Yolanda is still playing catch-up with all the stories we missed while we were outside in the cold, embarking on our worldwide tour. So we thought we’d diverge for a moment from the world of secret buyers and such to chat about a big new house in Malibu. And this one is extra-special because it got dumped on the market recently with a publicity-ensuring (and city record breaking) $80,000,000 pricetag. Yes, we know every real estate publication and their grandmother’s ex-parlor maid have already discussed this place, but bear with your gurl today and we promise we’ll have something else juicy for y’all very soon.
Anyway, a little birdie generously provided Yolanda with some high-quality images of said estate, and y’all may admire them below.
The massive spec mansion — it weighs in at 15,000-square-feet of living space, per the listing — is situated on a prime blufftop promontory that was once occupied by Malibu’s famous Castle Kashan. That 1978 castle — all 15,200-square-feet of it — was built in 1978 by a doctor and most famously owned by philanthropist/socialite Princess Lilly Lawrence. Sadly for the lady of the manor, the castle was completely destroyed in a 2007 fire. And although the Princess quickly announced her intentions to rebuild, it seems she had a change of heart, got distracted, or some such stuff. In May 2015, she sold the still-vacant property for $9,700,000 to super-successful Malibu architect/developer Scott Gillen and staightaway threw down $5,800,000 for a cruise ship-sized 11,500-square-foot mansion within a guard-gated community out in… Tarzana (CA)?!
Yes, kiddies, the dreaded and feared San Fernando Valley. But we digress…
An $80 million pricetag may seem like an ambitious ask, even in Malibu — and it is — but an $80 million house certainly would not be completely out of place in the city. After all, it was only last week when an as-yet-unidentified buyer plunked down $85 million for David Geffen’s sprawling Carbon Beach compound. And just a month before that, a lady from Hong Kong forked out $70 million on an epic hilltop compound. And then in early 2013, Jim Jannard plunked down $74.5 million on an Escondido Beach blufftop spread.
All of those were off-market deals, natch, but we’re just saying that a “record-breaking” $80 million pricetag in Malibu isn’t quite as presumptuous as it might seem.
A 400-foot double-gated driveway leads the owner’s Rolls Royce Wraith to a commodious motor court in front of the 5-bed, 5.5-bath contemporary main house, with its flat room and geometric shapes. Per the listing, the property includes custom teak doors and windows plus teak accents in practically every room of the structure. Yolanda is a sucker for some fancy teak, so we love it. Duh.
Though the house is massive and undeniably constructed from the highest-high-end materials, the 360-degree promontory view here is the real selling point. And thus the media room features walls of glass overlooking the ocean and is not enclosed like most other modern home theaters. As for the double-height great room, it’s almost confounding in its enormity and features exposed wood beams in Mr. Gillen’s trademark “UNVARNISHED” theme. The entire home is filled with pricey furnishings from boutique brands like Minotti and Bottega Veneta, all of which are included in the purchase price, Yolanda believes.
The master suite features dry aged oak floors and truly gob-smackingly magnificent views that — on a clear day — easily stretch to Catalina Island and beyond.
Best of all is the 75-foot infinity pool that stretches along the entire width of the main house. If Yolanda were to make one quibble about this place — and it’s a tiny quibble — we might say that the pool is a bit too close to the house for our personal taste. But that’s the way it is. And really, wouldn’t y’all just love to see a drunken houseguest stumble out of the Bulthaup kitchen — glass of burgundy in hand and wrapped in Chanel doo-dads — just to see their epic ker-splash in the pool? Of course you would.
Best of all, the new owner will be neighbors with Mr. Malibu himself — Larry Ellison. His sprawling Serra Retreat estate — one of dozens of properties he owns in the city — lies right below the Malibu Castle.
Listing agent: Sandro Dazzan, Coldwell Banker