The mansion used as the backdrop of the popular 1960s TV show “The Beverly Hillbillies” has sold for about $150 million—a record-setting sale for California and the second most expensive for the U.S.
The home in the ritzy Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles is also known as Chartwell. It was once a pocket listing with a price tag of $350 million but sold after a series of price drops and being listed publicly on the MLS.
The sale price tops California's previous record-setter, the $120 million sale of the Manor in Holmby Hills earlier this year. Nationally, the sale of the "Hillbillies" mansion is second only to the $238 million penthouse in New York that sold to hedge funder Ken Griffin in January.
The 1930s French neoclassical style estate boasts 25,000 square feet, has 26 rooms, and sits on 10 acres. Though the exterior of the home was used in the TV show, filming never took place inside. The buyer is Lachlan Murdoch, son of Rupert Murdoch and co-chairman of News Corp. The estate has one of the highest annual tax bills in Los Angeles at $1.3 million, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The listing agents for the home were Drew and Susan Gitlin of Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices California Properties; Drew Fenton, Gary Gold, and Jeff Hyland of Hilton & Hyland; and Joyce Rey, Jade Mills, and Alexandra Allen of Coldwell Banker Global Luxury. Fenton also represented Murdoch in the deal, the Times reports.
The luxury market continues to be strong in California: Los Angeles has seen seven mega-sales since 2016, each at least $100 million.
Source: “‘Beverly Hillbillies’ Estate Sells to Media Heir Lachlan Murdoch for About $150 Million,” Los Angeles Times (Dec. 12, 2019) and “Beverly Hillbillies Estate Sells for $200 Million Less Than its Initial Asking Price—and Still Breaks a Record,” Forbes.com (Dec. 12, 2019)
