Former RadioShack CEO auctions mansion

A Fort Worth business icon is parting ways with his opulent estate.

Retired RadioShack CEO Len Roberts is auctioning off his 16,000-square-foot mansion nearly 20 years after the construction of the home was completed, the Dallas Morning News reported. The auction is scheduled for April 21-23, and the starting bid will be $2.5 million.

Roberts, 74, originally listed the home for $8.9 million, but he said it didn’t reach the right market. Nonetheless, he’s at peace with not getting a return on his investment, as Roberts and his wife are ready to move onto a simplified life with a scaled-down property, the outlet reported.

The five-bedroom, 10-bathroom estate, located 4400 Overton Crest Street near Texas Christian University, was last valued at $3.5 million by the Tarrant Appraisal District. Insurance firm AIG quoted a replacement value of $21 million.

Roberts has invested $12 million in the property throughout the years. It took five years to finish building, from 1999 to 2004, with architect Don Wheaton at the helm of design and Sandra Sampson Interiors leading the interior work. 

The builder was Rick Williams, whom Roberts gave an “unlimited budget” for the project. “And somehow, he found a way to exceed it,” Roberts told the outlet.

The house is decked out with crystal chandeliers, iron doors, an elevator that services all three floors and a pool with a clubhouse. It’s encircled by a 12-foot wrought-iron gate and 10-foot wrought-iron fence, and has open views of downtown Fort Worth and TCU’s football stadium, the outlet said.

Perhaps the most lavish feature is the 12-seat movie theater modeled after the storied Marbro Theatre in Chicago – Roberts’ home city.

“I will tell you this modestly, because as a CEO, of course, I’ve been into many, many homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area; like many big homes,” Roberts told the outlet. “I’ve not seen a home theater like ours.”

Roberts retired in 2005 and has since moved into the Mira Vista neighborhood.

—Quinn Donoghue