MOUNTAIN COSTS
America’s most expensive property ‘The Mountain’ – which was once listed for $1 BILLION – sells for just £82,000 at auction
AMERICA’S most expensive property — a 157-acre flat hilltop sitting high above Beverly Hills — which had a $1 billion price tag has sold for a paltry $100,000.
The prime location, dubbed “The Mountain” because of its sprawling views of the city and the Pacific Ocean, failed to attract a single bid at auction.
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The undeveloped and sprawling plot of land was acquired by the Mark Hughes Trust, an entity established to manage the assets of the late Herbalife founder Mark Hughes.
The Mountain was put on the market last summer for $1bn (£0.8bn) but there were no credible offers.
But no other bidders turned out for the foreclosure auction in Pomona, California, lawyer Ronald Richards told .
The Hughes family now has the control to put the property back onto the market with a price-tag of their choosing.
In 2004, the property was purchased by an investor from Mark Hughes' estate after he borrowed $45 million (£37m).
It is understood not much of that loan was paid back so it grew to a $200m (£164m) debt when late interests and fees accumulated over time.
The Hughes Estate foreclosed on the loan and will absorb that debt because none of the other potential buyers were willing to.
In February, estate agents Aaron Kirman dropped the price to $650,000 (£535,000), despite the development being known as “the crown jewel of Beverly Hills” for billionaires with a plan to construct their own personal paradise.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was reportedly among the potential buyers who viewed the property, according to The Wall Street Journal.
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Former owners have failed to develop the site which is nearly double the size of Disneyland and affords a 360-degree view from Downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Ocean.
The mountaintop was once owned by Princess Shams Pahlavi, a sister of the late Shah of Iran, who in the late 1970s had planned to build a huge palace, complete with helipads, lakes, which was never built.
US television personality Merv Griffin, snapped up the property and had planned his own mega-mansion on the site in the 1980s which came to nothing.
Then Herbalife founder Mark Hughes bought it in 1997 for more than $8m (£660m) in 1997.
At the time, the deal was a record price Southern California.
But Hughes never constructed anything before his untimely death in 2000 aged 44.
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