By Irina Ivanova
/ MoneyWatch
Beyoncé and Jay-Z have reportedly dropped a cool $200 million on a 30,000-square-foot home in Malibu, California, setting a record for the priciest home ever purchased in California.
TMZ reported that the couple paid all cash for the home on an exclusive stretch of Pacific Coast Highway. Dubbed an "architectural masterpiece" by the outlet, the property is also the most expensive single-family-home ever sold in the U.S., according to real estate appraiser Jonathan Miller, of Miller Samuel.
As massive as that figure sounds, it's not the most expensive home ever sold in the U.S. That honor goes to a midtown Manhattan condo owned by hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin, who set the record four years ago when he bought it for nearly $239 million.
Here are the 10 most expensive homes ever sold in the U.S., according to Miller's calculations.
10. The Chartwell Mansion — $150 million
The estate at 750 Bel Air Road in Los Angeles is popularly known as the real-life "Beverly Hillbillies" mansion, after the sitcom. Built in 1933, the French neoclassical chateau sits on 10 acres and offers 25,000 square feet of living and entertaining space, including a ballroom, wine cellar, tennis court, 75-foot swimming pool and covered parking for up to 40 cars, according to KCAL.
The mansion was the long-time home of Univision executive A. Jerrold Perenchino and was listed for $350 millionafter his death in 2017. It sold two years later for $150 million to Lachlan Murdoch, co-chair of News Corp. and son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, according to the Los Angeles Times.
While the selling price marks a discount of more than 50% from its initial listing, at the time the home set the record for priciest California pad, the Times reported.
9. Rush Limbaugh's Palm Beach compound — $155 million
The five-bedroom estate at 1495 North Ocean Boulevard in Palm Beach, Florida, was sold for $155 million earlier this year to William Lauder, the executive chairman of the Estee Lauder companies.
Since the 1990s, the property was owned by Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio host who died in 2021. Limbaugh bought this particular parcel in 1998 for just under $4 million, the Wall Street Journal reported.
8. 220 Central Park South, floors 60-61 — $157 million
Three of the 10 priciest real estate sales in the U.S. took place in this towering skyscraper on the southern edge of Manhattan's Central Park, nicknamed "Billionaires' Row" for its profusion of ultra-pricey condos.
In 2021, a buyer purchased the 60th and 61st floors of the exclusive building for $157.5 million. CNBC later reported the buyer to be Joe Tsai, co-founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba as well as owner of the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Liberty pro basketball teams.
7. The Warner Estate — $165 million
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos bought this 13,600 square-foot mansion in Beverly Hills for $165 million in 2020. The former home of Warner Baxter, co-founder of Warner Bros., the sprawling mansion was built in the 1920s and 1930s and comes with golf courses, tennis courts, three greenhouses and two guesthouses, according to CBS Los Angeles.
Bezos bought the property from music and film magnate David Geffen, who had paid $47 million for the estate in 1990, the Wall Street Journal reported.
6. 589 North County Road, Palm Beach — $170 million
An oceanfront estate in Palm Beach, Florida, sold for $170 million in April to luxury car dealer Michael Cantanucci, according to the New York Post and Wall Street Journal.
The 20,000 square-foot mansion at 589 North County Road was built in 2006 by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters founder Bob Stiller and his wife, Christine, according to the New York Post. The home, which sits on 1.6 acres, comes with impact-resistant windows and doors and a generator to power all electrical systems, the Post reported.
The sale holds the record for priciest Palm Beach properties. Cantanucci owns New Country Motor Car Group, a luxury dealership with locations in Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, New York and Pennsylvania.
5. Gemini mansion — $173 million
Billionaire Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, bought this 33-bedroom compound in Manalapan, Florida, for $173 million last year, USA Today reported. It holds the record for the priciest residential real estate transaction in the state.
The sprawling property, known as "Gemini," sits on a barrier island between Palm Beach and Delray Beach. It has 33 bedrooms and 47 bathrooms, according to Curbed. The house faces the lake on one side and the ocean on the other, with a total of 1,200 feet of beachfront and 1,300 of waterfront on the Intracoastal Waterway. Underground tunnels link the two wings of the house, according to USA Today.
Ellison bought the compound in 2022 from Jim Clark, another software billionaire, who had bought it in 2021 from the Ziff publishing family.
While the compound is the priciest piece of residential property to change hands in Florida, its vast living space make it a surprisingly good deal compared with the other estates on this list. At 62,200 square feet, the Gemini's sale price clocks in at $2,781 per square foot, according to Miller.
4. Paradise Cove Bluffs — $177 million
Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and his wife, Stanford University professor Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, purchased this Malibu estate on exclusive Paradise Cove Bluffs in 2021, the Wall Street Journal and The Real Deal reported.
The estate at 27740 Pacific Coast Highway includes a main dwelling, two guest houses, a cinema and a spa on about 7 acres, the Journal reported. It's just a stone's throw from Beyoncé's and Jay-Z's new home at 27712 Pacific Coast Highway.
3. 220 Central Park South, PH73 — $188 million
A year after buying the 60th and 61st floors of Manhattan's priciest skyscraper, billionaire Joe Tsai set another record, paying $188 million for the penthouse at 220 Central Park South, according to media reports.
Bloomberg and the New York Times reported that Blue Pool Capital, which manages the fortunes of Tsai and fellow Alibaba cofounder Jack Ma, spent nearly $190 million on the unit in early 2022. According to Bloomberg, JPMorgan Chase issued a $71 million mortgage for the property, which includes a lower-level maid's room.
2. 27712 Pacific Coast Highway — $200 million
Beyoncé and Jay-Z's $200 million purchase puts the estate second on the list of the priciest homes ever bought in the U.S. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando, the palatial estate features large stretches of Brutalist-style concrete hallways.
1. 220 Central Park South — $239 million
Ken Griffin, founder of hedge fund Citadel, holds the record for the biggest real estate purchase, with the $239 million purchase of a sprawling penthouse in Manhattan at 220 Central Park South. The 24,000-square-foot unit boast views of Central Park and comes with amenities including private dining rooms, an athletic club, juice bar, squash court and golf simulator, CBS News reported in 2019.
It's one of many properties owned by the financier, who also owns a Miami Beach condo, a London mansion, a Chicago penthouse, two beachfront estates in Hawaii, and hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of property around Miami and Palm Beach. Griffin made waves last year when he announced he would relocate Citadel from Chicago to Miami, citing concerns about crime.
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