WSJ: Former Warner Bros. Co-CEO Lists California Ranch for $24.95 Million
Bob Daly keeps miniature horses, chickens and pigeons on the Calabasas property
A California ranch owned by entertainment mogul Bob Daly and his wife, songwriter Carole Bayer Sager, is coming on the market for $24.95 million.
Known as Oaktree Ranch, the roughly 19-acre Calabasas property includes a main residence, a stable, a caretaker’s house, a pool and a tennis court, according to marketing materials. “People buy a ranch in Montana,” Mr. Daly said, but “I didn’t want to fly anywhere.” He keeps a pony, miniature horses, goats, and dozens of chickens and pigeons on the ranch, he said.
The Dalys purchased the ranch property in two transactions in 1999totaling about $6.8 million, records show. Mr. Daly said they tore down an existing house and commissioned architect Mark Rios to design a new residence that was finished around 2003. He retained a smaller home on the property as a caretaker’s house.
Mr. Daly, 86, who lives in Bel-Air, said he bought the ranch after stepping down as chairman and co-CEO of movie studio Warner Bros. He had bought into the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, where he was managing partner, but still found himself with time on his hands. “You can’t go to Dodger Stadium at 8 o’clock in the morning, there’s nobody there,” he said.
Mr. Daly said a few times a week, he would wake up early to spend several hours at the ranch before heading to the baseball stadium by around 1 p.m. A self-described animal lover, he said the ranch became a respite after years in the corporate world, where he started as an office boy at CBS making $41 a week and later became an executive who took bags of scripts and paperwork home each weekend. “The ranch gave me an instant vacation,” he said. “When I go there I feel like I’m in a different world.”
The main residence, measuring about 7,500 square feet, has three bedrooms, including a primary suite that spans the entire second story. Two other bedrooms and a gym are located on the ground level, according to marketing materials.
The property also has multiple corrals and an 8-stall horse stable with an office. Mr. Daly said he redid the barn and corrals and built a new chicken coop that is cleaned every day. Over the years, he said he has bred goats, miniature horses and various types of pigeons. Mr. Daly, who raised and flew pigeons growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y., said the birds tend to get a bad rap because people think of street pigeons. “My pigeons get a bath two or three times a week,” he said.
Mr. Daly said he currently has about 25 pigeons in three coops. His chickens produce some 25 dozen eggs a week in colors such as blue and green. “I give them away to everybody,” he said. “Now, with the shortage of eggs and the price, people are lining up for my eggs.”
Mr. Daly said he entertained often at the ranch, but since Covid he hasn’t been spending as much time there. Although he could live happily at the ranch full-time, he said his wife couldn’t. In Bel-Air, the couple’s house has a music room, screening room and art studio, he said. “The ranch doesn’t give her what it gives me,” he said.
Mr. Daly said he is building a chicken coop at his Bel-Air house, but won’t bring the roosters or pigeons because they would likely disturb the neighbors. Whoever buys the ranch can have the other animals, he said, or Mr. Daly will find new homes for them.
Stephen Shapiro of Westside Estate Agency, who is marketing the ranch with colleague Kurt Rappaport, said horse ranches in the area turn over infrequently. The size and location of Oaktree Ranch, which is about 10 miles from Malibu, are unusual, he said. “I don’t know if you could duplicate it for that price,” he said.
