Most Expensive Listing in the U.S. Is Bel Air Megamansion for $245M

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The Chartwell estate, a French neoclassical megamansion nestled comfortably on 10.3 manicured acres in Bel Air, has hit the market with quite a roar. With an asking price of $245 million, the Los Angeles listing is the most expensive in the U.S. Take a bow, Chartwell!

The extreme price made plenty of headlines, and is touted as “the ultimate trophy” by Hilton and Hyland, one of several brokerage houses representing the real estate behemoth.

The luxe listing was quietly shopped around for the crazy-high price of $350 million last year. However, a sale for anywhere near its current price would be one for the record books. The current record holder is a $110 million home sale in Malibu earlier this year.

Main house

Jim Bartsch

Manicured gardens

Jim Bartsch

Pool and pool house

Jim Bartsch

Fountain

Jim Bartsch

The 25,000-square-foot mansion was built in the1930s by architect Sumner Spaulding, commissioned by a property developer as a gift for his wife, according to Variety. Sadly, she apparently disliked the opulence of the place and never moved in. 

Amazingly, the home sat empty until the 1940s, when it was bought by hotelier Arnold Kirkeby, whose family held it until the 1980s. 

In 1986, billionaire media executive Andrew Jerrold Perenchio acquired the property and set about transforming it. He expanded the estate by buying up three contiguous land parcels.

He then tapped French designer Henri Samuel for a major renovation, heavily emphasizing 18th-century French neoclassical style. The mansion now includes 11 bedrooms, 18 bathrooms, and a layout focused on grand entertaining. Amenities of the chateau include a limestone facade, a ballroom, formal salon, paneled dining room, “world-class wine cellar,” and covered parking for 40 cars, according to the listing. 

The grounds boast a long private driveway, a five-bedroom guesthouse designed by Wallace Neff, gardens, a tennis court, pool with pool house, and “jetliner” views of downtown Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean.

Showings are available only for pre-qualified buyers only. So we don’t even have photos of what the grand mansion looks like past the front doors.

Fans of the 1960s sitcom “The Beverly Hillbillies” may recognize the main house featured in the TV show’s opening credits. Sadly, the compound now would probably be out of reach even for the Clampetts. 

The Chartwell estate is represented by Jeff Hyland, Drew Fenton, and Gary Gold of Hilton and Hyland; Jade Mills, Joyce Rey, and Alexandra Allen of Coldwell Banker Global Luxury; and Drew Gitlin and Susan Gitlin of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices.

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