It is time to officially close out 2017, a year that brought with it the answers to questions we didn’t even know we had asked (“‘The heck is a Cardi B?”) but also left others (“Has anyone unlocked the code of covfefe?!”) disturbingly unanswered.
Although Yolanda spends most of our time mouthing off about things we are interested in (and really, why shouldn’t we? It’s our silly blog) we recognize value in learning about what draws y’all young punks to our site. Yolanda’s got a handy-dandy tool that monitors how many clicks each story gets up in here.
Among the most viewed posts this year, not much of a theme emerged other than all the homes being very expensive — the cheapest retailed for a fat $6,250,000. Some of the stories involved celebrities, some involved prominent businesspeople, some involved folks you’ve definitely never heard of before. Some homes are old and classy, others gaudy and tacky.
Seems like readers aren’t selective about certain areas, either: just about every luxe neighborhood from Newport Beach to Montecito to Encino to the Palisades is represented on here. And that’s the way Yolanda likes it. We never discriminate. So good work, y’all. Countdown time!
10. The notorious Bradbury Estate finally sells … for just $24 million
An epic saga that began in February 2012 finally came to a close in September of last year when the 47,000-square foot monster compound finally found a new owner for just $24,380,000.
Not much is yet known about the new owner(s), but Yolanda stumbled across evidence that they may be a low-profile Canada-based family from Hong Kong.
9. Kim & Kanye sell for nearly $18 million cash to billionaire Brian Acton’s wife Marina
The world’s most over-publicized couple managed to unload their minimalist Bel Air museum for $17.8 million in cold, hard cash. The buyer? Marina Acton, a Ukrainian citizen. Yolanda still believes that Mrs. Acton is married to Silicon Valley billionaire Brian Acton, despite the fact that he personally contacted us and denied that is the case. Then again, who would lie about their spouse? Hmm…
8. “The Profit” star Marcus Lemonis gets fancy in Montecito
Multi-hyphenate investor/entrepreneur/television personality Marcus Lemonis has found a contemporary resting place in the idyllic Montecito community.
7. Diamond Bar couple dumps $28 million on a Newport Coast mansion
An ultra-low-profile couple from the quiet city of Diamond Bar poured out $28 million in cash for this Tuscan mega-manse in a swanky Newport Beach guard-gated community.
6. Guns N’ Roses rocker Slash starts fresh in Encino with $6.25 million mansion buy
Slash slashed his way to new construction in the increasingly expensive suburban community of Encino.
5. Multi-billionaire Dan Friedkin covertly spends $18 million on a Brentwood “Belgian farmhouse”
Texas-based rich guy Dan Friedkin dropped a wad (of cash) on one of Yolanda’s favorite homes of the year. We’d love to live there, truly.
4. Alo Yoga CEO Danny Harris stretches out $30 million in Holmby Hills
Who knew that making stretchy pants for the Jenner/Hadid crowd could be quite this profitable?
3. Mauricio Umansky & Kyle Richards buy an $8.2 million piece of Encino history
Smoky Robinson‘s historic Encino haunt, originally built in 1880, fetched a record-breaking price. Thanks to reality TV star Kyle Richards and real estate mogul Mauricio Umansky for making it happen. Sorry about the burglars. (But seriously, that’s not cool).
2. Donald Abbey quietly gets the boot from Bradbury Estates
What goes up comes down with a thud. Also, this house was prominently featured on Million Dollar Listing.
1. Guggenheim’s Alexandra Court antes up $13 million for a piece of Pacific Palisades history
Yolanda is not shocked that Ms. Court trumped the competition this year — hers is a wild tale.
After her Guggenheim colleague Mark Walter paid $85 million in cash for a Malibu compound, Yolanda was bewildered to discover that Ms. Court was living (and acting as the owner, for all intents) in a historic Pacific Palisades mansion. The fascinating thing was that the house was bought for $13 million cash through the same entity that Mr. Walter used to purchase his own property.
Since then, an explosive Financial Times investigation rocked the financial services industry, the Wall Street Journal reported that news of the real estate splurges had caused turmoil and plunging morale at the company, the New York Post hissed that Ms. Court was pursuing a $100 million exit package from Guggenheim, and rumors ran rampant that Mr. Walter — who was forced to deny he bought the Palisades house for Ms. Court — would soon resign his position as Guggenheim CEO due to the controversy and unwanted press coverage.
As of today, Mr. Walter remains CEO and Ms. Court appears to be gainfully employed at the firm. But the fat lady has not yet sung and this one certainly ain’t over yet.