Billionaire Berggruen buys some elbow room in Beverly Hills

Last fall, Nicolas Berggruen landed William Randolph Hearst’s former Beverly Hills estate for $63.1 million – and now he’s bought the house next door.

The Paris-born billionaire investor picked up the 6,300-square-foot, Mediterranean-style villa at 1013 N Beverly Dr. for $12.3 million, according to Dirt.

The seven-bedroom, eight-bath home, built in 1954, has a circular driveway, motor court and an attached three-car garage — including a bay that looks to have been converted into a guest flat.

Outside, the nearly acre-size property includes an expansive lawn tied to a deck and swimming pool.

(Source: TheMLS.com)

Inside, visitors step into a tall-ceiling foyer sheathed in marble and topped by a crystal chandelier. A family room and corner bar, plus the wood-paneled living room and fireplace, have walls of glass that lead outdoors. An all-wood kitchen includes top stainless appliances. A master bedroom has a fireplace and mini bar.

If added to the storied Hearst estate next door, Bergguen’s Beverly Hills compound would total about 4.5 acres.

In September, the founder of the Berggruen Institute beat out five other bidders vying for the 29,000-square-foot Hearst estate whose owner, Leonard Ross, was mired in bankruptcy. The house next door was also sold as part of the same bankruptcy proceeding.

The institute is building a new headquarters on 450 acres in the Santa Monica Mountains.

The philanthropist and peripatetic real estate investor permanently relocated to Los Angeles last year. The head of Berggruen Holdings, a private investment company, has dual American and German citizenship.

Berggruen’s main house is in West Hollywood’s Sierra Towers building, where he spent more than $20 million buying up at least seven different condo units, according to Dirt. He also owns a 1920s Spanish Revival-style Hollywood mansion atop the Sunset Strip.

He paid more than $40 million five years ago for half the legendary estate of Edie Goetz, daughter of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer co-founder Louis B. Mayer, in Holmby Hills. Then he paid $22.5 million for the other half of the Goetz estate next door.

[Dirt] – Dana Bartholomew

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