If you watched "Succession," after being ousted from the family business in the final moments of season 3, season 4 opens with Roy siblings Kendall, Shiv, and Roman meeting with potential investors for their new media brand "The Hundred." They are taking meetings and basically hunkered down at an absolutely insane hilltop mansion in Los Angeles.
In real life, the 20,000-square-foot mansion was completed in 2020. Before it was purchased, the home was offered as a rental for $350,000 – $450,00 per month. In July 2021, a 26-year-old tech billionaire bought the mansion for $83 million. The "Succession" episode that made the home famous aired in March 2023.
Unfortunately, the mansion was just destroyed in the 2025 Palisades Fire.
Located at 1601 San Onofre Drive in the Pacific Palisades, the six-bedroom, 18-bathroom mansion broke the area home sale record when it fetched $83 million in July 2021. So, in other words, it was the most expensive home in the Palisades.
As you can see from the video, it is no ordinary home. Here's how the property was described in its original real estate listing, note the line I have highlighted in red related to the master suite:
"Perched atop a one-acre promontory in Pacific Palisades, 1601 San Onofre Drive stands as an avant-garde masterpiece that transcends conventional luxury. This architectural tour de force commands breathtaking 360-degree panoramic views, seamlessly blending indoor and outdoor opulence through cutting-edge design and bespoke craftsmanship. Meticulously curated with exotic materials sourced globally, the estate features unparalleled amenities including a Nobu-designed chef's kitchen, a Hollywood-caliber 20-seat theater, and a temperature-controlled wine lounge. The crown jewel of this deluxe residence is a primary suite with retinal-scan security and a retractable roof for stargazing, while a state-of-the-art automotive gallery and Zen spa showcase the home's commitment to redefining elevated living."
The Buyer
The person who paid $83 million for this home in July 2021 was a then-26-year-old tech billionaire named Austin Russell. Austin is the founder and CEO of a company called Luminar Technologies. Luminar does something related to "lidar" and other machine perception technology that is apparently used in autonomous cars.
Luminar went public in December 2020 under the ticker symbol "LAZR." As the owner of 1/3 of the company's equity, Austin was worth $2.4 billion immediately after the company went public. That made him the youngest billionaire in the world at that point. At the time of the IPO, he was 25.
Unfortunately, times have not been good for Luminar. The stock is down roughly 98% since it went public in late 2020. Its current market cap is around $225 million. Austin is no longer a billionaire. Presuming he still owns 1/3 of the company's equity, today, his paper stake in the company is worth around $74 million. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. And now he lost his mansion. Absolutely brutal.
(Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for TechCrunch)
