Hearst Mansion Auction: Iconic Estate Featured in The Godfather

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – (Realty News Report) – The historic Hearst Estate, known for its exterior appearance in the film “The Godfather,” is being offered at auction with a minimum bid of $47 million.

This nine-bedroom mansion, once the home of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, also served as the honeymoon retreat for Jacqueline (née Bouvier) and John F. Kennedy.

Painted a distinctive salmon pink, the Hearst Estate was built in 1926 on a 3.5-acre parcel along North Beverly Hills Drive, three blocks north of Sunset Boulevard.

The main residence measures approximately 29,000 square feet and includes 15 bathrooms. In addition to the principal house, the property offers about 7,000 square feet of ancillary buildings: two staff or guest apartments, a pool house, a tennis pavilion, and a two-story, five-bedroom gatehouse.

Situated at the end of one of the city’s longest private driveways, the Mediterranean-style property was designed by architect Gordon Kaufman. Interior features include a formal living room with a 22-foot arched, hand-painted ceiling, a two-story wood-paneled library, and a billiards room with herringbone parquet floors and a fireplace transported from Hearst Castle. The residence and grounds are suitable for large-scale entertaining and can accommodate up to 1,000 guests.

“The Hearst Estate is anchored in American legend and is a one-of-a-kind home that is truly a spectacular property. This is a rare and prestigious opportunity to acquire one of the 10 most iconic homes in LA, which you rarely see come available. This property now has a motivated seller and is priced to sell,” said Anthony Marguleas of Amalfi Estates.

Amalfi Estates is listing the estate alongside Gary Gold of Hilton & Hyland, Zizi Pak of Rodeo Realty, and John Gould of Rodeo Realty.

The Hearst Estate will be sold at an auction scheduled for Sept. 14 as part of a hearing to approve a bankruptcy sale. An initial offer of $47 million has been accepted. Competing bids must exceed the accepted offer by at least $1 million, making the minimum overbid $48 million; additional bids will be accepted through Sept. 14.

Although the mansion’s exterior appears in “The Godfather,” interior scenes—most famously the sequence featuring a horse’s head in a bed—were filmed at a separate residence on Long Island, New York.


Aug. 22, 2021 Realty News Report. Copyright 2021.


Photo credit: Jim Bartsch


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