Some weeks ago our pal Vlad the Revealer at Celebrity Address Aerial inquired as to the identity of the new owner of a big new spec-mansion in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Encino that recently sold to a boringly-named blind trust. Although it took us a hot minute, we’ve now been able to confirm the proud new owners are two people the ignorant Yolanda has never previously heard of before: music manager Wassim Salibi — better known as Tony Sal or just SAL — and his wife, Miss USA 2010 Rima Fakih.
Since our readers seem to love these Encino/Valley stories for some odd reason — seriously, they tend to drive a bizarrely heavy amount of traffic — we shall discuss this house (and the new owners) today.
Mr. Salibi (or Mr. Sal) is perhaps best-known for managing the career of popular recording artist The Weeknd, another someone the ignorant Yolanda has never previously heard of before. But per our research (thanks Wikipedia), this Mr. Weeknd’s fame has skyrocketed during the past couple years, and he’s made Mr. Sal a very rich man.
It was Mr. Sal, you see, who many credit with “discovering” The Weeknd — who won two of his seven Grammy nominations last year and was also nominated for an Academy Award. Our Mr. Sal also assisted Mr. Weeknd with setting up his own record label, XO, of which Mr. Salibi is currently CEO. And he’s also a partner at Guy Oseary’s Maverick Management.
Like Mr. Sal, Ms. Fakih is a native of Lebanon. Unlike Mr. Sal, however, who is a Christian, she was born to a Shia Muslim family. That’s important to note because she back in 2010, she was the first-ever Muslim to win the Miss USA crown at Donald Trump’s former pageant. Ms. Fakih later caused a bit of controversy — or at least a tad of tongue-wagging — when she converted to Christianity for her May 2016 wedding to Mr. Sal.
Anywho, Ms. Fakih also competed on the reality TV show WWE Tough Enough, where she apparently trained to become a professional wrestler. Good grief, lassie — Yolanda thinks that sounds exhausting.
But suffice to say that for her part, Ms. Fakih is quite famous. After all, she has well over 200,000 followers on her Instagram doohickey. Recent pictures show that Ms. Fakih is definitely pregnant. Mazel tov, Mr. Sal & Ms. Fakih!
Listing materials are unfortunately sparse, only revealing that the north-of-Ventura-Boulevard house was “sold before processing” for the full asking price of $4,200,000, a sure sign that Encino real estate is still searing hot, as it continues to be in many other areas of LA. The property has 5 bedrooms and 6.5 bathrooms in a mini-mansion sized 5,700-square-feet of living space.
The Traditional spread — we’ll call it a quasi-Cape Cod meets pseudo-Colonial, for lack of a better architectural descriptor — is completely walled and gated for the utmost celebrity-style privacy.
A stone walkway leads to a locked gate that accesses the grass-trimmed front driveway.
Knotty wood floors grace the double-height entrance. Sightlines stretch all the way to the rear of the property, where a long row of folding doors blend the backyard with the family room and vice versa. The living room, to the right of the entrance, sports tufted couches that look to be made out of felt or velvet or some sort of synethetic fibers. A fireplace lends a homey feel to the airy, high-ceiling-ed space.
The kitchen’s eye-catcher is the enormous Sub-Zero stainless fridge. An all-white island is coated up top in what is likely Carrara marble. Then there is a dining table below an old-timey crystal/wrought iron chandelier. Somewhere there’s an oak-paneled wine closet.
Snazzy lighting in the theater.
The master suite has more wood floors and another fireplace. In the corridor leading to the master bath and walk-in closet, there’s a little wine grid with fridge. Marble graces most of the master bath — including the walk-in glass shower with rainfall showerhead — and there’s a built-in soaking tub below the window. The master suite also has a private covered balcony with plenty of space to curl up with a good Agatha Christie.
The guest suites are similarly comfortable with vaulted ceilings and glass-and-brick showers.
The library/office has ebonized wood cabinetry and French doors leading out back.
Out in the rear, the .38-acre lot has more than enough grass for a dog run and even a teensy-weensy putting green around the east side of the structure.
The rectangular saltwater swimming pool has an inset and raised spa. Just beyond is the guest/pool house/shack with a sitting area and changing facilities. For parties and family get-togethers, there’s also a full outdoor bar area with mini-friedge and BBQ.
It’s only Yolanda’s opinion, of course, but the house looks almost eerily similar to our gurl Michelle Beadle’s own new Encino spec-mansion. And we’ve seen a bunch of other similarly-styled houses sell with the quickness and for many millions of dollars. Not just in Encino, either. The Palisades, Brentwood. Heck, even in the Melrose area.
You pickin’ up what Yolanda’s puttin’ down, developers? More white Cape Cod/Traditional big boxy fusions. People of all sorts of different ethnic descents/walks of life love ’em. So keep building!
Listing agent: Ada Livyatan, Rodeo Realty
Mr. Sal & Ms. Fakih’s agent: Angel Salvador, Rodeo Realty