Simon Cowell Sells Beverly Hills Mansion at Steep Loss
It appears Simon Cowell is in the mood to radically thin his real estate portfolio, or at least the portion of it within the Los Angeles area. Only a month after he sold his main residence in Beverly Hills for exactly $25 million in an off-market transaction, property records reveal the media tycoon has also disposed of another 90210 property in a second off-market deal, this time for $14.5 million. The buyer is Alexander Soleimani, an L.A.-based dentist-turned-real estate investor.
Despite that blistering pricetag, it’s clear Cowell took a deep loss on the second home, which is located on what is arguably the best street in Beverly Hills’ searingly expensive Trousdale Estates neighborhood. He paid $15.5 million for the .65-acre lot and its midcentury modern house in May 2011. That’s a million-dollar loss on paper, but that number doesn’t account for nearly a decade of maintenance, taxes, hefty realtor fees, and other closing costs. On top of that, the house has been remodeled not once but at least three times during Cowell’s ownership, despite the fact that — according to previous reports — he’s never actually occupied the property himself. Add it all up, and the total monetary loss likely jettisons near to eight-figure territory.
Built in 1966 and once owned by Oscar-winning “Pillow Talk” producer Ross Hunter and his partner, “Singin’ in the Rain” art director Jacques Mapes, the nearly 7,300 sq. ft. mansion was designed by acclaimed midcentury architect Hal Levitt, who also designed homes owned by celebrities like Jennifer Aniston and Ellen DeGeneres, though the Cowell property isn’t generally considered one of his best works. Though the current interior configuration remains unknown, at one time the place had two bedroom suites, plus two additional bedrooms and a screening room. There is, or was, also a double-gated motorcourt, an outdoor fireplace and BBQ area, and an outdoor plunge pool set beneath a rather ungainly concrete trellis.
But the property’s most valuable feature is undoubtedly its spectacular view of the L.A. basin, from the Downtown skyline to the ocean and Catalina Island. The house is also located on a billionaire-heavy street, where some of the nearest neighbors include Oakley founder Jim Jannard, LVMH’s Bernard Arnault, and a Saudi sheikh. To keep up with the Joneses, it seems likely that Soleimani will need to either remodel or completely raze the former Cowell digs.
Besides the two just-sold Beverly Hills mansions, Cowell is also selling the Hidden Hills ranch he recently purchased from his former protege Leona Lewis. But he still owns his $24 million Malibu estate — the scene of his recent bicycle accident — as well as lavish homes in New York City and the United Kingdom.
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