The L.A. Times reported yesterday, that a 1920s Beverly Hills mansion and estate hit the market at a record price of $165,000,000. Few homes in the country command such an asking price, but in California, and Beverly Hills in particular, some of the country's priciest homes are a mainstay.With entertainers, and top executives commanding more in salary and pay than ever, it seems the real estate market on the West Coast will continue to see the demand for the finest in luxury property.Listed by Westside Estate Agency, the home belonging to attorney/investor Leonard Ross, is a nationally recognized home spread across over 6 acres of land, in a popular Beverly Hills neighborhood called the Platinum Triangle. Neighbors include stars like Tom and Katie Cruise, and David and Victoria Beckham. The home itself is quite a celebrity, as it made an appearance in the original Godfather film (1972) and The Bodyguard (1992). Some of the interesting features of this home include:It’s made of pink stucco!It has 29 bedrooms, in four separate houses. The main house has nine bedrooms, and eight fireplaces.It has three swimming pools, and 80 feet of cascading ponds and waterfalls.It has a theater room, a disco, and the grounds include a security house and separate two bedroom apartment with full kitchen.In 1947, the estate was purchased for $120,000. By 1987, the asking price was $25 million. This amazing home’s record asking price today of $165 million makes it the most expensive priced residence in United States history. The listing agent expects that it will take years to find the perfect buyer for this estate. Royalty in the Hills.
When it comes to entertainment royalty, the question is not who lives in Beverly Hills--the question is, who doesn't?
From Sumner Redstone of Viacom (nyse: VIA - news - people ) to Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt ( who recently put their mansion on the market for $28 million), Beverly Hills has long been home to many of Hollywood's movers and shakers.
Other glitzy Los Angeles neighborhoods, such as Bel-Air and Holmby Hills, can also lay claim to hordes of well-heeled and well-known residents. But Beverly Hills, 90210, is still perhaps the best-known ZIP code in the country, thanks to the television show that ran throughout the 1990s. (It also made Forbes.com's list of the most expensive ZIP codes in the country this year, clocking in at No. 15.) And the movie industry has made sure that, in features from Shampoo to Pretty Woman, the area has remained synonymous with glamour and money.
But Beverly Hills was valuable property long before it became packed with gated estates and expensive boutiques. Europeans settlers began arriving in the 18th century. In 1838, the Mexican governor of California handed the land that is now Beverly Hills over to Maria Rita Valdez Villa, the widow of a Spanish soldier, who ranched on the property. The ranch changed hands several times, until, in 1900, Burton Green and several partners bought the land for the Amalgamated Oil Company. The oil they were seeking, however, never materialized.
In 1906, Green and his wife renamed the place Beverly Hills, after Beverly Farms, Mass., and began carving out its curving streets. In 1912, the Beverly Hills Hotel was opened, drawing movie stars, such as Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, who, several years later, built their renowned estate nearby. (Pickfair was sold earlier this year for a reported $20 million.) Other film stars followed suit, and the rest is Hollywood history.
Needless to say, real estate in Beverly Hills doesn't come cheap. But those with ample resources might consider this sprawling mansion, currently on the market for $8.98 million.
Located on Loma Vista Drive, north of Sunset Drive, the traditional estate was designed by architect Richard Landry, who counts Eddie Murphy and Rod Stewart as clients. Built in 1994 on a lot that totals about 30,000 square feet, the residence has seven bedroom suites and eight and a half baths. It has been extensively--and expensively--updated.
The home was designed for entertaining, with marble floors and plenty of attention to detail. Walls are paneled in lacquered mahogany, and windows feature leaded, beveled and stained glass. The sunny kitchen is suited for a gourmet chef, and the home includes state-of-the-art electronics. There are several spas throughout the residence.
The expansive grounds feature a grotto pool, play yard and broad lawns.
Forbes Fact
One of the grandest mansions in Beverly Hills is just down the road from our home of the week, but it isn't owned by Hollywood royalty. Oil magnate Edward Doheny of Pan American Petroleum built the 55-room palace in the late 1920s, as a gift to his son. Greystone manor cost more than $3 million--a tremendous sum at the time. As wealthy as they were, the Dohenys were unable to escape scandal and tragedy. Doheny, for whom one of the city's central thoroughfares is named, was involved in the Teapot Dome incident, which in 1922 rocked the administration of President Warren G. Harding, and his son died in a murder that was never solved. The property changed hands a few times and was eventually bought by the City of Beverly Hills. The city planned to build a huge water reservoir, but instead turned Greystone into a public park, where a number of films have been shot.Population (year 2000): 33,784. Estimated population in July 2006: 34,979 (+3.5% change)Tourists arriving in Southern California often confuse Hollywood with Beverly Hills.
Many visitors come to Hollywood expecting to find a gleaming city filled with movie stars, posh restaurants, grand mansions and expensive shopping areas. They are, of course, very disappointed; the actual suburb of Hollywood is far from glamorous. The real "Hollywood" is a state of mind, not a place; it's not so much a city as it is shorthand for the general movie and entertainment industry.
But if that fabled, glittering Hollywood of the tourist's imagination exists anywhere, it exists in Beverly Hills. It is in Beverly Hills, not Hollywood, where many stars actually live, dine and shop.
Only a few minutes drive southwest of downtown Hollywood, the City of Beverly Hills offers all of the glamour and opulence that anyone could reasonably hope for, including:
But what is Beverly Hills really like?
Beverly Hills is, above all, a small town for the wealthy. Less than six square miles in size, Beverly Hills is strictly a neighborhood of homes and shops. The city has churches, but it has no smokestacks; it has restaurants, but no industry; boutiques, but no billboards; parks, but no eyesores. There's not even a hospital or a cemetery in the city to remind the residents of their mortality. It has been said that, technically, no one is born or dies in Beverly Hills.
Beverly Hills is a place for the fortunate to live in comfort, and to shop and dine at their leisure. It just so happens that many of these fortunate few are celebrities. On the city's tree-lined streets, you'll see more stretch limos, shining Mercedes-Benzes, and sleek Ferraris per square mile than at any other place on earth. Even the fireplugs in Beverly Hills are painted a gleaming silver. The city's first mayor (back in 1926) was a celebrity: actor Will Rogers.
It is also a place where the wealthy can feel secure. The Beverly Hills police department prides itself on being able to respond to any call in less than a minute.
They don't care much for pedestrians here. Of course, you are encouraged to stroll on Rodeo Drive's commercial strip. But if you start roaming around the residential areas of the city on foot, chances are pretty good that you'll be stopped by a Beverly Hills cop, who will check your ID, and generally make you feel as if you are intruding. In the past, minorities (especially African-Americans) have complained that they were routinely stopped by the police if they so much as drove down some Beverly Hills streets. Some say that is still the case today - let's hope that the situation has improved.
This is a city where the pawn shops are called "collateral lenders," and make quick loans on Mercedes and Ferraris instead of toasters. This is a city where some of the clothing stores require customers to make advance reservations to shop, and clients where may routinely drop $100,000. or more in a single visit. A city where the post office offers valet parking. This town's "Sister City" is none other than Cannes, France.
In between Wilshire and Sunset Boulevards, you will find what is sometimes called "The Golden Triangle," bounded by Santa Monica Boulevard (on the northwest), Wilshire Boulevard (on the south), and Canon Drive (on the east). Within the "Golden Triangle" is a grid of seven smaller commercial streets filled with shops and restaurants. At the center of this triangle is none other than Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills' fabled shopping avenue.
Beverly Hills is, undeniably, an extremely handsome neighborhood. Its commercial streets are immaculate and filled with exclusive boutiques and sophisticated shoppers. Its Civic Center is a gorgeous, mission-style landmark. Its residential thoroughfares are lined with multi-million dollar mansions, towering trees, and miles of manicured green lawns. This is how most people would probably like to live - if they could afford it. Just visiting beautiful Beverly Hills can lift your spirits.
While the homes south of Sunset Boulevard are handsome, most of the city's truly spectacular mansions are located north of Sunset. If you ever wondered where to find the most expensive real estate in Southern California, look no further. The homes north of Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills hold that title, beating out nearby Bel-Air and sunny Malibu. You will notice that (with the obvious exception of the "Golden Triangle") most of the homes and businesses south of Santa Monica Blvd are rather modest, by comparison.
Ironically, this same land once sold for less than $3 an acre, back in 1868, when the 3,600-acre Rancho La Rodeo de Agua was bought by a dentist. Of course, back then it was essentially a swamp.
(Also see the separate pages on Rodeo Drive., Beverly Hills High, the Academy Buildings, Greystone Mansion, Good Shepherd Church, the Witch's House, the Monument to the Stars, the Museum of Television, Beverly Gardens Park, Will Rogers Park, the Beverly Hilton, the Four Seasons, the Peninsula Hotel, the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Beverly Wilshire, Edelweiss, Stars' Salons, Mulberry Pizza, Nate & Al's, Chasen's, Spago Beverly Hills, and Planet Hollywood.)
Getting there: The city of Beverly Hills is located west of Los Angeles and southwest of Hollywood. It is surrounded by Bel-Air and Westwood (to the west), the Santa Monica Mountains and West Hollywood (to the north), Hollywood and the Fairfax district (to the east), and West L.A. & Century City (to the south). / From Hollywood & Vine, drive two blocks south to Sunset Boulevard, then turn right (west) and take Sunset Boulevard west (about four miles) to Beverly Hills. You'll know you're in Beverly Hills when the scenery changes from concrete sidewalks to lush green lawns, from high-rises to mansions. It's a sea change that can't be missed. Head west down winding Sunset Boulevard, past the Beverly Hills Hotel, and turn south onto the residential section of Rodeo Drive. This will give you a chance to see some of the homes of the stars before reaching the central shopping area of Rodeo Drive. / From west L.A., take the San Diego (405) Freeway to either Wilshire Boulevard or Santa Monica Boulevard, and drive northeast (about three miles) into Beverly Hills. The largest home ever built in Beverly Hills, Greystone manor, wasn't built by a movie star, even though many movies have been filmed at this spectacular estate.
Beverly Hills is known for its many grand mansions. Unfortunately, you can only drive past most of these majestic estates. But here is a surprising exception to that rule. At Greystone Park, can drive through the fancy wrought-iron gates of one of the most dramatic estates in Beverly Hills, stroll its lushly landscaped, 16-acre grounds, and admire the 55-room castle up close. And it's all free!
This fortress-like Tudor mansion was built by famed oil-tycoon Edward Doheny in 1928, as a gift to his son. With over 46,000 square feet of living space, it cost more than $4 million to build back then (one might imagine what it would cost today). Many people hail this massive home as one of the grandest mansions on the West coast, second only to William Randolph Hearst's San Simeon (although, to the casual visitor, the mansion may not seem to merit that kind of praise).
Several Hollywood movies have been shot here at Greystone, using the stately mansion and its gardens as backdrop.
CHRISTINA AGUILERA Buys Osbourne Mansion.... Christina Aguilera has reportedly bought Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne's former Beverly Hills home.
The rock couple turned the estate into a reality TV mecca after shooting The Osbournes at their Los Angeles mansion.
The Osbournes put the Doheny Drive estate on the market in April (07) after Ozzy confessed, "I don't want to stay in that house any more... The house holds bad memories for me because it reminds me of the terrible time Sharon got cancer and of times when me and the kids were doped out of our minds."
Reports in America suggest Aguilera paid an undisclosed sum for the mansion and plans to turn it into her Los Angeles base.
Los Angeles County
Zip codes: 90210, 90211, 90212.
