Riviera Home Sells for Record-Breaking $83 Million

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

The record for the most expensive home sold in Pacific Palisades has been broken for the second time in 2021.

An unnamed buyer purchased a Riviera mansion from Ardie Tavangarian for $83 million in an off-market deal, according to a report in Dirt. Encompassing one acre of land, the 20,000-square-foot home features six bedrooms and 18 bathrooms.

The house is designed with a retractable roof for stargazing, as well as two panic rooms, a previous listing for the home stated. The property was put on the market for rent in 2020 at $350,000 per month—reported to be the most expensive rental in Los Angeles.

“This is not just a home, this is your own private resort with total privacy and seclusion, constructed with the finest stones, woods, metals and board formed concrete curated from around the world,” the listing boasted.

Additional amenities in the home include a chef’s kitchen designed by Nobu, a 20-seat theater, outdoor cinema and dining, an infinity pool, Zen gardens and spa, a rooftop deck with pool-cuzzi, state-of-the-art lounge, and a private driveway and car gallery. A luxury master suite is accessible by a retinal scanner, according to the listing.

The listing was jointly held by Judy Feder of Hilton & Hyland and Branden and Rayni Williams of The Beverly Hills Estates.

Feder, who has represented Tavangarian for all of his homes over many years, shared with the Palisadian-Post that she took “great pride” in representing him for the record-breaking sale, because his homes are “pieces of art.”

“He gives the clients what they want and what they never dreamed of,” Feder concluded.

Tavangarian originally bought the property in 2013 for $7.3 million, property records show.

The new homeowner’s wealth is reported to have been amassed through cryptocurrency holdings, according to Dirt, with the home never formally offered for sale.

The record in the Palisades was previously held by Shane Smith, who sold his Santa Monica Canyon estate for $48.67 million. Smith, executive chairman and co-founder of Vice Media, originally purchased the home in 2015 for $23 million. He listed the home for $50 million at the start of February and sold it on April 19 for $48,674,649, according to CLAW, the Combined LA/Westside MLS.

Before Smith’s sale, the most expensive home transaction was Bui Simon, a former Miss Universe winner turned philanthropist who purchased a Riviera home for $33.8 million in 2018. The seven-bedroom, 13-bath “English mansion-style” white brick house was completed in 2005.

The original $11 million home on the 1.39-acre lot bought in 2002 was transformed by New York architects Ferguson & Shamamian for the late Michael King.