Pop Psychiatrist Pays $27M for Newport Beach Mansion

A bestselling author of pop psychiatry books has spent $27 million for a mansion on the waterfront of the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach.

Dr. Daniel Amen bought the home not far from the Costa Mesa headquarters of his company Amen Clinics, according to Robb Report.

The Tuscan-style house has almost 9,500 square feet with five bedrooms and 6.5 baths, according to a listing on Realtor.com.

Built in 2006, the house originally sold to Fletcher Jones Jr., owner of the Mercedes-Benz dealership in Newport Beach, and his wife Kimberly. The couple divorced about 10 years ago, according to Robb Report, but records indicate Kimberly Jones kept the home. It was sporadically for sale over the last seven years, with asking prices between $30 million and $32 million. At least two offers were accepted over that span, but neither deal crossed the finish line.

On a third of an acre, the property features a walkway that travels beneath a guesthouse and then reaches a main home’s courtyard with a fountain. Out back it has ocean views and a private dock that can accommodate two 60-foot yachts.

The main house has both a walk-in wine cellar and a “subterranean wine room” suitable for entertaining. Upstairs the master retreat has dual bathrooms and private terraces from both the bedroom and a home office. A movie theater seats 10.

Amen’s books include “Change Your Brain, Change Your Life” and “The End of Mental Illness,” in which he explains how neuroscience discoveries can help treat common conditions. His clinics promote brain scans for diagnosis. Amen recently convinced Khloe Kardashian to take a scan in an episode of the reality TV show “The Kardashians.” The Washington Post has called him “the most popular psychiatrist in America.”

— Joel Russell