Jeffrey Katzenberg downsizes to $30M Trousdale Estates property

A month after accepting a $125 million offer for his longtime Beverly Hills mansion, media mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg has plunked down $30 million for new digs in Trousdale Estates.

Katzenberg, the former Dreamworks Animation CEO and founder of streaming service Quibi, bought the property from Estée Lauder Executive Chairman William P. Lauder, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Lauder paid $12 million for the property. He demolished a home there in 2016 and rebuilt it with some updates. The new home is 6,515 square feet with five bedrooms.

Katzenberg sold his 26,000-square-foot Beverly Hills mansion in August. He bought that property for $35 million in 2009 and hired architect Howard Backen to design the house.

A representative for Katzenberg and his wife Marilyn Katzenberg said after the sale they “had been looking to downsize for some time, and received an offer they couldn’t refuse.”

The Katzenbergs are living at the Beverly Hills property until early next year. They’ll join dentist and real estate investor Alexander Soleimani in Trousdale Estates. Soleimani recently purchased Simon Cowell’s Trousdale home for $14.5 million.

Meanwhile, Katzenberg is attempting to right the $1.75 billion ship that is Quibi. The Hollywood-based company launched its mobile streaming service in April and has been slow to add subscribers.

The company is reportedly exploring a sale and raising money by going public through a so-called “blank check” company, which can be cheaper than a traditional IPO. Blank check companies have become popular lately with real estate investors and developers. [WSJ] — Dennis Lynch