German Financier Buys Beverly Crest Spec Home for $48M

The mystery buyer of a spec mansion in Beverly Crest late last month for $47.5 million was revealed to be a German financier who paid $1 million above the asking price.

An entity linked to Lars Windhorst, a German businessman based in London known for his love of luxury, bought the 21,000-square-foot home at 1426 Summitridge Drive, Dirt.com reported. The deal ranks as among the most expensive in Los Angeles this year.

The seller was financier and film producer Henry Winterstern, whose credits include “Hard Kill” and “Wicker Park.”

Completed in 2020 after seven years of construction, the six-bedroom, nine-bathroom mansion entered escrow in June 2021, but was tied up for nearly two years. The house closed on March 31, one day before L.A.’s new mansion tax went into effect, saving the seller $2.6 million.

The 1-acre hilltop estate, designed by Troy Adams, was underwritten by Winterstern, who bought part of the property in 2012 for $2.9 million, according to Mansion Global. The home was initially listed in November 2020 for $46.5 million.

The land had contained a ranch house once home to musician Artie Shaw, who bought it in 1939. Actress Lana Turner eloped there with Shaw in 1940 during their brief marriage.

One of Shaw’s most popular tunes, “Summit Ridge Drive,” was written and rehearsed at the house, according to “Artie Shaw, King of the Clarinet: His Life and Times” by Tom Nolan.

Winterstern bought the lot next door, then bulldozed the Shaw house to build what he dubbed the Summitridge Estate.

According to Adams, the contemporary home that steps four levels down a ridge line was meant to evoke a “high-end, luxury boutique hotel.”

It has a cigar lounge, a double-height living room, wet bar with rotating shelves, wine cellar, game room, gym, theater, all-glass elevator and a full guest house plus a car museum. A walk-in closet features pop-up watch storage embedded in a center island.

The home has vanishing walls of glass, a resort-like master bedroom suite, and a rooftop deck with a hot tub, wet bar and dining area.

Outside, a zero-edge infinity pool and patios have views from Downtown L.A. to the Pacific Ocean.

Broker Kurt Rappaport of Westside Estate Agency held the listing.

Windhorst, 46, founded Windhorst Electronics and co-founded Sapinda Group, now Tennor Holding, a global investment firm that invests in public and private companies across a range of industries. While he reportedly spends time commuting via private jet, he also owns a $115 million superyacht. In 2018, he bought luxury lingerie brand La Perla.

— Dana Bartholomew