parlor level, where a spacious fireside living room has three huge windows overlooking the street and the adjacent dining room is lit by a delicate Venetian glass chandelier. Elsewhere, the parlor floor includes an up-to-date kitchen with a pantry large enough to accommodate a desk and a family room.

      The Texas-sized primary suite sits on the third floor and includes several mirrored wardrobes, a couple of fitted walk-in closets, a separate dressing room, and a large, compartmentalized marble bathroom. A cozy study that features custom built-ins and paisley wall coverings completes the third floor, while two more bedrooms on the uppermost floor each have an ensuite bath.

      Back on the ground floor, along with an oversized laundry room and a dedicated office with built-in desk space, there’s an airy lounge that opens the courtyard-style back garden. A lower terrace alongside the detached two-car garage includes a built-in barbecue for summertime grilling and chilling.

      A cozy study wrapped in paisley wallpaper includes a floor-to-ceiling bank of custom built-ins.

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      Kalorama, aka the Beverly Hills of Washington, D.C., is cheek-to-jowl with foreign embassies and luxury homes owned by some of the most influential and powerful people in the country and the world, including Jeff Bezos, the Obamas, Fox News anchorman Chris Wallace, and one of Washington’s most beloved and famous hostesses, philanthropist Esther Coopersmith.

      The Tillersons have long made their primary home in Fort Worth, Texas, where records indicate they still own a 5,400-square-foot home bought in 2014 near the swanky River Crest Country Club. However, they substantially upsized in 2019 with the purchase of a 16,000-square-foot mansion that had been custom-built for Major League Baseball great Vernon Wells in the nearby suburban town of Westlake.

      Click here for more photos of Rex Tillerson’s home in Washington, D.C.

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