No Shortage of $10 Million Houses
The Knoll, once the home of old tycoon Marvin Davis, comes out on top of Realtor Cecella Waeschle’s list of the highest-priced single-family home sales on the Westside and in Malibu in 2005.
The Beverly Hills mansion, on 10-plus acres, was listed at $59.5 million and sold for $42 million, according to the broker, who is with Sotheby’s International Realty, Malibu. Waeschle has put together the year-end totals since 1988. Davis, who died in September 2004, bought the Knoll in the mid-80’s for about $21 million.
In 2005, there were 41 $10-million-plus sales in the area surveyed by Waeschle. In 2004, there were 25. Among those in the $10-million-plus are:
Steve Bing, film producer (“Get Carter,” starring Sylvester Stallone) and a member of a family that has appeared on the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans, sold nine Bel-Air lots, including the site of comic actor Red Button’s former home, to a developer for a total of about $75 million.
Sandy Gallin, TV and film producer (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Father of the Bride”), sold his Malibu home for about $30 million.
The estate of Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, producer of the James Bond films, sold the family’s Beverly Hills home for about $28 million.
Actor-director Mel Gibson bought in Malibu for $24 million.
Actress Diane Keaton sold the Colonial Revival-style home she restored in Bel-Air for close to $17.2 million.
And Larry Ellison, chief executive and co-founder of software giant Oracle Corp., continued his buying spree. He has spent at least $180 million on more than a dozen Malibu homes during the last two years. Among them was the home of Grammy-winning music producer David Foster and his wife, actress Linda Thompson. Ellison bought their 23-acre property last year for slightly more than $20 million.