David Geffen drops $30 million on an empty acre in prime Beverly Hills

Above Beverly Hills in the ultra-exclusive enclave of “Billionaires Row,” one of the last empty lots has sold for $30 million. The buyer, sources told The Times, is music and movie mogul David Geffen.

The one-acre property listed in May 2018 for $39 million but was trimmed to $35.995 million a few months later, public records show.

Set on a ridge top, the property enjoys unobstructed views from downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Ocean.

According to the listing, the vacant land comes with plans for a 24,500-square-foot modern mansion. In addition to seven bedrooms and 14 bathrooms, the mock-up from architectural firm Shubin Donaldson includes a bowling alley, nightclub, bar, theater, salon, gym and a 140-foot swimming pool that spans the length of the estate.

It’s surrounded by some of the most prized estates in Beverly Hills. In 2014, Minecraft creator Markus Persson shelled out $70 million for an extravagant 23,000-square-foot spec house built by Bruce Makowsky on the same street, and last year, businessman Evan Metropoulos paid $65 million for the former home of late comedian Danny Thomas.

Nile Niami’s Opus, a golden-gated hyper-luxury mansion on the market for $60 million, sits across the street.

Geffen frequently makes waves in the L.A. real estate scene. In the summer of 2017, he sold an oceanfront compound in Malibu’s Carbon Beach for $85 million before dealing another home in the community for $8 million a few months later.

Branden and Rayni Williams of Hilton & Hyland held the listing. Kurt Rappaport of Westside Estate Agency represented Geffen.

Geffen, 76, is known for founding the music labels Asylum Records, Geffen Records and DGC Records, which is now known as Interscope Geffen A&M Records. In 1990, he co-founded DreamWorks Pictures with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg.

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