Michael Eisner is chasing a record on the bluffs of Malibu, listing his prized oceanfront compound for $225 million. If he gets his price, it’ll be the most expensive home sale in California history.
Eisner, a media mogul who served as chief executive of the Walt Disney Co. from 1984-2005, has been assembling the compound for more than two decades. Records show he bought the first piece in the 1990s and has added at least four adjacent parcels in the years since.
The $225-million price tag is nearly $50 million higher than the current California sale record, which was set last year when billionaire Marc Andreessen dropped $177 million on a compound of his own — also in Malibu. The U.S. record belongs to hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, who paid $238 million for a New York City penthouse in 2019.
Eisner’s ambitious asking price is due to the property’s unrivaled scope and somewhat-secret location. Spanning nearly five acres, the estate sits on a bluff above Watkins Cove — a small, secluded beach that’s difficult for the public to access due to the tide.
Michael Eisner attends the premiere of the Hulu documentary “Hillary” at the DGA New York Theater on March 4, 2020, in New York.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Nine stone structures are spread across the grounds including a main house, multiple guesthouses, an office and gym. There’s a pool out back, as well as a cliff-side elevator that descends to an oceanfront cabana, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the listing.
It was built by Robert A.M. Stern, a New York City-based architecture firm with an international portfolio filled with highlights including the Pasadena Police Department building and Philadelphia’s Comcast Center. The firm has also completed several projects for Disney, including its Yacht Club Resort and the Roy E. Disney Animation Building in Burbank.
Kurt Rappaport of Westside Estate Agency holds the listing.
Eisner, 80, joined Disney after stints with NBC, CBS, ABC and Paramount Pictures, where he served as president from 1976-84. He currently owns the Tornante Co., a private investment firm. In 2017, he bought the Portsmouth Football Club for roughly $7.5 million.
The New York native also owns a compound in Bel-Air.