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Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen lists undeveloped site in Beverly Hills for $150M
The billionaire first bought the land for about $20M in late 1990s
In Beverly Hills, where supply is tight and home prices are soaring, a massive swath of land just hit the market for an equally massive asking price.
Paul Allen, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, wants $150 million for a 120-acre site, the Wall Street Journal reported. That’s seven-and-a-half times the amount the billionaire paid for the land back in the 1990s.
The property, nicknamed “The Enchanted Hill” by former neighbor and silent film star Greta Garbo, is comprised of five flat lots. There’s not much else on the undeveloped land, besides sweeping views of the city and a 1-mile private street entryway.
Allen purchased the property with the intention of building a residence on the grounds, listing agent Zach Goldsmith told WSJ. In the process, he demolished a 20-bedroom mansion designed by architect Wallace Neff. The home, built by the late screenwriter Frances Marion and her husband, movie star Fred Thompson in the 1920s, also featured a tennis court and 70,000-gallon swimming pool.
Goldsmith shares the listing with Jeff Hyland, Rick Hilton and Jesse Lally, also at Hilton & Hyland.
The tech executive paid $20 million for the property in the 1990s.
Allen co-founded software giant Microsoft alongside Bill Gates in 1975. He’s now the owner of the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers, the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and owns a stake in the Seattle Sounders soccer team. He has a net worth of $20.1 billion, according to Forbes. [WSJ] — Natalie Hoberman