A Colonial Beverly Park mansion with ties to an ex-Kremlin media tycoon will hit the market on Monday for $29 million, The Real Deal has learned.
The owner of the property, Dastel Corp., is linked to Russia’s former minister of communications and mass media Mikhail Lesin, who was behind the launch of international news network RT, reportedly Moscow’s propaganda machine. Lesin unexpectedly fell out of favor with Putin and moved to Los Angeles in 2009, purchasing $28 million worth of real estate. The properties included the Beverly Park home, which was purchased by Dastel for $13.8 million in August 2011.
Lesin was reportedly found dead inside a hotel room in Washington last year.
The 13,500-square-foot estate, which sits on 4.25 acres, is one of few properties in the gated community that offer panoramic city views.
Aaron Kirman and Neyshia Go of John Aaroe Group have the listing.
Lesin’s son Anton Lessine is registered as co-owner of Dastel Holdings, according to records. Lessine has built his career as a Hollywood movie producer, funding star vehicles for the likes of Woody Allen, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Brad Pitt.
Kirman called the seven-bedroom, 10-bathroom property unique, pointing to the ornate, artisan hand-painted crown moldings throughout the house.
“Homes do not come on the market often in Beverly Park,” he said. “Beverly Park is the most exclusive guard-gated community in Los Angeles. Owners of these estates are typically foreign royalty, billionaire business magnates or high profile celebrities.”
Kirman said in the rare instance a home does come on the market in the neighborhood it typically sells between $20 to $50 million.
The estate, which was built in 1988, previously belonged to Louise Taper, an Abraham Lincoln manuscript and artifact collector. Taper was the daughter-in-law of the late Sydney Mark Taper, the real estate developer and philanthropist whose name adorns the Los Angeles Music Center’s Mark Taper Forum in Downtown L.A.
The property also features a billiard room, a 16-seat movie theater, a gym with sauna and steam room and a five-car garage with a motor court to accommodate parking for additional guests.
Other notable Beverly Park residents include Mark Wahlberg, Eddie Murphy, Rod Stewart and Denzel Washington.