The mega-mansion known as "The One" sold Thursday for $126 million at a bankruptcy auction. That's a huge discount from its $295 million listing price, even with a 12% auction premium bringing the total to about $141 million.
The Bel-Air property set a new record for the costliest house sold at auction, but it fell well short of the California sales record set by venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, who purchased a Malibu estate for $177 million in October. The most ever spent on a U.S. residence was $238 million by hedge fund mogul Ken Griffin for a New York City penthouse in 2019. Several international sales have surpassed $300 million.
The buyer will be disclosed by March 8, when paperwork must be submitted to U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Deborah Saltzman, who will hold a hearing later this month on whether to approve the sale. It is possible that the winning bidder will be a limited liability company, a legal entity often used by the wealthy to hide their real estate purchases.
At least three dozen prospective buyers toured the 944 Airole Way property over the last couple of months, including billionaires from the Middle East, Asia and in California, The One's listing agents have said.
The online auction opened Monday, with just a handful of participants bidding before the final gavel. Most of the action occurred in the last few minutes.
The price amounted to well less than the roughly $190 million in debt carried by the property, meaning that many creditors will take losses.
The largest single creditor is Los Angeles billionaire Don Hankey, who lent $106 million to the dream project of developer Nile Niami. The lender claims he is owed more than $130 million in secured debt, including money he provided in bankruptcy to repair and spiff up the property for sale.
Hankey, who previously said he might bid for the property if it was severely underpriced at the auction, said he did not make a bid. He said the price should allow him to recover the cash he put into the project, but added that he was surprised at how low the final price was.
"The guy who bought it just got a great deal. He's got people willing to pay $50,000 a day just to do commercials and films," he said.
The hilltop home, said to be 105,000 square feet, was marketed for $500 million several years ago while under construction but didn't find a buyer. It was placed into bankruptcy in October after Hankey foreclosed on the $106 million in debt defaulted on by Crestlloyd, the limited liability company established by Niami that legally owns the project.
The One is just the latest L.A. trophy home to end up in bankruptcy following a blitz of costly development in the region's glitzy hillsides and coastal communities.
Concierge Auctions, a luxury online auction house that handled The One's sale, last year set an auction record when it sold a Beverly Park home for $51 million — but that was still more than $100 million off its original asking price.
How much The One would go for has been something of a parlor game in the luxury real estate community, with some thinking it is the ultimate trophy home and others declaring it a white elephant.
The property includes a 4,000-square-foot guesthouse, a sky deck with cabanas, a private theater, a full-service spa, a nightclub and even an outdoor running track and moat. It has 21 bedrooms and 42 full bathrooms.
However, the mansion could end up being a project for the buyer.
The house isn't 100% complete and lacks a certificate of occupancy, pending a sign-off from city inspectors on crucial permits for grading, electrical and other work. Also, it could have construction defects and zoning code violations, according to allegations in court documents.
The mansion was described on the Concierge website as the "largest in the urban world," but by many accounts, a 27-story home said to be 400,000 square feet owned by a billionaire in Mumbai, India, is considered the world's largest, outside of royal palaces. However, it may be the largest in the country.
Niami has been attempting to regain control of the property. In December, he proposed creating a cryptocurrency called The One Coin that would be backed by the mansion and pay off all the home's debts. His spokesperson said he would not be commenting on the sale.
Under the terms of the auction agreement, the winning bidder is under legal obligation to close the sale by the end of the month or lose a $250,000 deposit.
In making her determination whether to approve the deal, the judge will be considering whether she believes the high bidder has the financial wherewithal to close the sale, its impact on creditors and other issues.
The second-largest secured creditor is Inferno Investment, a company run by Julien Remillard, a longtime Canadian investor of Niami's. Inferno Investment claims it is owed $24 million. The third largest, at $14 million, is Yogi Securities, the investment vehicle of Joseph Englanoff, an L.A. doctor and another longtime Niami investor. The remaining secured and unsecured claims are substantially smaller.
