Yolanda was minding our own business the other day, surfing the latest real estate listings, when our eyeballs suddenly popped outta our head, rolled across the hallway and ping-ponged down the stairs. Powerhouse talent agent Ari Emanuel has — quite unexpectedly — punted his main Brentwood residence onto the market with an $18,995,000 thud. And it’s all too shocking!
Since then we’ve had curious inquiries from our friends Montana Jones and Dr. Elsa Schneider, both of whom demanded to know why Mr. Emanuel has suddenly (?) decided to sell. Unfortunately, Yolanda is not a member of our boy’s inner circle, so we really can’t say. Ours not to reason why, yada yada.
Mr. Emanuel is being quite stingy with the listing photos at this time. In fact, there’s only this one measly picture currently floatin’ around on the MLS. But if you’d like to see more, here’s what the estate looked like when Mr. Emanuel bought it for $16,550,000.
Has he redecorated in the past three years? Why the move? Maybe a kind Chatty Cathy will let Yolanda know. Or if you’re in the neighborhood, knock on Ari’s front door and ask him what’s up.
Just kidding. Don’t do that.
Anyway, the 8,000-square-foot compound (that number includes a detached two-story guest house) was built in 1998 and extensively renovated in 2014. It sits on a .75-acre flat lot near the mouth of Brentwood’s bucolic (but searingly expensive) Mandeville Canyon. Before being acquired by Mr. Emanuel, the property was leased out to comedian Chelsea Handler.
We quite like Mr. Emanuel’s home — just in case anyone cares about Yolanda’s worthless opinion. It was built as a stylistic homage to Mexico’s late Ricardo Legorreta, one of our all-time favorite architects.
Mr. Emanuel recently filed for divorce from his longtime wife Sarah Adington, but we doubt that has anything to do with this listing. The couple have been living separately for years — at least since December 2015, when Mr. Emanuel bought this place as his new “bachelor” pad — and records show the former Emanuel family home in nearby Brentwood Park has already been deeded over to Ms. Abington.
But even more curious: last August, Mr. Emanuel expanded his Mandeville Canyon compound with the top-dollar $11,500,000 purchase of the modest property next door. So why is he selling his main house only five months later? (The smaller lot is not currently listed for sale, though the listing notes that “the adjacent … property could also be available, please inquire with the Listing Agent for more information.”
Along with his longtime business partner Patrick Whitesell — whose estranged wife Lauren Sanchez has been much in the news recently, but we digress — Mr. Emanuel is co-CEO of Endeavor (WME), the colossal Hollywood talent juggernaut. WME is the biggest big kahuna talent agency in LA and represents everyone from Ben Affleck to Conan O’Brien, from Adele to Joe Rogan. And Entourage‘s Ari Gold character is widely believed to have been based on Mr. Emanuel himself.
So where will Mr. Emanuel decamp once his $28 million compound is sold off? The lower Mandeville Canyon area is one of the most desirable (and star-studded) LA neighborhoods, and surely he won’t be leaving Hollywood altogether. Right? Hmmm!
Whoever is lucky enough to score the snazzy Emanuel digs will enjoy a bevy of famous new neighbors: Gwyneth Paltrow, Trent Reznor, CAA President Richard Lovett, hedge funder Mark Attanasio and celebrity interior designer Windsor Smith are all within rock-skipping distance.
Listing agent: Judy Feder, Hilton & Hyland