The most expensive house for sale in America is a $225 million Bel-Air estate built by a rejected socialite and once owned by the founder of the Hilton empire. Take a closer look at the sprawling property.
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 $100,000 by Hilda Boldt Weber, the widow of a glass manufacturer. Weber then commissioned architect James Dolena to build her the massive estate.
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 $2 million – or about $35 million today.
Source: Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Magazine
Weber was a nurse who married a Midwestern glass bottle manufacturer after nursing him back to health. The death of her husband left her very wealthy, and she spared no expense in building this massive estate.
Source: Washington Post, Curbed LA
Though she always aspired to join high society, historians say she was never truly accepted by her Bel-Air peers and instead spent much of her time gambling away her fortune.
Source: Curbed LA, Los Angeles Times
As time went on, the lavish property she had built became too much for her to handle. Weber eventually died by suicide after offloading the home, according to "Unreal Estate" by Michael Gross, a book about the histories behind the biggest mansions in Los Angeles.
Source: Curbed LA, Los Angeles Times
The Washington Post reports that Weber sold the property in 1949 for $225,000 (or about $2.4 million today) to Conrad Hilton, who, at the time, was still building his now-ubiquitous hotel empire. He owned the home for 30 years, until his 1979 death.
The Hilton family then sold the property to billionaire Dole Foods CEO and Chairman, David Murdock, for $12.4 million. At the time, the deal was a record for the US market.
Source: Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Magazine
In 2000, Murdock sold the home to financier Gary Winnick for a reported $94 million — another record-breaker. Winnick then commissioned architect Peter Marino to help restore the property. The project took nearly two years (and millions of dollars) to complete.
Winnick is best known as the founder and chairman of Global Crossing, the company which installed fiber-optic highways across the ocean floor, thereby connecting four continents and 27 countries, according to the Times.
Source: Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Magazine, The Real Deal
Though the listing agents will not be publicly releasing interior shots of the home in its current condition, the Los Angeles Times reports that Winnick has restored the estate's classic detailing.
According to the Times, the house has wood-paneled walls in addition to moldings embellished with geometric patterns. The property also features wrought ironwork and terrace balconies.
Source: Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Magazine
The property has a guest house, a pool house, and a managers quarters. There is also a basketball court, a tennis court, greenhouses, a rose garden, and koi ponds.
In addition, the entrance has 18-foot ceilings and a bar made of sterling silver.
Source: Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Magazine
Per the Los Angeles Times, mountain and ocean views can be seen from nearly all of the the mansion's 60-rooms, some of which include a professional screening room, a reception hall, and grand formal rooms.
Source: Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Magazine
If sold for the current asking price, Casa Encantada will bypass the Spelling manor in Holmby Hills— which recently sold for $119.75 million — to become the highest priced home ever sold in California, according to Fortune Magazine.
Source: Fortune
Read more: Former Spelling mansion sells for nearly $120 million
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