Seems as though Yolanda’s anointed duty (curse? blessing?) is to discuss the real estate doings of the many members of the exceptionally prosperous Spielberg clan. If we must, we must. So be it!
We’ve already babbled on about the independently-wealthy Jessica Capshaw‘s $10 million splurge on an unfinished Pacific Palisades mansion, and we also gabbed about the much more modest (yet far cooler) Silver Lake starter home of her younger half-sister Sasha Spielberg. Now let’s take a quick gander at the two-story Traditional in Westchester recently acquired by eldest son Max Spielberg.
We don’t think we’ve ever written a story about Westchester before — it’s not exactly celebrity-infested — so in the spirit of the holiday season, we will give any of y’all out-of-towners a wee geography lesson. Westchester is located just south of LA’s Westside region, just a couple miles inland from the Pacific Ocean. It’s just east of the pricey community of Playa del Rey and just west of the somewhat rough-and-tumble neighborhood of Inglewood. Westchester is also about equidistant between Santa Monica to the north and Torrance to the south. The area is also home to Loyola Marymount University.
Westchester may be best-known, however, as the neighborhood that millions of people pass through every year, many of them never realizing they do so. Westchester is, after all, home to the feared and loathed hot mess known as Los Angeles International Airport. Or simply LAX. The place of shattered dreams and permanently lowered expectations; the place where hope goes to die and leave its carcass to fester in the summer heat.
Young Mr. Spielberg’s new house is so conveniently close to LAX that he could walk to the airport. Well, perhaps not that close — that walk could get annoying with luggage. But it would take him exactly 7 minutes to walk from his house to the nearest LAX bus stop and only 9 minutes and $1.25 more for the bus to take him to the airport terminals. Sure beats paying $30/day for parking, are we right? And yes, we calculated the times and fees ourselves. Boredom mixed with OCD is never a good combo. Don’t judge.
But we majorly digress. Do the Spielbergs even fly commercial? Shouldn’t they be living up in Burbank near the private jet airport?!
Max Spielberg is actually Steven Spielberg’s eldest offspring, and his only child with Academy Award-nominated actress Amy Irving, whom he divorced in 1989 in what was then estimated to be the third-costliest celebrity divorce of all time. Ms. Irving reportedly received a fat $100 million settlement.
Our young Mr. Spielberg, now in his early 30s, briefly worked in Hollywood during the late ’90s and early 2000s, but otherwise seems to have eschewed the industry that made his family so rich and famous. We’re not entirely sure what Mr. Spielberg does for work or for leisure these days — for all we know he’s locked up 24/7 in a nuclear laboratory perfecting a cure for chinchilla rabies — but we do know for a fact that he recently found time to wed an aspiring beauty blogger named Valerie.
History tells us that a new marriage and/or poppin’ a new baby often means folks go on the hunt for a new house. And indeed, lookie here. Mr. Spielberg and his wife selected the aforementioned house in Westchester, which they acquired through a blind trust. (For the record: this sale actually went down late last year but Yolanda was slow on the uptake. Sorry, kiddies.)
According to property records, Mr. & Mrs. Spielberg paid $2,100,000 for the structure, a rather shocking $250,000 more than the asking price. So either the house was significantly underpriced to start or Mr. & Mrs. Spielberg wanted this place quite badly. Or both, right?
Let’s take a quick look at what got them so hot ‘n bothered.
First thing to note is that the 2006-built house towers three stories from the front driveway (including the subterranean two-car garage). Because of the narrow lot and the sloped parcel, however, the developer chose to locate the front door next to the garage but rather on the other side of the house.
The lot size is a fairly cramped (but typical for the neighborhood) .13 of an acre. The house itself clocks in at a comfy (but hardly huge) 3,851 square feet.
Other than a tree-shaded grassy front yard that curves around to meet the driveway and a tiny fenced-in side yard, there ain’t much outdoor space. And there’s no pool, which may seem surprising for a $2.1 million house but is also typical for the neighborhood.
The front door opens to a proper entrance foyer. Pricey walnut floors run throughout both levels. There’s a centrally-located family room on the main floor. Seems typical enough, right?
But not so fast. This house is actually quite unconventional. You see, all the entertaining spaces — the living room, dining room, kitchen — are located not on the main floor but rather on the upstairs level, the place usually reserved (in other more ordinary homes) for bedroom suites and other private chambers and such.
It seems this place was meant to accommodate entertainers and their guests, so the upstairs is mostly one open room. The gourmet kitchen has high-end appliances and white cabinetry with black countertops of an unknown material.
The living room has a few bookshelves and a gaping fireplace large enough to heat the whole house and possibly the one next door, too.
Also on the upper level is the master suite, which the listing stresses is “tucked away privately”, whatever that means. The suite itself is roomy but not huge. There’s a corner fireplace, a writing desk, and a sitting area by the window. Two French doors open to a spacious outdoor deck partially shaded by a wooden trellis.
The master bathroom has dual vanities, a soaking tub, and a de rigueur glass enclosed shower but otherwise looks a tad bit dated, particularly with those sad grey tile floors.
Back on the lower level are two more guest/family bedroom suites (the listing says the house has a total of 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms) and a private office with what looks like a slim window seat.
Just for fun, because it’s almost Christmas and those of you who celebrate this holiday deserve a treat for putting up with Yolanda, let’s take a look at Max Spielberg’s daddy’s real estate portfolio.
The Spielberg clan’s main residence has long been their multi-acre hilltop compound on what is perhaps the most expensive street in the searingly-expensive “Riviera” section of Pacific Palisades. In addition to the main house, Yolanda counts at least five smaller accessory buildings on the premises.
Just a quick jaunt east on Sunset Boulevard is the nearly 2-acre equestrian ranch that Mr. Spielberg bought for his horse-lovin’ wife Kate Capshaw nearly 20 years ago. The property is located in the bucolic Sullivan Canyon enclave, where other richie rich residents include Ryan Murphy, Diane Keaton, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, and Richard Edlund and his Russian heiress wife Rita Kogan.
In New York City’s Upper West Side, Mr. & Mrs. Spielberg combined two 16th floor units at the illustrious San Remo building to create a 6,000-square-foot “mansion in the sky” with views of Central Park.
In East Hampton, Mr. Spielberg has nearly 10 oceanfront acres and a Gwathmey Siegel-designed compound on the shore of hoity-toity Georgica Pond.
After putting the property out for lease over the course of several years, Mr. & Mrs. Spielberg recently sold their double-lot mansion on Malibu’s quickly-disappearing Broad Beach for $26,000,000 to real estate investor Steve Gozini.
And then there’s Mr. Spielberg’s $200 million floating mansion. But Saint Yolanda is exhausted for the night. If you’ll excuse us, we’ve got merrymaking to do.
Listing agent: Robin Zacha, Power Brokers International
Max Spielberg’s agent: Ann Eysenring, The Agency