A 120-acre hilltop estate with sweeping views of Los Angeles owned by the estate of late Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen has sold for $65 million.
The Beverly Crest property known as Enchanted Hill, with ties to the Golden Age of Hollywood, ratcheted down from an original asking price of $150 million, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Situated on a grassy ridge between Bel-Air and the Hollywood Hills, the prized estate is one of the largest undeveloped properties in the region. It affords views of stunning vistas of rugged canyons, the sprawling city and the Pacific Ocean. Two entrances lead in from Benedict Canyon Drive and Angelo Drive.
The property was once owned by screenwriter Frances Marion and film star Fred Thomson. The power couple of the silent era commissioned famed California architect Wallace Neff to build a Spanish Colonial Revival-style gem. With its built-in pipe organ, 100-foot swimming pool, lush gardens and mahogany-floored horse stable, it entertained a parade of breathless guests.
A neighbor, silent film actress Greta Garbo, would dub it Enchanted Hill.
The landmark stood for decades until Allen purchased the property for $20 million in 1997, then bulldozed it to build his own mansion. It was never built.
The Microsoft mogul had hoped to construct a single-family compound, equestrian facilities and a winery. He had readied the grounds for development, splitting up the winding estate into five separate lots while adding a one-mile driveway, two gated entrances and infrastructure for utilities.
Allen died in 2018 after a battle with cancer. He was 65. The programming genius was 22 when he founded Microsoft with Bill Gates. He left the company eight years later. He went on to amass one of the largest fortunes in U.S. history, and gave his life to philanthropic causes and investments, including the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trail Blazers franchises.
At the time of his death, Forbes estimated Allen’s net worth at $20.3 billion.
In 2019, his Beverly Crest property was listed by a trust tied to his estate for $150 million, then whittled down to $95 million. The listing for the final sale at $65 million was held by Jeff Hyland, Rick Hilton and Zach Goldsmith of Hilton & Hyland.
It wasn’t his most expensive estate sale. That honor goes to the Octopus, a $266-million mega-yacht sold last summer complete with a swimming pool, gym, library and space for two helicopters and a submarine, according to Superyacht Times.
In July, his 3.2-acre estate in Beverly Hills went up for sale for $55.5 million. The Spanish-style compound at 9402 Beverly Crest Drive that he bought for $10 million in 1997 includes 24,000 square-feet of living space.
Among its many customized features is an all-glass funicular that connects the pool area to the lighted tennis court below.