The $1B Beverly Hills Property Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise Couldn’t Afford

Published: September 15, 2015 | By: American Luxury Staff

It’s rare to think of Beverly Hills as flush with undeveloped space, but an impressive plot of land nicknamed “The Vineyard” is available for $1 billion.

Although the 157-acre property sat undeveloped for quite some time, it’s now ready for purchase and development. To put the property’s value into perspective, Brad Pitt once showed interested in the land but was turned down because it was out of his price range. Tom Cruise put a downpayment for one of the lots in escrow, but the deal fell through.

Spanning a hill overlooking Los Angeles, the views from the lot are one of a kind and incredibly rare for the area. In fact, this area has long been considered one of the most valuable undeveloped residential plots in the world.

Like any nearly priceless asset, the land has a unique history of ownership including Middle Eastern royals, a real estate operator, and a convicted felon.

Shams Pahlavi, the sister of the Shah of Iran, once owned the property with the intent to build a massive palace, but plans changed after the Iranian Revolution in 1979.

Hollywood Legend Merv Griffin also owned the plot with the hope of building a 58,000-square-foot mansion to rival producer Aaron Spelling’s property, but after issues with fire codes and finances, he sold the land.

Herbalife founder Mark Hughes was the next owner, but he passed away before plans for the area were put into place.

Eventually, the property fell into the hands of real estate operator Charles “Chip” Dickens who partnered with Cuban felon Victorino Noval. However, after tax evasion charges, Noval had to transfer ownership to a mysterious Middle Eastern royal who still owns some of the property.

Although riddled with lawsuits, the Beverly Hills land offers unparalleled views of Los Angeles, set above the city like Mount Olympus.

The area is now being used as a part-time venue until the new lucky owner makes their bid.

 

 

13190 September 15, 2015 Real Estate September 15, 2015