Even during a pandemic, the ultra-rich barter farms have led at a brilliant pace over the past year.
Some of the richest people in the country, including Jeff Bezos, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg, all closed giant deals in 2020, using historically low interest rates and a larger wealth gap that raises their wealth even higher.
In a historic year for luxury real estate, California has broken the all-time price record.
More than 200 homes traded for more than $ 10 million, and two sold for more than $ 100 million. In the days ago of 2019, the market of more than $ 10 million remained less than 200 transactions. (The exact numbers are unclear because so many high-dollar transactions take place away from the multiple listing service.)
Here’s a look at the most expensive sales from Southern California in 2020.
$ 165 million – Jeff Bezos
The richest man in the world knit his fortune in February, when Jeff Bezos, an Amazon billionaire, dropped $ 165 million on David Geffen’s famous Warner estate in Beverly Hills. The giant sale destroyed California’s all-time price record, set in 2019 by Lachlan Murdoch’s $ 150 million purchase of the Beverly Hillbillies mansion in Bel-Air.
The nine-acre estate offers a world of its own, with a golf course, tennis court and swimming pool around a Georgian-style mansion built for filmmaker Jack Warner in the 1930s. The purchase was the latest in a long line of property deals for Bezos, which owns other homes in Beverly Hills, as well as properties in Seattle, Texas and Washington DC.
$ 125 million – Jeffrey Katzenberg
Jeffrey Katzenberg kept the LA County real estate market hot during the summer and sold his Beverly Hills complex for $ 125 million – good for the third most expensive sale in California history.
This was a huge return on investment for the Quibi co-founder, who paid $ 30 million for the property in 2009. He finished building the house three years later, aerial photos show. The U-shaped house, which wraps around a massive courtyard, spans 26,000 square feet with a massive lawn and pool behind.
The property covers six acres on a bare lot overlooking the Sunset Strip and the Greystone Mansion below. Perhaps that softened the sting of Quibi’s shutdown in October after less than seven months of short-lived video streaming.
$ 68 million – David Geffen
Media magnate David Geffen was not finished after his historic sale to Jeff Bezos. A few months later, he bought a little thing for himself: a striking modern large mansion in Beverly Hills.
The architectural estate is 3.25 acres in size and is owned by Casey Wasserman, president of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee. It was designed by Richard Meier and mixes stone, glass and white oak over 18,500 square feet. Inside includes six bedrooms, 14 bathrooms, automatic steel doors, museum-like living spaces, a movie theater, elevator and art studio.
$ 63.25 million – Rancho San Carlos
Montecito – a small sanctuary in Santa Barbara County where the rich go to scenic surroundings and peaceful seclusion – saw a handful of giant deals in 2020, but nothing bigger than the sale of $ 63.25 million from an estate known as Rancho San Carlos does not.
The idyllic retreat is on 240 acres the largest on the list and centers on a 30,000 square foot colonial style. Around it are ten cottages, a handful of equestrian facilities and several citrus and avocado orchards. The compound first went on sale in 2014 for $ 125 million.
$ 61 million – Orange County price record
Orange County was crowned a new champion in October when a three-story mansion overlooking the ocean in Newport Coast was sold for $ 61 million – the most expensive home sale in the province’s history.
It knocked out a two-home connection just off the road in Newport Harbor, which raised $ 55 million in 2017.
The estate combines two plots for almost one hectare and makes the most use of its space with a main house of 19,000 square meters and a guest house of 6,800 square meters, flanked by manicured gardens and palm trees. Amenities include a theater, gym, sauna and games room. At the back, a deck with a pool overlooks the Pacific Ocean.
$ 60 million – George Ruan
One of Bel-Air’s most expensive homes was half-sold when a limited liability company linked to George Ruan, CEO of online coupon company Honey, dropped $ 60 million on a three-story mansion still under construction is.
There is a reason why the house came on the market prematurely; it was previously controlled by Robert Shapiro, the real estate developer who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for running a $ 1.3 billion real estate scheme. Following the allegations, a liquidation trust began selling its real estate, including the approximately 21,000 square feet of exhibit space that Ruan picked up.
$ 47 million – Nile Niami
Specialist developer Nile Niami sold another of his creations in Beverly Hills for $ 47 million, this time to San Marino real estate developer Bin Fen Cheng.
It is called ‘Opus’, and is one of the most expensive sales of the year, but still fell far short of the original $ 100 million price in 2017 when it rolled on the market in hopes of making money from the’ sex sells’ mantra with a fast marketing campaign. filled with scantily clad women.
The 20,000-square-foot home was designed by master house Paul McLean and features many of the top-notch toys commonly found in Niami’s specialty homes, including a car museum, indoor spa, movie theater and a massive dinosaur skeleton.
This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.