$108 Million in La Jolla

by | Oct 23, 2024 | Interesting Houses, La Jolla | 1 comment

The seaside mansion known as the “sandcastle” estate hit the market Tuesday for a whopping $108 million. The architectural wonder was designed to resemble the Chateau de Versailles. This is two doors down from the Marine Room so you know the types of waves that can pummel this area:

The seller paid $26,150,000 for the two properties, and purchased both at the bottom in 2009:

https://www.compass.com/app/listing/1900-spindrift-drive-la-jolla-ca-92037/1692985892395125321

Complex Web of Trusts

by | Sep 25, 2024 | Historic Homes, Interesting Houses | 1 comment

Do you think divorce means 50/50? Maybe not:

The Pritzker estate, a roughly 50,000-square-foot estate on a promontory in the hills above Los Angeles, is one of the largest private homes in the country. At times run by a staff of more than 25 people, it has a bowling alley, a hairdressing area, a gym with changing rooms and an infinity swimming pool overlooking the city skyline.

The longtime home of billionaire Hyatt hotel heir Tony Pritzker and philanthropist Jeanne Pritzker, the mammoth estate has been at the center of the couple’s bitter divorce fight since they separated in 2022. Now, with the divorce settled for an undisclosed sum, the estate is slated to go on the market, likely asking somewhere between $150 million and $200 million, according to local real-estate agents. If the home fetches its price, it would be one of the most expensive homes ever to sell in L.A.

The listing caps a saga that has engulfed the wealthy and prominent Pritzker family, shining a light on their lavish lifestyle as well as the complex machinations the superrich use to shield their wealth from taxes, the prying eyes of the public, and sometimes each other.

Tony is the son of Hyatt hotel chain co-founder Donald Pritzker and brother of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. He and Jeanne, both in their 60s, were married for more than 30 years and have six children. The couple spent years building their gated estate on Angelo Drive in the exclusive Beverly Hills Post Office area—one of multiple homes they shared—using it to host parties attended by the likes of Al Gore, Jane Fonda, Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen.

When Tony left Jeanne in the fall of 2022, the L.A. estate quickly became a focal point of their rancorous divorce. Jeanne wanted to continue living in the mammoth house and using it for the philanthropic events she said it was built for. Tony wanted to sell; he has since paid $19.5 million for a four-bedroom penthouse spanning about 8,000 square feet at Westwood’s Beverly West condominium, where the R&B star the Weeknd once owned a home, according to property records.

After the couple split, Jeanne stayed in the Angelo Drive house and Tony moved out, according to court documents. But she was shocked when Tony’s lawyers informed her that the house and its contents—down to the forks, knives and spoons—were technically owned not by the couple, but by a complex web of trusts and limited liability companies. Moreover, Tony’s lawyers said Jeanne wasn’t entitled to live in the house because she wasn’t a beneficiary of the trust that owns it. The properties she thought the couple owned personally weren’t part of the marital estate, which is normally divided 50/50 between divorcing couples.

Jeanne is one of a growing number of estranged spouses—usually wives—to find themselves in a similar position. The wealthy frequently put their assets into trusts and limited liability companies, which can be useful for estate planning, reducing taxes and maintaining privacy. High-end homes across the country are often purchased through LLCs or trusts rather than in the names of their owners. When it comes to divorce, however, these entities are increasingly being used to shield assets from being split between the warring parties, according to attorney Jeff Diamant, an expert in divorce fraud who is not involved in the Pritzker case.

“There is very definitely a rise in using various techniques to try to shield assets from spouses in the event of a divorce,” he said. “We’re seeing significantly increasing numbers of, let’s just say husbands, trying to hide money from their spouses.”

Free link to full article:

https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/luxury-homes/pritzker-estate-divorce-battle-ed30b650?st=ogjrmp&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

A regular guy’s opinion of the building process:

https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/02/19/18768778.php

Tiny Fest 2024

by | Mar 20, 2024 | ADU, Interesting Houses | 3 comments

I keep hoping there will be a cool, high-quality tiny house at any price – even the ones over $200,000 here weren’t that spectacular (including the 3D-printed house made of recycled plastic bottles (65%) and fiberglass (35%) that cost $220/sf):

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