Will Amazon’s Jeff Bezos pay the US$225 million asking price for an LA mansion – and what does he even get for that?
Jeff Bezos may have scoped out the most expensive house for sale in America if reports that he visited the 40,000-square-foot Casa Encantada are true
Bel-Air estate Casa Encantada might soon become the most expensive home ever sold in California – and Jeff Bezos could be the buyer.
The 40,000-square-foot property hit the market in October with an asking price of US$225 million, making it the highest-priced home on the market anywhere in the country, according to the Los Angeles Times. On February 2, Page Six reported “unconfirmed chatter” that Bezos has visited the property, as he continues “mansion-shopping” in the Los Angeles area. (Shawn Elliott, the broker who has been showing the home, declined Page Six’s request for comment regarding whether Bezos has viewed the property.)
Currently owned by financier Gary Winnick, the estate traces its roots back to the 1930s, when it was built for the widow of a glass bottle manufacturer. Since then, it has had several high-profile owners. In 1950, it was bought by hotel magnate Conrad Hilton for US$250,000, then sold in 1979 to billionaire David Murdock, the chairman and CEO of Dole Foods, for US$12.4 million, the Times reports.
In 2000, Winnick bought the home from Murdock for a reported US$94 million and soon led a project to restore the property to its former glory.
While a PR representative for the estate told Business Insider that interior photos of the property in its current state aren’t being released, you can keep reading for a look at the home’s original 1930s glory and to learn more about its history.
Located in Bel-Air, the estate (called Casa Encantada or “House of Enchantment”) is nearly 40,000 square feet. According to Los Angeles Magazine, the land was initially bought in 1934 for US$100,000 by Hilda Boldt Weber, the widow of a glass manufacturer. Weber then commissioned architect James Dolena to build her the massive estate.
Dolena was considered a “master” of Georgian architecture, taking influence and inspiration from the art deco movement as well as moderne styles, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The interior was designed by Peterson Studios and TH Robsjon-Gibbions, who created custom furniture and fabrics for the home, the Los Angeles Times reports. It was finished in 1937, costing over US$2 million – or about US$35 million today.