Lachlan Murdoch sets LA record with $150M deal for Bel Air mansion

UPDATED, 11:15 p.m., Dec. 11: Lachlan Murdoch has paid $150 million for the Chartwell Estate in Bel Air, setting a new record for the priciest home in Los Angeles.

The mansion belonged to the late media mogul Jerry Perenchio, and hit the market as a pocket listing two years ago at a $350 million price tag. Sources familiar with the deal told the Wall Street Journal that Murdoch, the co-chair of News Corp. and the eldest son of media titan Rupert Murdoch, is the buyer. Lachlan had a major windfall earlier this year when Rupert sold his 21st Century Fox company to Walt Disney.

The home was by far the largest property in the extensive portfolio owned by the Perenchio estate. The billionaire was a former chairman and chief executive for Univision. He died in 2017.

The 10-acre estate, which has a 25,000-square-foot main home, hit the market for $350 million as a pocket listing two years ago. In June, that was slashed to $195 million. The mansion has 11 bedrooms, 18 bathrooms, along with a 75-foot swimming pool, guest house, covered parking for 40 cars and a tennis court on the meticulously landscaped grounds.

The sale surpasses the previous record, set in July, when Formula One heiress Petra Ecclestone sold the Spelling Manor for about $120 million. That massive home had originally been listed for $200 million.

No less than eight agents are listed as representing the Perenchio estate in the sale: Drew Fenton, Jeff Hyland and Gary Gold of Hilton & Hyland; Joyce Rey, Jade Mills and Alexandra Allen of Coldwell Banker; and Drew Gitlin and Susan Gitlin of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties.

Lachlan is no stranger to trophy home purchases. In 2017, he paid $29 million for Mopani, an equestrian estate in Aspen.
[WSJ] — Matthew Blake