James Packer sells LA mansion in most expensive property deal in Beverly Hills this year
Australian billionaire James Packer has offloaded his Beverly Hills mansion for a season record price, but he still lost money on the deal.
James Packer has sold his Los Angeles mansion in what is believed to be the most expensive property deal in Beverly Hills this year, months after he purchased a “mega-mansion” in a neighbouring suburb for almost $200m.
The Australian-born billionaire sold his 12-bedroom, 18-bathroom Beverly Hills estate for $US60m ($93m) on Monday, according to local property records.
The sale comes almost a decade to the day the compound, which sits on 2694 sq m of land, was sold by actor and filmmaker Danny DeVito and wife Rhea Perlman for $US26.6m.
Sources say Mr Packer purchased the property in 2018 and was said to have bought it so he could have a place to crash closer to his children, who lived in California with ex-wife Erica.
According to property records, Mr Packer had previously listed the property – which has a wine cellar, screening room, cigar lounge, gym and beauty salon – for sale in September 2023 for $US85m.
It is unclear how much Mr Packer bought the property for in 2018, but it is understood he “lost a bit of money on it”.
A source said he sold the Beverly Hills mansion because he purchased a French-style “mega-mansion” for $174m ($US110m) in March, which was the childhood home of supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid.
In March, Mr Packer ranked 27th on The List – Australia’s Richest 250, up from 57th last year, sporting a wealth of $5.1bn.
“2024 was the first good year I’ve had for a long time, performance-wise, with my business,” he said. “It was terrific to be finally back on the front foot.”
Mr Packer is now enjoying a quieter life after pocketing $3.3bn from the sale of his shareholding in casino giant Crown Resorts to private equity firm Blackstone in the final week of the 2022 financial year.
He was effectively forced to sell his share in Crown after a Victorian royal commission in 2021 that recommended cutting his stake from 37 per cent to less than 5 per cent, which the state government accepted along with all other recommendations.
Last month this masthead reported he joined forces with media mogul Kerry Stokes to bankroll an American technology entrepreneur using artificial intelligence to “build the world’s best database for organising and storing medical information”.
In May last year he also backed property developer Third.i, which has residential and commercial projects across NSW, and joined the wave of new projects planned for the city’s wealthy eastern suburbs.
Mr Packer was contacted for comment.
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