A couple weeks ago, Yolanda wrote about a monstrous Bel Air mega-mansion that recently sold for $56 million. Originally built (and long occupied) by controversial developer Mohamed Hadid, the so-called Le Belvedere was purchased by a corporate entity that lists a man named Max Fowles-Pazdro as its owner.
In our first story, Yolanda puzzled over how a relatively unknown young fella like Mr. Fowles-Pazdro — he once served as Vice President of a Downtown LA real estate group — could afford a $56 million estate. It seemed implausible. Was he, we wondered aloud, a front for someone else — some enigmatic figure who would prefer to remain anonymous?
To our surprise, kiddies, that story received an unexpectedly large response. Yolanda got a whole barrel-full of messages from different folks, all of them regarding Mr. Fowles-Pazdro and all filled with different tips and theories. Though nobody could (or would) name the person behind the scenes, the general consensus seems to be that Mr. Fowles-Pazdro is not the “real” new owner of Le Belvedere — or is not the financial firepower behind the acquisition, at least. And Yolanda has been in this — ahem — “business” a very long time. After some extensive research, we do indeed agree with our readers. It does not seem likely that Mr. Fowles-Pazdro has the capital to afford a residence of this stature.
Like we say, nobody we talked to could put a name to the “real” new owner, but two different peeps mentioned a mysterious “European billionaire” to your gurl. And Yolanda wonders if this shadowy individual might be secretive British billionaire Ian Livingstone.
The reason we think Mr. Livingstone might be the guy pulling the (purse) strings is because he has previous links to Mr. Fowles-Pazdro. It is well-known that Mr. Livingstone owns a very large estate in nearby Holmby Hills, across the street from the Playboy Mansion. Records reveal that our dude paid former Dodgers owner Ambassador Jamie McCourt exactly $45 million for the property back in 2014.
In 2017, the much smaller Holmby Hills house next door sold to Mr. Livingstone’s pad was sold for $27,000,000. Listed on the deed are two entities: one is Mr. Livingstone’s LLC, and the other is managed by Mr. Fowles Pazdro. More telling, however, is that recent aerial photos show both homes are under major construction. And close-ups reveal that the fence between the two properties has been demolished. The pair are being combined into one giant estate — or so it would appear.
Keep in mind, y’all, that we have absolutely no proof that Mr. Livingstone is the guy who bought Le Belvedere. But it’s worth noting that he is certainly rich enough to afford a $56 million house — he and his brother Richard are worth $6.2 billion, according to Forbes. And their money comes from real estate investments — the Livingstones are two of London’s largest landowners.
Mr. Livingstone and his brother Richard are also known to own trophy properties throughout the world. In addition to the Holmby Hills compound, the Livingstone property empire includes the historic Cliveden House Hotel in England and the Fairmont in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Although he and his brother are two of the UK’s richest men, few in jolly ol’ England are familiar with the “secretive, private” Mr. Livingstone. Unlike her publicity-shy hubby, however, Mrs. Ian Livingstone — her given name is Natalie — is a well-known journalist who actually wrote and released a book about the history of their UK mega-mansion.
Time will tell what Mr. Fowles-Pazdro and/or Mr. Livingstone plan to do with Le Belvedere. But based on our vague intel, Yolanda’s educated guess is that the house will be renovated and eventually flipped back onto the market with a $100+ million pricetag. Such are the wild, sometimes nonsensical ways of today’s high-end real estate market.