Earlier today, Yolanda discussed Ellen DeGeneres’s new $7.2 million Montecito ranch. And if y’all have been following this blog for some time, y’all should know that there are lots of unexpected coincidences in real estate. And our Santa Barbara-based scholarly friend Barbara Bane alerted us to a real big coincidence: on the exact same day in September that Ellen bought her Montecito property, another nearby property — yes, in Montecito — also sold for $7.2 million to a different blind trust. And a little digging reveals that the buyer of this other house is also famous.
Said buyer is a publicity-eschewing La Canada Flintridge-based man named Gore Verbinski. Despite the fact that he has long deliberately maintained a low public profile, Mr. Verbinski is one of the most successful film directors in all the world, with nearly $4 billion in box office receipts and a range of work that ecompasses the first three films of the Pirates of the Caribbean film saga, The Ring, and Rango. It was that last film that won Mr. Verbinski the 2012 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Although Ms. DeGeneres and Mr. Verbinski’s Montecito homes are in the same area and sold on the same day for almost exactly the same price, the vibe of each estate could hardly be more different. While Ellen’s pad is a relaxed and rustic adobe-style horse ranch, Mr. Verbinski chose a swaggering piece of contemporary architecture (with a panty-dropping infinity pool!) for his weekend getaway.
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The 1.46-acre property sits privately down a quiet lane in the Montecito foothills. A long concrete driveway runs uphill to the motorcourt, which is surrounded crab-style by the blocky structure, which was built in 1993 but appears to have been updated since then.
Neutral-toned decor contrasts with the dark hardwood floors. The centerpiece of the house is the two-story family room — check out that fireplace.
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Other spaces in the 6,551-square-foot main residence include a glassy living room (with a multi-million dollar view of the Pacific), a dining room w/ private terrace, and a clean-lined kitchen and breakfast nook that looks out toward the infinity pool and ocean beneath.
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The house has a total of 4 beds and 7 baths. As you might expect, the master suite has walls of glass and a private balcony overlooking the backyard/pool area and the fantastically scenic vistas.
As Yolanda has already mentioned, Mr. Verbinski, his longtime wife Clayton, and their two children primarily reside just outside of LA in the wealthy but very low-key Crescenta/San Gabriel Valley community of La Cañada Flintridge.
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It was only last June (2016) that Mr. Verbinski sold his starter La Cañada house for $2,750,000, even though he already upgraded to his current main residence (a much bigger La Cañada pad) way back in 2004 for $4,200,000. That residence contains a Mediterranean-style with approximately 7,200-square-feet of living space.
Listing agent: Riskin Partners, Village Properties
Gore Verbinski’s agent: Dana Zertuche, Coldwell Banker