Fashion designer and occasional director Tom Ford has an off-market deal in the works to lock down a Beverly Hills estate that would be the year's biggest home sale so far in Los Angeles County. The sellers, hotel developer Brad Korzen and designer Kelly Wearstler, are selling their home to Ford for a reported $53 million, sources tell the LA Times. (The previous record-holder: a $38.27-million, off-market sale last month of a house near Swedish billionaire Markus Persson's record-setting Beverly Hills mansion.)
The house has a history rich with Hollywood industry connections. It was built for a silent film star in 1926, then sold to actor William Powell (of The Thin Man film series). In the early 1930s, under Powell's ownership, architect James E. Dolena was hired to transform the estate from a "Spanish mansion" into its current form—more of a Hollywood Regency affair. The residence was purchased in the late 1960s by Albert Broccoli, famous for producing James Bond movies, and stayed in his family up until 2005.
Listing photos from when Wearstler and Korzen had the house on the open market back in 2012 show glowing, mirrored interior of the seven-bedroom main residence and a glimpse of the 3.2-acre grounds. A swimming pool, a two-bedroom guesthouse, and a tennis court also share the property. It was rumored that Ford's bid beat out one from perpetual high-end renters Beyoncé and Jay Z, though the Times's sources deny that Bey and Jay ever had "serious" interest in the place.
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