Monday, April 14, 2014

CBS President Les Moonves Lists Malibu Starter House

SELLERS: Les(lie) Moonves and Julie Chen
LOCATION: Malibu, CA
PRICE: $12,995,000
SIZE: 3,014 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: In the summer of 2010 multi-billionaire Microsoft co-founder multi-billionaire Paul Allen paid a quirky $25,067,500 for a big, boxy and glassy contemporary house on Malibu's much-coveted and billionaire-lined Carbon Beach. (The seller, in case any of y'all might care, was apparel manufacturing mogul Charles Perez.)

Alas, so the scuttlebutt goes, Mister Allen didn't care for the roaring sound of the surf and some months ago quietly made the house available as a whisper listing with an unknown asking price. In early April, according to property records, Mister Allen sold the almost 5,800 square foot beach house for $28.8 million in an off-market deal to prodigiously compensated CBS president and CEO Leslie "Les" Moonves* and his (20 years younger) wife, Julie Chen. Miz Chen is best known to the t.v. watching public as the moderator of daytime chat fest The Talk and the long-time host of prime time reality juggernaut Big Brother, both of which air—natch—on CBS.

The late April purchase of the Mister Allen's five bedroom and seven bathroom beach shack probably has something to do with Mister Moonves and Miz Chen putting their much smaller and significantly less expensive although still astronomically pricey beach house house on the slightly less coveted but still astonishingly expensive La Costa Beach on the market in early March (2014) with a $12,995,000 asking price.

Property records show the couple picked up their La Costa Beach house in June 2008 for exactly $10,000,000 and listing details show the residence has three bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms in 3,014 of high-grade and elegantly woody interior space finely finished with luminous teak floors and walls sheathed in wide plank horizontal cladding that Your Mama would bet both our long bodied bitches, Linda and Beverly, were hand milled and hand rubbed with some sort of imported wax or rare tung oil.

The two car wide driveway and front facing two-car garage are open to the Pacific Coast Highway but a tall stacked stone wall with locked gate hems in a decked entry courtyard where a molded plastic spa sits under a trellis in a wood-lined cubby. It's an odd place for a spa—it's practically right on the PCH—but it's a helleva lot more private spot for nekkid spa tubbing than the ocean side deck that is visible to the beach combing hoi polloi.

Double glass and wood doors open to a spacious entrance hall that connects directly into an open concept living area where, not surprisingly, a large flat screen television surmounts the fireplace. (As befits a luxuriously decked out getaway home at the beach owned by a couple of A-list showbizzers listing photos show there are also televisions in the master bedroom, the master bathroom, the second floor den/media room, and, it's probably safe to assume, in at least one of the two guest/family bedrooms.)

Between the ocean view dining area and the garage there's a sleek center island kitchen with flat fronted walnut (or maybe teak) cabinetry and taupe-toned solid surface counter tops. An expensive bevy of stainless steel appliances includes multiple ovens, an integrated coffee maker and fridge/freezer flanked by a glass-fronted full-height beverage cooler and an also full-height and glass fronted wine fridge.

Each of the two guest/family bedrooms has an en suite bathroom as does the second floor master suite that's also fitted and kitted with a (television surmounted) fireplace, large bathroom (with small television parked on the vanity), two closets (which may or may not have televisions), and and all but unimpeded whitewater view.

Also on the second floor, on the street side of the house, is a den/media lounge with (partly) double height ceiling, wet bar, built in desk and entertainment center, and a state-of-the-art projection system with surround sound and screen that scrolls down from a soffit at the touch of a button. A narrow, third level gallery, lined on one side with floor-to-ceiling book shelves filled with actual books, overlooks the upper hall and stair case.

Back downstairs the main floor living space opens through a series of (nearly floor-to-ceiling) sliding glass panels to a tiled, beach side terrace, about half of which is protected from wind and sea spray by a frameless glass wall that looks to this property gossip to be about six feet tall.

In addition to their $40 million worth of residential real estate holdings in Malibu Mister Moonves and Miz Chens' property portfolio also includes a three bedroom and three bathroom condominium at an upscale ocean view complex in Pacific Palisades and a gated and no doubt exuberantly fortified 10,000+ square foot residence on a 1.25-ish acre, triangular shaped parcel on the border where Beverly Hills butts up against Holmby Hills. Property records show they scooped up the Bev Hills house in April 2006 for $14,000,000 and digital evidence suggests they recently renovated and expanded the house. We've repeatedly read the couple keeps an apartment in New York City, which makes perfect sense to this real estate gossip, however, sorry Charlies, we don't have any specifics on the situation.

*As the powerful president of CBS Mister Moonves hauled in $66.9 million in 2013. In case any of y'all think that's an anomalous amount and the couple have overextended themselves with their new nearly $30 million beach house: In 2012 Mister Moonves's pay package was valued at $62.2 million and in 2011 he raked in $69.9 million. And that, children, does not even take into account the (probably) millions more Miz Chen brings in from her various duties as a television producer and talking head.

 listing photos: Prudential Malibu Realty

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Residences in Beverly Hills, Pacific Palisades and Malibu? Seems a little excessive. Perhaps he doesn't like to make poopy in public restrooms.

Anonymous said...

2:10 Have you not viewed The View? Cheap and gaudy is the word. Kimora Simmons has more class and that is that.

Unknown said...

If I'm not mistaked, FX legend Stan Winston was the previous owner of the Malibu house they're selling...

LA Ad Guy said...

His LA house looks like its more Brentwood since its West of 405 and Getty, unless they got a newer one, Mama?

Anonymous said...

557
I think that's his old house and I think his ex still lives there

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

LA Ad Guy, the house he is renovating is a house on Ladera Drive, and it is a part of Los Angeles. The address has the 90077 zip code. It is part of Holmby Hills, I guess?

Anonymous said...

In the early 90's I lived on Carbon Beach and this house belonged to Henry Mancini. At that time it was grey with white trim.

Sandpiper said...

Mama, you made me laugh (again!) about speculated TVs in the closets. You're killing me. IMHO, the beach is a place to decompress rather than tether yourself to excessive TV distraction! It defeats the purpose.

I understand Mr. Allen's irritation with the pounding surf -- both the sound and the ground. But it causes me to wonder if he ever gave it a solid chance to let it grow on him. It took me a month to get used to it, only to realized I couldn't live without it.

This "starter" home is amazing, sans the pot lights fetish. Two things jump out. The stone (?) paneled walls at the deck are a great feature. It acts as solar, absorbing heat all day thereby releasing warmth at night as temps decline. The other thing, beach-side windows. Wish there could have been solid ribbons of them rather than intermittent wall space where windows could have been. Regardless, it's a knock out.

Anonymous said...

I lived on La Costa beach for a year and a half. It's a great beach but living on that stretch of PCH is a pain!
Parking is always a challenge. Getting in and out of your garage is always a challenge.
Summertime traffic backs up all along PCH in La Costa. Impatient angry drivers aren't too accommodating.

Anonymous said...

Getting out of your driveway is a pain on Carbon Beach too!

Anonymous said...

PCH addresses are a drag for coming and going. Kudos that you managed it. Patience is a virtue.Some beach houses are fortunate to be on little streets that slip down to the water off PCH; something to be grateful for. I know. Every time I pass those driveways that abut PCH I say a little prayer.

Anonymous said...

Les pays the mortgage with his paycheck, Julie pays the electric bill with hers.