Former Providian CEO lists White House replica in Hillsborough for $35M

Providian Financial’s former chairman and CEO Shailesh Mehta is selling his White House-inspired mansion just south of San Francisco.

Mehta purchased the home in 1997 for himself, his wife and daughter and his newly married son and daughter-in-law, Bloomberg reported. While he originally planned to build two separate homes on adjacent lots, the 22,300-square-foot mansion was built and ready for purchase.

After 25 years, Mehta’s children have found their own homes and now he and his wife are looking to move out of the massive 24-room mansion. “It’s a great place, it’s just that it’s just the two of us,” Mehta told Bloomberg. “We want a smaller home to grow older in.”

The home, which features 10 bedrooms and even more bathrooms, is being listed for $35 million — almost $30 million more than Mehta paid for the property 25 years ago, according to Zillow.

The house was built in 1878 for real estate developer William Howard. The property changed hands multiple times and the home itself was even moved to its current location just before the turn of the century. The home was later acquired by George Randolph Hearst, who then hired the same architect who designed Hearst Castle, Julia Morgan.

Mehta didn’t make too many changes to the structure itself, but he did invest several million dollars in the gardens, bathrooms and interior mechanical systems. He renovated the Olympic-sized swimming pool on the grounds and put in a walkway to the pool house and built a gazebo. Inside, Mehta did add a master suite to each end of the home so he and his son could coexist peacefully.

The home rises three levels, with an elevator connecting all floors. A living room stretches the full width of the home, overlooking the terrace and a “34-foot-deep family room” has a view of the pool in the back of the house.

While Mehta’s grandchildren have come to stay at the home, he says it is time for the home to find a new family. “We love this house and we’ll miss it,” he told Bloomberg. “But every home has its time.”

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[Bloomberg] — Victoria Pruitt