Niami’s ex in contract on Bel Air mansion with $28M ask

Yvonne Niami, the ex-wife of high-profile spec developer Nile Niami, is in contract to sell a Bel Air mansion.

The property, located at 301 Copa De Oro Road in East Gate Bel Air, went into contract with a last asking price of $28 million, according to Zillow. The deal for the 11,920-square-foot home was signed on January 14. The buyer for the home is undisclosed.

The property is a 1930s Georgian estate designed by architect Richard Manion. It has features such as an acre of level grounds dotted with sycamore trees, a two-story Swarovski crystal chandelier, a library with a fireplace and a lower level with a guest suite and a media lounge.

Niami, through an entity called Holding Company of Beverly Hills, bought the seven-bed, ten-bath home in her own right for $16.2 million in 2016, property records show. It was previously owned by Noel Hentschel, the CEO of tour operator AmericanTours International, and her husband Gordon, a former executive for Hyatt Hotels. The Hentschels recently put a 400-acre property in Carmel Valley, California, called the Stonepine Estate, on the market for $70 million.

Yvonne Niami filed for divorce from her ex-husband in 2017, previous reports show. They were married for more than 18 years.

At the time of the divorce, there were questions about how the settlement would hit Nile Niami’s real estate holdings. Yvonne Niami is part of the holding company that owns “The One,” the 105,000-square-foot Bel Air mansion that was once valued at $500 million. The property, which is almost twice as big as the White House, is considered the largest mansion in Los Angeles. It is set to be sold in an auction next month with a price tag of $295 million. If it sells at that price, it would break the record for the most expensive home sale ever in the United States. The current record is held by hedge fund executive Ken Griffin, who paid $238 million for a New York City condo in 2019.

Hilton & Hyland’s Drew Fenton, one of the agents in charge of the Copa De Oro Road listing, did not respond to a request for comment.