Grindr founder Joel Simkhai spends $10.5M in Outpost Estates

One might say Joel Simkhai is zero feet away from his next residence.

The founder of Grindr paid $10.5 million for an 8,100-square-foot home at La Presa Drive in the Outpost Estates, The Real Deal has learned. That’s a new record for the hillside neighborhood above the Sunset Strip, where the priciest sale used to be “The Big Bang Theory” actor Johnny Galecki’s $9.2 million purchase.

ANR Development acquired the property from Russ Thyret – chairman and chief executive of Warner Bros. Records – for $5.1 million in December 2015, property records show.

Originally designed by renowned architect Fred Smathers, Simkhai’s newly remodeled Mediterranean Villa includes six bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a wine lounge and a media room. A detached guest house, infinity pool and extensive views of the city complete the outside.

The renovation was a multimillion-dollar undertaking, George Jordan, CFO at ANR, said. He declined to comment on the identity of the buyer.

Ernie Carswell and Chris Pickett of Douglas Elliman had the listing. Jory Burton of Sotheby’s International Realty represented the buyer. Neither could be reached for comment.

Simkhai had been chief executive of the gay meetup app since its founding in 2009. He sold the remaining 38.5 percent of his company to Chinese mobile-gaming company Beijing Kunlun for $152 million in May 2017, for a combined sale price of $245 million.