Hugh Hefner Sells Playboy Mansion To Billionaire Neighbor

Hugh Hefner’s infamous Playboy Mansion is to be sold to the 32-year-old billionaire owner of Twinkies, Daren Metropoulos, who is also Hefner’s neighbour.

Metropoulos, a principal at Metropoulos & Co., plans on connecting the two properties thus creating a 7.3-acre compound. Unfortunately for him, though, his plans will have to wait since the 90-year-old founder of Playboy magazine has the right to stay put in his 29-room mansion till his death.

A Playboy Enterprises spokesman told the Guardian, “We can confirm that the Playboy Mansion is in escrow with Daren Metropoulos as the buyer. Due to confidentiality restrictions, we are not able to comment on any specifics, including what contingencies need to be cleared to close the sale.”

The Holmby Hills property in Los Angeles was listed five months ago at $200 million by broker Mauricio Umansky of The Agency, as well as Gary Gold and Drew Fenton of Hilton & Hyland. The final sale price has not been disclosed.

The president of Hilton & Hyland, Jeffrey Hyland, reportedly said that the figure was in “nine digits” and added that the sale would set a record for the highest-priced residential sale in Los Angeles.

Metropoulos told the Wall Street Journal that he was more interested in preserving the mansion’s architectural pedigree. “The heritage of this property transcends its celebrity, and to have the opportunity to serve as its steward would be a true privilege,” he said.

The mansion, built by architect Arthur Rolland Kelly in 1927, was bought by Playboy in 1971 for a little over $1 million. The mansion features 12 bedrooms, a wine cellar, home theater, separate game house, gym, tennis court, a swimming pool, a grotto, a pet cemetery and an official zoo license. But Hyland added that renovations were required, saying: “It will obviously have to be upgraded.”

Metropoulos’ current home was also purchased from Hefner for $18 million in 2009.