‘Beverly Hillbillies’ estate sold to media heir Lachlan Murdoch for about $150 million
Some people call it “The Beverly Hillbillies” mansion, others call it Chartwell. Now it has a new name: topping the California charts.
The Bel-Air mansion of the late media mogul A. Jerrold Perenchio has been sold for the highest price in California history, about $150 million. The buyer is Lachlan Murdoch, son of Rupert Murdoch and co-chairman of publishing company News Corp., The Times has confirmed.
While the exact figure is unclear, people familiar with the deal who requested anonymity because they were not allowed to comment told The Times that the closing price was much higher than the selling price of VND119.75 million. USD of Manor in Holmby Hills earlier this year.
Valued at up to $350 million when it was listed for sale, the estate centers on a 25,000-square-foot 1930s French neoclassical chateau set on 10 acres of land. In addition, this transaction also includes the former home of President Reagan and his wife, Nancy, located behind the main lot.
The sale of Chartwell is just the latest for a luxury market that has seen a surge in big deals in recent years.
Since 2016, Los Angeles has had six revenues of at least $100 million or more. Of the seven California sales worth $100 million or more, only one was outside L.A. County: the $117.5 million sale of a large complex in the Northern California community of Woodside in year 2013.
Classic television audiences may recognize Chartwell as the CLAMPett family home from the intro to the sitcom “The Beverly Hillbillies” (it was not used during the actual filming of the series). However, in real estate circles, it has long been considered one of L.A.’s great real estate areas.
Designed by architect Sumner Spaulding, the limestone-clad building features Gatsby-esque features such as a ballroom, large-scale formal rooms and vaulted lobby. The custom wine cellar can hold 12,000 bottles. There is also a paneled dining room.
The 26-room villa was commissioned by contractor and construction engineer Lynn Atkinson. In the 1940s, it was purchased by Chicago and Los Angeles hotelier Arnold Kirkeby for $200,000.
Atkinson built the house to surprise his wife, a famous socialite. However, the Atkinsons said they never lived in the house.
Often referred to as “the house with the golden doorknob,” the estate became a white elephant during Atkinson’s ownership because of its hefty tax bill.
Atkinson for years fought with the county Board of Equalization over the home’s assessed value before succeeding in reducing its value in 1943 from $165,000 to $70,000.
“I can’t live in this high-tax neighborhood and no one else can,” Atkinson complained at the time.
The new owners were faced with a more modern overall look. The property has one of the highest annual taxes in the Los Angeles area at $1.3 million. In total, the hotel has 18 bedrooms and 24 bathrooms.
Famous privateer Perenchio, who passed away in 2017 at the age of 86, bought the main plot of land for nearly $14 million in 1986 and built three additional adjacent plots in the 1980s. Under his direction, Biet Palace The main villa was upgraded and restored by designer Henri Samuel and architect Pierre Barbe to create a Versailles-like palace that housed his growing art collection and a cellar containing one of his His California’s largest privately owned wine collection.
In 2016, he spent $15 million to buy the Reagan family’s longtime home in Bel-Air.
Hidden from the street by walls and fences, the grounds feature manicured gardens, elaborate fountains, tennis courts, a 75-foot swimming pool and a pool house. A separate guest house designed by famous architect Wallace Neff.
A secret tunnel leads from the basement, running underneath the house to the swimming pool. Also buried below: an underground garage that can hold up to 40 vehicles.
Drew Gitlin and Susan Gitlin from Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices California Properties; Drew Fenton, Gary Gold and Jeff Hyland of Hilton & Hyland; and Joyce Rey, Jade Mills and Alexandra Allen of Coldwell Banker Global Luxury are the listing agents. Fenton also represented Murdoch in the deal.
Since his death, Perenchio’s estate has listed and sold several properties, including a large property in Malibu. Across from Chartwell, a vacant plot of land that Perenchio used as a private vineyard was sold in November for $12 million.
Lachlan Murdoch is the third of Rupert Murdoch’s six children and the eldest of two sons. Rupert Murdoch is in the process of transferring operations of his media empire to Lachlan.