$695 million Bel-Air mega-mansion ‘The One’ finally sells for $191 million at auction
The discount on this mansion is enough to buy an entire suburb. An LA mega-mansion once touted to set a record as America’s priciest home has finally sold at auction. See what it sold for.
A super-sized LA mansion, once touted to be America’s priciest home, has finally sold at a no reserve auction for more than $141 million (AU$191 million).
Known as ‘The One’, the Bel Air mansion was listed via online auction with hopes of selling for $295 million (AU$410m), but ended up settling for less than half that amount.
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Concierge auctions described the auction as ‘a competitive field of online bidder activity’, with the pending sale price “more than double the highest US sale at auction and nearly 50 per cent higher than the world record”.
However, this discount based on it’s initial expectations is enough to buy an entire suburb.
The bloated behemoth originally began life as a $500 million (AU$695m) whisper listing in 2017, but saw its asking price sink under a mountain of debt.
“In only 55 days, we secured a strong field of global interest from America to Europe, Asia, and The Middle East, doing exactly what we do best — finding the most affluent buyers from every pocket of the world,” Concierge Auctions’ president Chad Roffers said in a press release.
Although heavily discounted, its still makes it one of America’s most expensive homes, but falls short of a California record, set by the $177 million purchase that venture capitalist Marc Andreessen paid for his Malibu mansion in 2021, and the $165 million that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos paid in 2020 for his Beverly Hills estate.
The buyers, who ultimately received a staggering 112 per cent fall-from-grace discount for the much-hyped mansion, are actually local Los Angeles’ buyer who won’t live there, but will use the spread as an investment property, according to the Wall Street Journal, which broke news of the sale.
Perched on a promontory with 360-degree panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean, downtown Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Mountains, the sprawling abode is surrounded on three sides by a moat and measures in at a mind-boggling 9,755 sqm — almost twice as big as the White House, and bigger than most office buildings.
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The estate, which sits on 1.54ha, was actually raised during construction to further optimise the views, in boasts a whopping 21 bedrooms and 49 bathrooms.
Some of the many highlights of ‘The One’ include five outdoor and indoor swimming pools with the moat encircling three quarters of the exterior, a massive nightclub, full-service beauty salon, wellness spa, 930 sqm deck, 122m private outdoor running track with a glass-walled view of the city, and a private theatre with seating for over 40.
In addition to ownership of one of the world’s most spectacular homes, the property also includes butterfly artwork by Stephen Wilson, an Oto Murano chandelier by Vistosi, a rotating statue by Mike Fields, and a glass sculpture by Italian artist Simone Cenedese.
There is also a two-storey library/office with a balcony and water features touching three windowed walls, and parquet flooring. Some of the many other features include a custom bar with a smoked-mirror backsplash and marble countertops, a cigar lounge, a four-lane bowling alley, putting green, wellness centre, gym, a large indoor pool with juice bar, tennis court, 10,000-bottle wine cellar, and a 30-plus car garage with two car-display turntables.
This house can never be done again,” listing broker Branden Williams of Beverly Hills Estates told The Post.
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Neighbours hope that is true, who are reportedly so horrified by a slew of megamansions — this being the biggest by far — that they changed the building code.
“I never called the house ‘the One.’ I called it ‘the Eleven,’” Bel Air resident Fred Rosen, former CEO of Ticketmaster who led the fight to curb hillside building, told the LA Times, referring to Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
“It’s one of the ugliest homes I’ve ever seen,” a broker who toured the property told The Post. “Only someone with terrible taste who wants to scream to the world that they’re rich [would buy it], and even then, I’m not so sure.”
Entertaining in such unique luxury might draw some interesting Bel Air neighbours such as Jennifer Lawrence, who moved there last year, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Liam Hemsworth, Miley Cyrus and Kylie Jenner.
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