A little over a year ago, a mansion in Bel-Air was listed for sale. Big whoop, right? That probably happens every day. Well, yes, it's true that a mansion in Bel-Air probably hits the market every day. However, it's not very often that a mansion anywhere on the planet hits the market for $350 MILLION. And to be honest, this isn't even a mansion. It's an iconic estate called "Chartwell". You probably know it as the mansion from the first episode of "The Beverly Hillbillies".
And we have some good news if you're in the real estate market. Chartwell's price was just reduced in a major way. By $105 million, to be precise. So Chartwell can be yours for the low-low price of $245 million 🙂
Chartwell is a 25,000-square-foot mansion sitting on 10.3 acres of land in the heart of Bel-Air. The estate is built in the French Neoclassical design. The mansion comes with a ballroom, a formal salon, and an enormous temperature controlled wine cellar. The property features manicured gardens, a 75-foot swimming pool, a tennis court, and covered parking for 40 cars. The estate has sweeping panoramic views from the Pacific Ocean to downtown Los Angeles.
Check it out from this fantastic drone video:
Chartwell was built in 1933 – originally for a property developer and his wife. Unfortunately, his wife HATED the final product. She thought it was way too opulent, especially at a time when most Americans were struggling through the Great Depression. Amazingly, the house sat empty until the 1940s when it was bought by a hotel tycoon named Arnold Kirkeby. The property was used as in the opening credits of the TV show "The Beverly Hillbillies" which ran from 1962 to 1971.
The Kirkeby family occupied Chartwell until 1986 when it was bought by TV producer turned billionaire Univision founder, Jerry Perenchio.
Technically, Chartwell consists of 5 properties which have been combined over the years to make one massive estate. For example, after Nancy Reagan died in 2016, Jerry acquired her mansion for $15 million and incorporated it into Chartwell.
Perenchio's estate listed the property not long after the mogul died in 2017. At the time of his death, he was worth $2.7 billion.
Just a quick warning for anyone seriously looking to buy this mansion – Even if you pay all cash, your property taxes will still be around $2.5 million per year. That means you'll need to earn $5 million a year just to pay your property taxes. And we haven't even talked about annual upkeep costs. What do you think the annual gardening bill is for a house like this? How about the water bill or the electricity bill?
If you do buy it, please invite me to a party.
And one final note – In order to break the record for the most expensive home ever sold in the United States, Chartwell will need to fetch $148 million or more.
