The setting of the television series, “Beverly Hillbillies:” The Chartwell Estate in Bel-Air, has sold for a record-breaking $150 million. The home was once the most expensive listing in the United States, originally listed for $350 million in 2017. It is California’s priciest sale ever, according to the Los Angeles Times and the second most expensive sale ever recorded in the U.S., according to the Wall Street Journal.
Spanning 25,000 square feet with 10 acres of land, the compound features a main house with 18 bedrooms and 24 bathrooms, a guest home, pool house, 75-foot swimming pool and tennis court.
An underground garage boasts a 40-vehicle capacity. There’s also a 12,000-bottle wine cellar and, rumor has it, a secret underground tunnel runs from the basement of the main house to the swimming pool.
Originally built in 1933, the Chartwell Estate was owned by media mogul A. Jerrold Perenchio for three decades, during which he purchased three parcels of neighboring land to expand the property. He also bought the adjacent former home of President Ronald Reagan for $15 million.
Perenchio originally paid $14 million for the estate in 1946 and developed it into a “Versailles-like palace” over the years until he passed away in 2017 at the age of 86. At that time, the $350 million listing hit the market, but with no immediate interest, the price was dropped to $245 million and then again to $195 million in June 2019.
FOX Executive Chairman and CEO, and co-chairman of News Corp, Lachlan Murdoch, is believed to be the new owner of the French neoclassical compound, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Photo Credit: PRNewsfoto/Coldwell Banker Global Luxury
