What does $400 million buy in Bel-Air? Thirty-nine bedrooms, 59 bathrooms, 70,000 square feet and a piece of history.
The mega-mansion, which surfaced for sale this week, is seeking to be the most expensive home sale in U.S. history. The current record belongs to Ken Griffin, who paid $238 million for a New York City penthouse in 2019, while the California record belongs to James Jannard, the Oakley founder who sold his Malibu mansion for $210 million in 2024.
The house serves as the family compound of the Al-Thanis, the uber-wealthy family that has ruled the oil-rich nation of Qatar since the 19th century. It’s just one small piece of their international collection of assets, which include hotels, resorts, yachts, thoroughbreds, a French soccer team and the Miramax film studio.
L.A. has long served as a luxury playground for the royal family. In 2011, the teenage prince, Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, arrived at USC with a small army of servants for an undergrad filled with luxury Lakers suites, exotic cars and a full-time residence at the Beverly Wilshire hotel. (A Times investigation raised questions about his degree after he was allowed to skip class for security reasons and received a Masters degree for a period in which he never stepped foot on campus.)
The Al-Thanis bought the property as an empty lot for $35 million in 2010. They set out with an unlimited budget of time and money, pouring $430 million into the estate over the course of nearly a decade, according to real estate agent Jack Harris, who shares the listing with Michael Fahimian.
Harris couldn’t disclose details about the owners but said they wanted to build “the best house L.A. has ever seen.”
Completed in 2018, the compound sits on an eight-acre promontory lot overlooking Bel-Air Country Club. There’s a 23-bedroom main house, 16 bedroom guesthouse and a heap of amenities including a movie theater, wellness facility, tennis court and multiple swimming pools.
Outside, rolling lawns dotted with sculptures take in views from Downtown L.A. to Catalina Island.
So why are they selling after pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the property over the better part of a decade? “They don’t use the property as much as expected,” Harris said.
As for whether a single-family home can command $400 million, or anything close, it remains to be seen.
A handful of Southern California properties have aimed for similar prices over the years and fallen well short. In Beverly Hills, a 157-acre property hit the market for $1 billion in 2018, but an ownership battle led to it selling at a foreclosure auction for $100,000. In Bel-Air, a 105,000-square-foot spec house was marketed for $500 million, but by the time it was finished, it was already falling into disrepair and ended up being auctioned off for $141 million.
However, Harris said the price tag fits the property.
“$400 million seems like an aspirational asking price, but this is the rare home where the money put into it exceeds the price tag,” he said. “I’ve been to all the top properties in L.A. Nothing holds a candle to this.”
Harris said he’s already received interest from several serious buyers, adding that despite the gargantuan size, it would still be a good fit for a small family.
“People hear 70,000 square feet and automatically think it’s unapproachable, but the house lives like a family home,” he said. “It doesn’t feel lonely.”
Since the property is located in the city of L.A., it’ll be subject to the Measure ULA “mansion tax,” a transfer tax levied on all sales above $5.3 million. Assuming it fetches $400 million, the mansion tax alone would be $23.8 million.
The post In Bel-Air, a $400-million mega-mansion aims for the national price record appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
