Eisner’s semi-secret Malibu retreat
Media mogul Michael Eisner is chasing a record on the bluffs of Malibu, listing his prized oceanfront compound for $225 million. If he gets his price, it’ll be the most expensive home sale in California history.
Eisner, who served as chief executive of Walt Disney Co. from 1984 to 2005, has been assembling the compound for more than two decades. Records show he bought the first piece in the 1990s and has added at least four adjacent parcels in the years since.
The $225-million price tag is nearly $50 million higher than the current California sale record, which was set last year when billionaire Marc Andreessen dropped $177 million on a compound of his own, also in Malibu. The U.S. record belongs to hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, who paid $238 million for a New York City penthouse in 2019.
Eisner’s ambitious asking price results from the property’s unrivaled scope and somewhat-secret location. Spanning nearly 5 acres, the estate sits on a bluff above Watkins Cove, a small, secluded beach that’s difficult for the public to access because of the tide.
Nine stone structures are spread across the grounds, including a main house, multiple guesthouses, an office and a gym. There’s a pool out back, as well as a cliff-side elevator that descends to an oceanfront cabana, according to the Wall Street Journal.
It was built by Robert A.M. Stern, a New York City architecture firm with an international portfolio filled with highlights including the Pasadena Police Department building. The firm has also completed several projects for Disney, including its Yacht Club Resort and the Roy E. Disney Animation Building in Burbank.
Kurt Rappaport of Westside Estate Agency holds the listing.
Eisner, 80, joined Disney after stints with NBC, CBS, ABC and Paramount Pictures, where he served as president from 1976 to 1984. He owns Tornante Co., a private investment firm. In 2017, he bought the Portsmouth Football Club for roughly $7.5 million.
Betty White twice golden?
Weeks after Betty White’s beach house surfaced for sale, the late actor’s other home in Brentwood has hit the market for $10.575 million.
If the sale in Brentwood goes anything like the sale of her home in Carmel-by-the-Sea, it’ll be a massive success. The beach house hit the market for $7.95 million in March and an offer was accepted less than two weeks later. According to the listing agency, it’s set to sell for $10.775 million — a whopping $2.825 million more than the asking price.
White, who died in December at 99, bought the Brentwood home with her husband, game show host Allen Ludden, in the 1960s.
Built a decade earlier, the Colonial-style spot is tucked behind gates and features splashes of stone and pops of yellow across the exterior.
There’s plenty to like about the land itself. The park-like grounds cover three-quarters of an acre and feature flower-filled gardens and plenty of trees out back. In addition, there’s a flat, grassy lawn and stone patio that wraps around a swimming pool.
A television pioneer, White starred in countless game shows and sitcoms such as “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “The Golden Girls,” eventually earning the nickname “The First Lady of Television.” Her career spanned seven decades, and her many accolades include eight Emmys, three SAG Awards and a Grammy. In 1995, she was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.
Marlene Okulick of Sotheby’s International Realty holds the listing.
Madonna gives flipping a try
The Queen of Pop is trying her hand at flipping a house. A year after buying the Weeknd’s Hidden Hills mansion for $19.3 million, Madonna is shopping it around for $26 million.
Interior photos are scarce, so it’s unclear how many changes Madonna made to justify a $6.7-million price increase. The only confirmed upgrade is the barn, which the pop star turned into a gym and Pilates studio.
Spanning 3 acres, the amenity-loaded compound offers plenty to do both inside and out. The estate’s centerpiece is a 12,500square-foot showplace built in 2017; it’s reached by a custom bridge and winding driveway lined with olive trees.
Inside are seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a glass wine cellar, movie theater, music lounge and study. A two-story wall of windows brightens the entry, and the great room has an indooroutdoor bar. Upstairs, the primary suite has a steam shower and stone tub.
Sprawling lawns and redwood trees spruce up the grounds outside, where a covered patio approaches an infinity pool and spa.
Trevor Wright of Beverly Hills Estates holds the listing, which marks the third time the house has surfaced for sale since it was built in 2017.
R&B star the Weeknd bought it for $18.2 million and then sold it to Madonna before dropping $70 million on a much bigger mansion in Bel-Air.
One of the bestselling artists of all time, Madonna has released 14 studio albums over the last four decades and won seven Grammys. Her hits include “Material Girl,” “Like a Prayer” and “Holiday.”
If she gets her price, it’ll be the most expensive home sale in Hidden Hills so far this year. The current crown belongs to an 8,600-squarefoot home that sold for $18.15 million in February, according to the Multiple Listing Service.
Fashion exec lists island compound
Entrepreneur Mike Gray and his wife, Lori, are chasing rarefied air in Newport Beach, listing their waterfront compound for $47.5 million, which would put it among the priciest sales in Orange County history.
The current record holder sits a stone’s throw away in Newport Coast, where a 19,000-square-foot megamansion traded hands for $61 million in 2020.
Gray, who spent 25 years as an executive for luxury fashion brand St. John Knits and also founded the baked goods company Sweet Life Enterprises, paid $12.547 million for the property in 2017 and extensively remodeled the mansion in the years since.
The biggest justification for the price tag is the space. The compound claims three parcels and 105 feet of harbor frontage. It’s found on Lido Isle, a man-made island with luxury homes and a population of roughly 1,800.
Inside are four bedrooms, four bathrooms and a handful of lavish living spaces decorated with designer finishes. Suede and silk cover the walls, and the ceilings alternate between river rock and wave porcelain tile.
Out back, a cabana with heated floors leads to a private dock with room for three boats.
Tim Smith of Coldwell Banker Realty Newport Beach holds the listing.